And today I did......

[epicyclo]

Re: Re:

Did east Lothian off road Audax and overall it was pretty good with many a track I did not know existed which I will reexplore at my leisure. Unfortunately the rain was biblical and I got both trench foot and trench hand :shock: Result was it was tough going in places and getting lost a wee bit did occur but well done to Jamie for his pretty good navigation skills. At end Brian provided a real comedy moment as it turned out he had forgotten a change of clothing so he sat in a deep puddle and washed the mud off his clothes whilst still wearing them He assured me they were modern techy fabrics that dry quickly but he hoped Jamies car has a decent heater Poor Rob had a mare of a ride from about half way as his energy was not at its best levels. But in great MacRetro tradition we do not leave a man behind and so I stayed back with him to get him across the line. We all got our cards signed as having completed the circuit. I'll give it a go next year if I'm spared, as its bound to be better in the dry !

It certainly was biblical rain. There was mud in my wallet despite it being in a zipped pocket - that stuff got everywhere.

This was the best pic I was able to take during the ride. There wasn't much scenery to see and visibility was sometimes down to yards.



Five hours of being drenched and mud splattered, and Velo's still smiling.



Jamie remained spotless despite the rest of us being clarted with half of East Lothian's top soil. The secret is proper mudguards.




One thing I (re)learned from this ride. It's still fun even when it's the sort of weather you don't want to poke your nose out the door in.

The other thing is to check you actually have put your dry clothes in the car before leaving. Then you won't have to take impromptu baths in deep puddles to wash the mud off and then have several hour's journey dripping wet. (But note to Velo - it did dry off thanks to Jamie tolerating me having his car heater at full bore for the first couple of hours)

 

[Jamiedyer]

It was a grand day out!
What more can be said, it was wet, very wet, muddy, and got cold near the end. Like the others the concern was for Rob, especially near the middle and he wasn't feeling great. We then wondered what was best as by this stage it was really hammering down and if you weren't soaked before, regardless of jackets etc, you were by now. I must admit I enjoyed the ride itself and felt pretty good throughout, my legs were working fine and the Trucker was handling all the conditions without any suprises.
Having done it last year where it was a bit wet in places from the day before and only a bit of rain from the middle onwards to this years rain and muddy conditions throughout made it a very different type ride, it was a very big effort this year, a suffer fest for sure. Even with day rides and touring I cannot remember when I last rode for 5 hours in those sorts of conditions.
The only annoying thing was it wasn't as social as it was last year due to nobody hanging round to chat and shoot the breeze, stopping for drinks etc.
It was good to see Velo and Rob and glad to hear Rob is OK. I do feel quite guilty as I said it was a great audax, very easy ride etc.
We left and stopped for something to eat at Perth where the sun was out and it was 21* degrees. Had a quick pitstop dinner with Brian and Sheena and then headed up the road, getting home about 11pm. Long day considering we left Brians at 5am.
Day off work today so washed the Trucker, hose took the mud straight off and then took the chain of cleaned it and oiled it, put it back and now the Truckers ready for the next ride.
Thanks for your company guys and hopefully see you soon.

Jamie

Some photos, not the best as my camera got wet and so the water makes them a bit blurry.
Rob on his very nice Ti Galaxy and Brian following on his Ti machine as well.
DSCN4105 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

Brian
DSCN4106 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

DSCN4107 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

DSCN4108 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

I hope that's mud
DSCN4109 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

Are we having fun yet?
DSCN4110 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

 

[keithyr]

good effort lads, looks a nice ride, how many miles was it in the end?

 

[Jamiedyer]

I think it was supposed to be 56klm though I was showing 60 due to a misinterpretation of the route sheet

Jamie

 

[epicyclo]

..though I was showing 60 due to a misinterpretation of the route sheet...

I think he means due to our creative reconnaissance of future routes...

 

[RobMac]

..though I was showing 60 due to a misinterpretation of the route sheet...

I think he means due to our creative reconnaissance of future routes...

He means we got lost

 

[Jamiedyer]

Well despite my full mudguards I still got mud on the Trucker and had to clean it so heaven knows what state Brians lovely Ti machine was in. His Carradice bag was mud brown and thick crusted. Even with my chain very well lubed before hand it still dried orange. took it off and cleaned it, then relubed with the Squirt dry stuff.
Rob had full guards as well if I remember and he too looked cleanish.
I had this orange brown water coming out of my shoes in a never ending stream and that was with the hose in them. Otherwise it was just the front of my trousers from the knee down.

Jamie

Better here than up my back and the back of my head
DSC_1872 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

Dry chain
DSC_1875 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

New pads ordered
DSC_1876 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

Refreshed and ready to roll again
DSC_1660 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr

 

[clubby]

Can't say I'm a fan of squirt lube for Scottish conditions. Just didn't last long enough in wet weather, despite using every ride. Ended up having to bin a nearly new chain that just couldn't be rescued.

 

[RobMac]

Re:

I had Squirt Lube with me in the saddle bag :?

 

[epicyclo]

My saddlebag was full of mud. I had to strip the bike yesterday to get it out of all the nooks and crannies. Then there was the rinsing, the pre-washing, and the washing which eventually left me with non-mud coloured clothes. The Cambium saddle needed a good going over with a scrubbing brush. There was no way I could just rinse the mud off, it still looked like a dysentery incident.

I took the callipers off to clean them properly. The brake pads were totally knackered - worn down tissue thin - no wonder I had no brakes near the end. To be fair TRP do warn that the Spyre pads are not suited for offroad and they've been perfectly ok up to now. Replaced them with sintered pads.

I've taken the opportunity to fit the Rohloff hub to the rear wheel, but inevitably discovered I need just one part so the bike goes to the back of the shed until it arrives.

If only I had another bike to ride in the meantime. Oh, wait...