R O T H A R . C O M

Simon Hoe sent me a link to this Downhill Action You Tube video. It’s Carl Seymour’s helmet cam footage from the dirt road downhill section from summit of the Basset de Lona. Part of the Chamonix to Zermatt from a few years ago. Cameo from me near the end.

Hired a van and drove up to the north side of the Ribble Valley on Saturday to pick up some antique furniture for a restoration project. Fantastic spot that must warrant some future exploration. Although I doubt there are many bridleways it must be littered with cheeky bits. I spent the rest of the time not doing much at all. I rebuilt the Candy SLs that had destroyed themselves at Thetford and rode very briefly from a couple of places, but it was largely a weekend of not doing much at all. After two weeks off, it’s back into the office tomorrow.

The weather in Norfolk wasn’t great. Saturday was a nice day and I managed to get a little sunburned, but the rest of the time it was fairly miserable and grey. This included the day in Thetford on Sunday and although it never rained it was fairly overcast and dull the entire time.

A few photos of Jed on his Merlin.

One rider has died and five others remain in a critical condition following a horrifying accident in Mexico. A vehicle driven by 29 year-old Jesse Campos ploughed into a bunch of riders during the third Matamoros-Bagdad Cycling Tour, a family ride in Matamoros, Mexico. United States of America cyclist Alejandro Alvarez was killed as a result of the accident. The 30 year-old is believed to have died at the scene while five others, including a 14 year-old, were rushed to hospital where their condition is listed as critical.

The Sun has some photos from the horrifying accident. The driver was charged with killing Alvarez on the highway near the US-Mexico border. Authorities said the wreck happened 15 minutes into the 34km race yesterday between Playa Bagdad and Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas. Campos, who police claimed was drunk and asleep during the incident, said he was an American citizen living in Brownsville. The US Consulate could not immediately confirm that. “We are looking into the incident in terms of whether American citizens were involved,” consulate spokesman Todd Huizinga said. The Mexican media has reported authorities claim that Campos admitted to using cocaine prior to the accident.

I can’t remember the last time that I rode around Thetford, but a trip home to Norfolk proved a chance to catch up with my old friend Jed, who offered to guide me around. In the corner of the shed I found a rather dusty Conti Cross Country 1.5s and suitable inner tubes. Off came the 2.1 Nevegals and suddenly the bike looked weird. Ultra skinny tyres make the bike look odd, but also cause it to sit a good inch and a half lower to the ground. Quick ride to the pub last night to check all was okay and we’re all set for this morning’s ride.

This morning we parked up at Brandon Country Park and rode off into the woods. After the first section of singletrack, an odd clicking sound and a strange feeling when pedaling meant a stop to check what was going on. Sure enough there’s a problem. The left hand pedal has about an inch of movement along the axle spindle. Bad. Off with the end cap which reveals the bearing has completely disintegrated. Oh well, no way to fix that until some spares and a workshop are available. Just have to ride it and see what happens. The bike rode well, the skinny tyres finding loads of grip, but the small air volume in the tyres led to a harsh ride. The lower ride height led to the crank arms catching through some of the corners too (that’s a first on the Deluxe).

Thetford’s changed a lot in the last two years or so since I last rode my formerly local home trails. Cleared areas have now established trees, new trails have been cut, old trails have disappeared or worn badly. It’s most noticeable at the bombhole marl pits. The once steep entry drop ins and exit kickers have worn down significantly, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had. The pedal held on for another two hours riding but by the end it came clean off the axle. Time to do some singlespeed maintenance.

I like this kind of thing.

I’ve exchanged a few emails with Tim Flooks recently partly to find out whether he’d bought that Ti Deluxe he was pondering for his 50th (it’s due later this summer) and also to work out what to do about the Fox Vans off the Singlespeed. They came off the bike over the winter in favour of the rigid pace forks. They’re the 2004 forks and after several years of riding, the stanchions are worn out and they need a service.

Normally I’d consider buying a new pair, but Tim tells me that the new Vanillas can’t be reduced in travel from the 140mm, which is too much for the Singlespeed because it was designed around 100mm. Thing is that they’re amazing forks too, so keeping them going is an obvious solution. I’ve just booked them in for a service and uplift collection and they’ll shortly be on the receiving end of some top notch fettling.

After speaking to them on the phone, I’m reminded that TF Tuned customer service is amazing too, why can’t all companies you speak to over the phone be that good?