I Never Did Have That Rant

I meant to mention the whole drafting etiquette thing but again, it seems to have slipped my mind.

Firstly, I have never been a roadie and probably never will be. I find riding on the road mind-alteringly tedious unless I'm in traffic and having to think a bit. This means that I haven't ridden in bunches (apart from that one time with the gingham dress, but that's another story...) and I'm not terribly familiar with riding people's wheels and what-have-you.

BUT...

I do know that it's rather rude to pull in behind someone at the lights or wherever and draft them without making the offer of sharing the work. To me it's analogous to hitching your car to the car in front without asking, or jumping on someone's back for an uninvited piggyback. It's just not on. I don't mind being in front and doing the work as long as the person behind does their share, or at least has a chat but I can't abide the sneak who slips in trying to go unnoticed and doesn't have the manners to even start a conversation. This also might stem from the fact that I find it very hard to sit on someone's wheel without at least trying to blast past them quite early on...

My favourite way to deal with these people is to sloooooow dooowwwwwn until they get impatient. Or brake suddenly (which can be a bit hazardous to one's own health). Or, if I'm feeling particularly strong, to stamp on the gas and drop them, but that tends to only work on slight gradients or steep hills due to the frantic leg-spinning that I start doing about about 33kph.

There you have it: just another cross I have to bear. :-)

Well, This Is Novel

I'm breaking my email posting cherry this morning, so I'm rather excited by this new use of technology. However, as I try to look for a cloud to every silver lining I find that due to my poor selection of mobile provider I'm unable to post unless tethered to a computer, should the need/ urge ever arise. It's not necessarily a problem at the moment but I anticipate a keen desire to post from the top of a mountain (or more likely some grotty motorway services) at some point in the future.

I have now fallen so far behind my proposed target that unless I do 1.5 rides per day until the end of the year I haven't a chance of hitting 300 rides. Maybe 200 is more realistic now... Maybe not. I'll see where I get to on the 31st December.

This morning's ride was a 5k shocker: driving wind and rain knocked my average speed back from the 30kph mark down to a pathetic 22kph. I'm used to getting a soaking now, and I'm resigned to the stark reality of them becoming more frequent as "summer" (I have to do that, it's Britain) turns to autumn turns to winter. My waterproof kit is very good now though, so it's not too terrible, although I've yet to find a fabric that can cope with my seemingly unnatural sweatiness when exercising. Still, it's fun to keep searching.

And another thing! I'm going to have to take the plunge in the next few months and get myself some sort of on-bike luggage. Regular commuting is no real friend of the rucksack, regardless of how "supercool" or "aeroflex-y" the back system is. I need to find a good sized rack or saddlebag and a small handlebar bag that will be able carry my clothes, lunch, acoutrements (keys, wallet, mp3 player) etc. Well, it's another little project I guess...

New Route

9.6km
3.5kg (for now - 2.1kg when the Jeep goes)

Who Are You Again?

Ah yes, I remember now...

I've been terribly busy slack in the past couple of months, which is no sort of excuse really now is it?

A quick recap:

• I now have a new commuting bike. It's a Trek 1st District with a spangly (but actually slightly matt) belt driven single gear. The belt means that there's no sticky oil to get all over the place (trouser legs, dining room carpet, the boy's hands) and that there's also zero maintenance. It's fit and forget for a couple of years for the belt til it needs to be replaced, and that's a pretty easy job. Other than that it's a bit more suited to commuting than the Giant was in that it's more suited to mudguards and has less spine-compressing tyres on it. So far it's sweet and I'm not finding the lack of gears to be much of an issue. I do run out of gears on the flat, and it's more effort uphill but the compromise is worth it and I don't really notice it at all.
• Dr G, the Dutchman and I rode over Garburn pass a few weeks ago when Dutch came up for a visit from Wales. It was a lovely sunny day and the route took us up round the top of Windermere with great views over the lake, stretching up to the Kirkstone pass. This was followed by a drop down into Kentmere with the final leg going along the reverse of the start of the route we did earlier in the year. The reverse route is much better.
• We have a new addition to the family, with the missus giving birth to a beautiful baby girl earlier in June. My riding has been curtailed but I don't mind :-) And I've been on paternity leave with slightly altered priorities.
• I shall have a rant about people drafting me on the way to and from work tomorrow...

There Is A Song...

...by the band Presidents Of The USA that is rather apt for this particular objective.

POTUSA

A Long Week

It's been a long 7 days, made longer by the lack of bike while I was waiting for my new tyre. I tried to repair the Conti but it refused to play ball and the tear just winked at me as I pumped the tyre up to full pressure. I guess I'll have to try and be creative and think of something useful for the tyre to do other than wrap round my wheel.

It's funny how I didn't realise how much I'd grown used to riding in to work until I was sitting in the car. I suppose the ride wakes me up, and I generally feel better when I get a little bit of two-wheel action in each day.

Big Bulge

Queue the humourous quips about lycra and crotches.

So, long time no see (or speak, or type etc). I just sort of forgot and was stuck in a mire of "other things" that needed to be done, after which there was no time, energy or inclination to type brain slurge onto a screen.

But I'm back now, so it's all fine. There there.

You have probably guessed that I'm not talking about tight lycra shorts by now as you know me not to be so crude. I am in fact talking about my first commuting-related puncture which happened to me on the ride home this afternoon. Mercifully it was after the Big Hill that is the final hurdle in my homeward bound leg although it was on the other side of said hill so I didn't get the freewheeling benefits I usually enjoy. As normal I had my headphones in (listening to the handover from Dale "tranquilisers and gin" Winton to the Vampire Mayo) but I still heard an odd scrubbing noise and the subsequent squirmy rear wheel that told me my tyre had decided to have a bit of a relax mid-journey. It was however a lovely sunny afternoon so I strung my helmet and gloves round my bars and began the 10 minute walk home. I suppose if I was looking through a half-full glass I got a few more minutes of rare sunshine.

On inspection at home, it appears that the tyre sidewall has been torn and I can't repair it as quickly as I thought, so I'm without it, probably until Monday now. Ho hum, and just when I'd reached the half century too.