Category: Words

Work has been taking over things recently, which is good because I’ve been pretty slack of late. Basically I’m modelling the environmental change of a region over time using software that can create images like those on the WCS website

Talking of amazing landscape images, I came across this website over the last few days. After the trip across France last year I would seriously consider something along the lines of what these guys did, although I’m not sure how much scope there would be for really fun offroad on a bike setup for touring. I’m sure it could be done.

Did manage to get out on the Singlespeed for just over an hour on Sunday without getting too wet. This has prompted two things. Firstly, for some perverse reason I am actually beginning to like singlespeeding now and am beginning to get used to the fact that I can’t change gear. I’m even thinking about a new SS specific bike, I have two frames in mind both classics from big US companies. I think I’ll see how the UKSS champs go first. The other thing is that all this wet and ‘orrible weather just won’t do. Therefore I have dug this out to remind me of much nicer weather from last year.

Corty and I ride the Tour of the Surrey Hills

Whilst on the STW Forum today it seems that few people have heard about Russ Pinders’s unfortunate accident that has left him paralysed from the chest down. This is the Russ Pinder story that was originally reported on the Singletrackworld Forum. For those that don’t know what happened to Russ these two threads capture the essence: This is Serious & The Worst.

There have been many subsequent posts about Russ since then and this was the incident that has started all recent discussion about disc brakes and front wheel quick releases – see this report. In all a very nasty business and one that makes us all appreciate the risks involved in our sport. I have never met Russ, but like many others on the Forum I wish him all the very best for the future. There is an appeal set up in Russ’s honour with all proceeds going to the air ambulance.

Another week’s flown by. Managed to get in the workshop yesterday and have finally finished rebuilding my ti-spoked rear wheel that I managed to destroy in Thetford at the end of February. I’ve also ordered some new tyres, those Conty XCs will have to wait for some really muddy weather before I get them out again.

Last night whilst doing the washing (exciting life eh?), I read Mountain Biking UK. Now MBUK introduced me to mountain biking in some ways, but I have to say there isn’t much about that magazine that still reminds me of those days. We’ve both changed, but I think I must have outgrown my old monthly read. I’m not sure what the target audience age range is, but whatever it is I’m pretty worried about some of the content.

Saying that I did enjoy reading a bit more about the Red Bull Ride that happened about five months ago down under and there were some interesting kit reviews, but there was nothing that’ll have me rushing out to buy the next issue.

It’s still raining outside. That said scenes like those in Pete Fagerlin‘s site are guaranteed to take your mind off the weather. Some pretty good video footage on there too. Bizarrely it seems to be reasonably good weather up in Scotland for some.

With the combined UK and Euro Singlespeed Champs approaching (the entry form is out now) there’s a lot of talk, banter and people getting on the SS bandwagon. It might just be me, but normally it’s Mountain Mayhem getting all the press coverage, so maybe there’s a lot more interest in the event this year. Sheldon ‘I look ten years younger’ Brown has an informed perspective on the world of one gear.

Elsewhere attempts to establish a high quality area of North Shore style elevated and technical riding have been dealt a bitter blow, by the loss of the Surrey Shore. Read more on this excellent site from STW regular, Wa. Videos like New World Disorder have really popularised this form of riding, but I’m sure that it’s a style of riding that’s not going to disappear overnight.

The weather outside is grim. Come on summer, pull your act together. Warm weather and sunshine needed please.

Well done to Femke for her results in the Student Track Champs, Gold in the Sprint and Bronze in the TT. The girl’s got style.

Some good news brought to the world by Singletrack yesterday, the quick releases coming undone issue is finally being taken seriously:

QR And Disk Brakes Under Investigation

Trek have today announced that they will be looking into the safety of QR skewers when used with disc brakes.

Many of you will be familiar with the awful news that mountainbiker and Singletrack regular Russell Pinder has suffered permanent paralysis after a major fall from his bike, but what you may not know is that his accident seems to have sparked off a growing suspicion that the combination of QR skewers and disc brakes may have contributed to his and perhaps other similar accidents. Read more…

I’m glad the issue’s been taken up and I hope that a good scientific test is undertaken. As for the results well it’ll answer a lot of questions if it’s done correctly, a bit like it has for the whole issue of homeopathy.

On a bike related note, there is some truly bizarre stuff here. I was witness to one attempt to produce such a homebuilt beast in my bad days on Guernsey, but given that those involved in it’s construction didn’t have access to welding gear it was all held together with jubilee clips, zip ties, string and rubber bands. Riding it was an ‘experience’.

Jed and I now actually have a bit of a plan. On Sunday 1st June we’re riding Peddar’s Way from near Thetford to Holme-next-the-Sea and back again. That’s about 120 miles in a day. As Jed put it: 10 hrs total round trip seems realistic if we take it easy and stop for food etc. Bit like a D2D distance wise without the hassle of lights failing.

Looking forward to that. Should be a good bit of training for the SSUK champs* the next weekend and the Coast-to-Coast we’ve been mooting for later in the Summer. Big Jonny and the Gnome share an apartment, I think it’s just a bit bigger than my flat. Cabin fever certainly makes you get out and ride that’s for sure. Anyway Big Dave’s latest news can be found on the DC site and the Gnome, well he has lots of news about racing, Arizona style.

On a techie note, a few people have been having problems with Mavic Crossride wheels. Well my pair performed flawlessly whilst I had them, but a quick nose on MTBR and the Singletrack forum soon shows that there are some problems. Even a few of the Team Jelly race team and sofa posse have experienced problems. Here’s Jed’s diagnosis:

From: Jed
Subject: Crossride Problem

The way I see it is:
If the bearing adjuster slackens off then the left hand threaded “nut” in the freehub can undo slightly. This “nut” has the axle bearing sitting in it. Only the freehub gets shafted but at 50-60 quid a shot it isn’t cheap.

Mine are Crosslinks but I know of similar problems with Crossrides (Ian
Jones has them). I can relate to the MTBR comments – the wheels are good
while they work but they have weaknesses.

Jed

Sort of says it all really. Singletrack have just brought some rather tasty new clothing to my attention. All I need to do now is justify to myself that yes, I really do need it. Which would be easy were it not for the three bags-for-life of kit stuffed under the bed because I no longer wear it or because it’s out of season. Oh well I suppose there’s no harm in looking…

And on a final note a bit of surfing this morning took me to this. The more I read about Roland Green, the more respect I have for the man. British Race Schedule here.

*SS Champs Dad’s Army Imagery from the Outcast.

Well having been stuck in doors yesterday, while it rained cats and dogs, I was happy to get out and about today. I’ve been planning on heading up to Calderdale for sometime, so I took the train out to Todmorden, sussed out the whereabouts of the Singletrack office and then rode the Expert route feature in Issue 4 of Singletrack. What I had failed to notice is that on the singletrack site there is a section all about trails which features a revised version of the route map.

The fact that I didn’t have that led to a bit of head scratching when I arrived at the bit where the written guide deviates from what the map shows, but after only a slight detour up the wrong valley, I was back on track and had a pretty good days riding. The weather was that sort of sunshine and showers that never leaves you drenched or cold and it was just good riding. The drop down to Cant Clough Reservoir is currently pretty boggy at the top, well boggy enough to swallow my front wheel and sent me flying over the bars into the mud, anyway, but improves closer to the bottom.

Well that mud had nothing on the bridleway river of crud that currently exists along the Lower Intake bridleway just above Shore. Stinky, stagnant, gloopy mud and lots of it. Having to dismount in that lot was a mid-calf submerged experience leaving my race shoes full of crap. I’d finally add that when you leave the golf club carpark and come to a T-junction, you need to turn right and then turn left at the next T-Junction, just a bit further down. Of course if you don’t and like me turn left at the first T-junction you come to you end up riding up a stonking big hill, only to realise about 20 minutes later it’s the wrong one. Doh!

Oh and that last descent down from the cobbled courtyard, certainly is some of the steepest and finest singletrack that I’ve ridden in sometime. Reminded me of a certain bit of cliff path trail in Guernsey.

Well what else has been happening? Well came across this from BBC Scotland, seems pretty ‘rad’… Anyway enough of this mountain biking mullarky. A real man’s race is here again and tonight someone will be wearing pink skin-tight lycra in Italy. Hopefully the colourful sight of watching muscular figures, some with bleached blonde hair and earings, prancing up the mountains with gay abandon won’t be marred with a drugs scandal. Personally I doubt the odds on a dope free race are very good.

Yes the Giro is back. I really hope Cipo gets that record, but I guess there’s a few who wouldn’t mind snatching his glory. Coverage from the official site, the BBC, Cycling News and this from Big Jonny over at Drunkcyclist, which definitely isn’t a site you should be reading at work. Well unless you already work for Hugh Hefner.

Oh and today I managed to get mud all over the flat before I even left. I guess it does pay to clean your shoes from the last ride before you put them on the next time.

Tomorrow I’m on call which means I can’t leave home. I’m planning a big ride in the South Pennines on Monday and I did some street riding this morning on the FSR. I managed to pull a couple of cool stoppies which put a big grin on my face. It’s always interesting to see what you can fit into half an hour before work. The highlight of today at work? Well Alwyn McMath was in and I sold a bike to his sister… I didn’t even try to convince them that knobbly tyres were the way ahead.

There’s some interesting stuff here. I might be tempted to have a look at Titec’s forthcoming telescopic seatpost. Seems like a reasonably good idea if they can pull it off. If it’s knock rated they’re obviously pretty confident that it can take some abuse.

Tonight I shall be mostly wheel building in front of the telly, but I leave you with…

Back to the wonderful world of bikes, working in a bike shop at times is a good way to earn some money. At other times it’s just the pits. Few guys in yesterday who are going to be doing the Iron Lemming this year. I think I’m jealous. Sounds like it’s going to be a big couple of days out. Maybe I should get my arse in shape and get down there and do it.

Big Jonny’s been busy of late keeping his site updated and it puts my efforts on this site to shame. Bastard. Anyway he linked into this from Something Awful, which I must admit I had forgotten about – well I’d lost the link since I moved over to the new PC last October. Need to add that back into my list.

Jed and I have been discussing our big ride this summer. Well… we still both want to do it. Obviously that’s not the same as having a well laid plan, but it’s a start. Of course our plans won’t have a patch on some of the tales on here.

Georgette sent me an e-mail which simply said: No, really, this one IS funny… She’s right.

Been back to Norfolk for a long weekend and managed to hook-up with Jed for a trip down to Thetford. The place has changed yet again and I continue to find it really hard to orientate myself down there. The trails were great though. The singletrack down there isn’t the swoopy stuff you find in Wales, but it is the stuff that really pushes you to go harder and the faster you ride it the better it flows.

Jed knows that place better than anyone I know so I was just following him through most of it. Well except the bit where I went first and managed to lose him – sorry mate. Anyway had a wicked time and can’t wait to ride it again.

As the titanium spokes hadn’t showed up I needed some new wheels for the M5, so I bought a pair of Crossmax from the shop and hooked on some Conti Cross County’s on them. Some of the guys in Guernsey used to race on these skinny little bad boys all year round. They’re so skinny they look like ‘cross tyres. Plenty of grip, but they cut the trails up really badly and on such a rigid bike, you just need some comfort from the tyres. Something a bit bigger needs to be tried.

Of course when I arrived home, the spokes from Marwi had arrived. That’s just typical that is. Anyway this link to a website about crap towns was the highlight of my afternoon at work, the productivity of which was far from high after reading it.

This is in from Big Dave:

From: Big Dave
Subject: On my way out!

Today I start outprocessing Camp Doha, Kuwait. Thank goodness. This place is starting to get crowded again and it’s getting really hot.

Lots of marines are rolling back in and washing their vehicles before they put them on the ships. The are grubby messes when they come into the chow hall. They usually spend about 3 days here, then head to the docks. You can tell they are ready to get on the ship. They can shower and do laundry then just sleep away the time until they get home. It’s about 35 days to California and about 21 to the east coast.

The rest of us are awaiting airplanes. Hopefully sometime next week. Too bad I’m not in good enough shape to race Big Bear. I’d be sucking major wind.

Jen’s gonna be killing me on the bike. She’s doing her 8th stage race since I left. She’s currently holding 8th right now at the Gila. I’m going to be crying for about 2 or 3 weeks I’m sure.

Johnny Smoke from radical films sent me the Kranked DVD’s. I finally found a computer that would run the DVD-r. Great photography and some sick riding. Too bad it was quiet time and we couldn’t turn up the volume. Some dudes didn’t believe they were riding bicycles. Thanks Johnny. I’m trying to get a photo emailed to me so I can email it to you.

I’m motivated to get home. I’ve got some mandatory leave saved up that I will have to use, then I’ll be back to the B.S. I’ll probably get tooled around for a few months, then hopefully I’ll be out soon.

Thanks for all the care packages and stuff that you guys sent. You made many more soldiers other than myself very happy…and you saved us a huge wait in the PX lines. I stopped by the other day, they still have not let up.

Big Dave

Took the road bike out today and road out to the Peaks, had a fantastic ride through the Goyt Valley in the sunshine, but from then on things deteriorated rapidly. I managed to avoid most of the Cat and Fiddle by riding in the lanes, but had to join onto it for about half a km to get to the next bit of lane, all was going well to just before my turn off, when I was overtaken by a HGV on a blind corner. I was doing about 45mph, so this guy must have been leathering it into what is really quite a tight bend. The licence plate was M4 TDR and you my friend are a f’ing liability. I appreciate that you may be on a mission to get to an early grave, but please don’t take me with you.

I stumbled across this today, which seemed pretty appropriate:

HGV Drivers

Lorry drivers perfect the art of driving right up your arse by looking the wrong way through a pair of binoculars whilst driving. It’s not surprising to know that most accidents on motorways are caused by these ‘steering wheel attendants’. Often found chatting to their colleagues on their CB radio, these motorists can usually be found driving with little or no consideration for other road users. Is it any wonder they have signs saying “How am I driving?” on the back of their trailers – even they don’t know how they manage it – clearly!

The most dangerous HGV drivers are foreign lorry drivers. Take emergency avoiding action away from any foreign-registered HGV at all costs!

You can read more here. Crucially there is no section concerning Mercedes drivers, who in my opinion deserve a category of their own way above the BMW, Volvo and Rover drivers of this world. Merc drivers in my experience have managed to attain a pretty much pish poor level. Well done.

Anyway my run-in with that numb nuts was only the beginning of an exciting ride home. Several other lunatics decided to overtake me on blind corners (what were they driving? A Merc and a Rover) and then the heavens opened. I received a royal soaking and the drop in temperature wasn’t welcomed much either. Anyway it wasn’t looking too bad, with only the traffic chaos of Rusholme to overcome. I don’t know what the Council thinks its doing in Rusholme, but I can pretty much say what they’re not doing – keeping the bicycle lanes clear.

Obviously people need to be educated in that place, the green strips of tarmac with pictures of bikes on are not parking bays you cretins. Oh how I would love to get a Caterpillar bulldozer and clear a path though that place. Anyway I managed to negotiate it by the skin of my teeth, with only one idiot failing to see me despite the fact that I was wearing yellow and black kit pretty much head to toe. I must have looked like a giant bumble bee.

The best thing about to day? A link to this. Oh how I laughed.

Deadline day at work. Many stressed people.

Spoke to Biker tonight, he’s been enjoying the tail end of the season out in Switzerland. Well maybe a bit too much as he managed to get ko’d after doing a cliff drop. Landing turned out to be a bit harder than expected and he ended up with brain shake apparently. He’s bounced back to good health though and seemed okay today.

This summers plan to ride in lots of new places now includes a trip out to Zermatt. I can feel a road trip coming up… mmm biking in the shadow of the Matterhorn.

Goodtimes.