I'd been tracking the rider in front for over a mile. As we started the climb they were hovering tantalisingly out of reach just up the road. As the gradient hit over seven percent and my frantic clicking of my right hand shifter met its end stop I could see them at the edge of …
Tag: cycling
Bad Times, Bad Rides :-(
Ever had a ride when you get home and wish you hadn't bothered? One when you've spent almost the entire ride wondering if fishing might actually be the sport for you and how much a decent rod and reel would cost? Well I did yesterday. I've had such rides before and I'm sure I'll have …
Spring has Sprung at last – Time to ride mes amis……..
So long time to blog, and seeing as the last one was written around the subject of Fish Keeping, it's even longer since I put both middle fingers to keyboard on the subject of bikes and the riding there of. Well mea culpa (whatever that means), sorry, I know I've been letting down my loyal …
Continue reading Spring has Sprung at last – Time to ride mes amis……..
The Link Between Marine Fishkeeping and Cycling
Well, firstly let me say there really isn't one. This is just an exercise in finding excuses for the lack of recent cycling in my life, but having thought about it while I've been typing this first sentence I think my semi-fertile grey matter may have conjured up a very tenuous connection that I can …
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Why can Cyclists be some of the rudest people on the planet?
Let me start with a little story. It's a true one, it happened just last week and it happened to me. I was winding my way home on my road bike, just cruising along through the last 10 miles or so of a fifty mile odd loop through some of my favorite local country lanes. I …
Continue reading Why can Cyclists be some of the rudest people on the planet?
It Always Looks So Easy On YouTube……
In preparation for the long-awaited rebuild of my poor long-suffering and chronically neglected Lapierre Zesty I've been watching a few 'how to' videos on the wonderful world of YouTube. And what I've concluded is that they can quickly lull you into a false sense of security about the task you're about to attempt. Take the …
Knee Pain In An Ageing Cyclist – a guide to ignoring the symptoms, then misguided internet based diagnosis and finally inept attempts at self-treatment followed by weeks of wincing.
Well, as I've mentioned before my knee hurts. Its grumbled on and off for a good few years. It likes to remind me of the misuse and neglect I've subjected my moving parts to since I've been capable of moving around under my own steam. It likes to remind me that I'm not 21 and …
The Hopeless Quest for Cycling Nirvana via eBay and Mindless Optimism
Theres a well-known cycling adage that the formula for the perfect number of bikes for a cyclist to own is n+1 where 'n' equals the number of bikes a rider owns at any given time. The implication that a true cyclist is always thinking about the next bike they're going to buy as they toil …
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So here it is, Merry Christmas, every bodies having….. hugely rising costs!
One of the lesser mentioned and debated side effects of not riding as much as one used to is that bikes and kit simply don't wear out as fast as they did when one is young and keen. I once reckoned that if a cartridge bottom bracket (remember them anybody? - you know the ones …
Continue reading So here it is, Merry Christmas, every bodies having….. hugely rising costs!
Training in Hotel Gym’s – A Special Sort of Purgatory (Populated by some very strange people)
A recent extended trip away with work has kept be off the bike for over a month. In the last 40 odd days I've stayed in about 15 different hotels in various countries from Chile to Australia. Sounds idyllic? Well, somebody has to do it I suppose but it certainly doesn't do anything for ones …
The Declining Cyclist 