And today I did......
- Thread starter kaiser
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Up at Dunkeld and did the Bawbags route with a couple of mates. Definitely Soggy Bawbags.
Actual mud wasn't too bad for the most part but the ground was totally saturated and running down the main tracks. My mate Andy came off the verge into a puddle just round from the fishing lodge and disappeared up to his knee! Lucky not to fall off. Thankfully the cliffs path was a bit drier, and as fun as always.
Glad of my plus tyres, but time to find a more aggressive front for the winter.
Actual mud wasn't too bad for the most part but the ground was totally saturated and running down the main tracks. My mate Andy came off the verge into a puddle just round from the fishing lodge and disappeared up to his knee! Lucky not to fall off. Thankfully the cliffs path was a bit drier, and as fun as always.
Glad of my plus tyres, but time to find a more aggressive front for the winter.
First night ride of the season with my mates. I wanted to do offroad, but was out voted and did a country lanes loop instead.
Felt the best I have in months and came back with a string of Strava PRs.
Only issue is that my old Exposure head light is now pretty much useless on group rides, as everyone else's new lights are so bright that it can't be seen. To be fair, it's one of the original models and they are now on mk12, so it's done it time pretty well. Time to look for a replacement.
Felt the best I have in months and came back with a string of Strava PRs.
Only issue is that my old Exposure head light is now pretty much useless on group rides, as everyone else's new lights are so bright that it can't be seen. To be fair, it's one of the original models and they are now on mk12, so it's done it time pretty well. Time to look for a replacement.
highlandsflyer":6kxzd0os said:
I remember an "Arctic Survival" episode Bear Grills did, up in Northern Sweden.
He was crossing a frozen lake, carefully taking one step at a time and jabbing the ice with a broken tree branch...whilst in reality, the 4-ton snow-plough truck drives over that lake :facepalm:
Hawmaw
MacRetro Rider
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Remember this post from 22 August , probably not ... I'd forgotten too...
I got a text message from the owner this morning and I'm now the proud owner of a 1983 Nishiki Bushwacker . I'll get photos up
Hawmaw":meojfuvv said:Today I was collecting my daughter from Bellahouston sports centre and spotted what was clearly a 1980s mountainbike at the bike racks.
Further investigation established it was a Nishiki Bushwacker c1983 in original and good condition. I really like the look of it so I left a wee note for the owner asking if they wanted to sell itSo far they've not contacted me
I took a couple of photos but after the feck up with Pishibucket I don't know how to post them up.
It was exactly the same as this ...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=280175
Remember this post from 22 August , probably not ... I'd forgotten too...
I got a text message from the owner this morning and I'm now the proud owner of a 1983 Nishiki Bushwacker . I'll get photos up
epicyclo
Senior Retro Guru
Today I practised my bike walking technique and learned some things.
Probably good training for the 'Puffer.
It started as a nice ride on my 1x1. The idea was to ride to the 'Puffer track, do a lap and come back. Nothing difficult, just to get my legs back into singlespeed mode.
On the way was a nice wee bit of road - Jamie knows it well, we've taken his lovely Mercian down it a few times on a 'road' ride - but it was a trifle soft.
Then followed "shite alley" where the path goes past a byre usually ankle deep in you guessed it for 50 yards - and why I love mudguards.
A bit further on to the place of a strangely evolved form of humanity
I have always wanted to see what one of those 'elderly walking children on a bike' looks like, but they are extremely elusive.
But anyway, back to my bike walking...
I had got somewhat past the halfway point when I felt a jolt from the rear wheel. Rim strike, oops! Tyre had a slow leak. No problem for the well equipped cyclist with a frame bag and a saddlebag with tools, you would think. Including 2 pumps, spare tube, and 2 puncture repair outfits, so obviously ready for anything, including the apocalypse.
First problem. Tyre and wheel thick with ordure - where's my wee ziplock bag with latex gloves and bit of paper towel for one's own ordurous emergencies, wounds or the handling of greasy chains?
Nup, not in either bag. Ah, of course, last time I used the 1x1 for a substantial ride was the SSEC and I chucked everything out that was excess weight.
Damn, had to clean it off with some vegetation and bare hands, unpleasant job but necessary to get all the crud off from around the hub because of all the little nuts and bolts to be undone on a drumbrake singlespeed.
So that done, where's the wee spanner for the 8 and 10mm nuts? Ah yes, I remember now. So that I'd never forget it, a few months back I'd had the brainwave of putting it in the wee bag with the latex gloves etc which I always carry. Oops.
Ah well, no problem really. The obvious culprit was the Schraeder valve. Just before coming out I'd added some air and it had been difficult to inflate. The pressure had to get up to about 80psi before it would depress the valve. It felt like it was sticking, so I'd pulled it out, checked it and put it back in, but still had the same problem. However with the track pump I was able to get it up to 20psi with a bit of grunting. Maybe it had leaked.
Anyhow with an unremoveable wheel I figured I could take the valve out of the spare tube and swap it over. That's when I lost all the remaining air from the rear tyre which had been still rideable with care, but of course was now totally flat. Still no problem, until...
I tried to inflate it it with the pump attached to the bike.
It was a nice tiny wee carbonfibre thing that weighs a poofteenth of an ounce that I'd stuck on for the SSEC to replace the heavy old Giant pump I normally have there. That's when I remembered I'd intended to change the rear tube for a Presta for the SSEC and never got round to it. The bloody thing was Presta only.
Just as well I had a spare pump in the frame bag, eh?
Nice shiny Lezyne with double ended hose, so good for both, and I normally use it for my road bike. I spent about 10 minutes frantically pumping away like a teenage boy with his first 'adult' magazine but bugger all air was getting past the valve. Same hassle as the original valve, it was needing about 80 psi to budge it. In the end I got the tyre with just enough air in it to support the bikes weight.
And that's when I started my bike walking training. i didn't want to go back the way I'd come because that would mean walking through ankle deep delights.
Two and a half miles and several barbed wire fence hops later I was at the bike shop in Strathpeffer where I bought 2 new tubes with Presta valves.
The tyre hadn't gone down further, so obviously it was a slow leak. Curious as to how long it would stay up, I borrowed their track pump.
Suddenly there was no problem adding air and that's when I realised what the valve 'problem' was.
The Lezyne pumps (including my track pump) do not have the wee nipple to press down on the Schraeder valve.
And the tale ends with me taking the tyre to 30 psi, sprinting home on the road. The tyre did lose some air but got me there.
And the lesson. Check, don't assume.
Probably good training for the 'Puffer.
It started as a nice ride on my 1x1. The idea was to ride to the 'Puffer track, do a lap and come back. Nothing difficult, just to get my legs back into singlespeed mode.
On the way was a nice wee bit of road - Jamie knows it well, we've taken his lovely Mercian down it a few times on a 'road' ride - but it was a trifle soft.
Then followed "shite alley" where the path goes past a byre usually ankle deep in you guessed it for 50 yards - and why I love mudguards.
A bit further on to the place of a strangely evolved form of humanity
I have always wanted to see what one of those 'elderly walking children on a bike' looks like, but they are extremely elusive.
But anyway, back to my bike walking...
I had got somewhat past the halfway point when I felt a jolt from the rear wheel. Rim strike, oops! Tyre had a slow leak. No problem for the well equipped cyclist with a frame bag and a saddlebag with tools, you would think. Including 2 pumps, spare tube, and 2 puncture repair outfits, so obviously ready for anything, including the apocalypse.
First problem. Tyre and wheel thick with ordure - where's my wee ziplock bag with latex gloves and bit of paper towel for one's own ordurous emergencies, wounds or the handling of greasy chains?
Nup, not in either bag. Ah, of course, last time I used the 1x1 for a substantial ride was the SSEC and I chucked everything out that was excess weight.
Damn, had to clean it off with some vegetation and bare hands, unpleasant job but necessary to get all the crud off from around the hub because of all the little nuts and bolts to be undone on a drumbrake singlespeed.
So that done, where's the wee spanner for the 8 and 10mm nuts? Ah yes, I remember now. So that I'd never forget it, a few months back I'd had the brainwave of putting it in the wee bag with the latex gloves etc which I always carry. Oops.
Ah well, no problem really. The obvious culprit was the Schraeder valve. Just before coming out I'd added some air and it had been difficult to inflate. The pressure had to get up to about 80psi before it would depress the valve. It felt like it was sticking, so I'd pulled it out, checked it and put it back in, but still had the same problem. However with the track pump I was able to get it up to 20psi with a bit of grunting. Maybe it had leaked.
Anyhow with an unremoveable wheel I figured I could take the valve out of the spare tube and swap it over. That's when I lost all the remaining air from the rear tyre which had been still rideable with care, but of course was now totally flat. Still no problem, until...
I tried to inflate it it with the pump attached to the bike.
It was a nice tiny wee carbonfibre thing that weighs a poofteenth of an ounce that I'd stuck on for the SSEC to replace the heavy old Giant pump I normally have there. That's when I remembered I'd intended to change the rear tube for a Presta for the SSEC and never got round to it. The bloody thing was Presta only.
Just as well I had a spare pump in the frame bag, eh?
Nice shiny Lezyne with double ended hose, so good for both, and I normally use it for my road bike. I spent about 10 minutes frantically pumping away like a teenage boy with his first 'adult' magazine but bugger all air was getting past the valve. Same hassle as the original valve, it was needing about 80 psi to budge it. In the end I got the tyre with just enough air in it to support the bikes weight.
And that's when I started my bike walking training. i didn't want to go back the way I'd come because that would mean walking through ankle deep delights.
Two and a half miles and several barbed wire fence hops later I was at the bike shop in Strathpeffer where I bought 2 new tubes with Presta valves.
The tyre hadn't gone down further, so obviously it was a slow leak. Curious as to how long it would stay up, I borrowed their track pump.
Suddenly there was no problem adding air and that's when I realised what the valve 'problem' was.
The Lezyne pumps (including my track pump) do not have the wee nipple to press down on the Schraeder valve.
And the tale ends with me taking the tyre to 30 psi, sprinting home on the road. The tyre did lose some air but got me there.
And the lesson. Check, don't assume.
old_coyote_pedaller
MacRetro Rider
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Went for a ride up Benarty this afternoon, late afternoon actually by the time I got my arse in gear. Hung about waiting to bid on something on ebay then when that was done noticed the rear shock on the Marin Wolf Ridge wasn't holding air. Bollocks. Took it off, removed the angled swivelling connector for pressurising it as the connection seemed not as tight as it should be, seemed to hold the air OK till just over halfway round ride then skoosh, all gone. It's a Rockshox Monarch and losing air is a common fault even from new, feck.
Will rob the virtually new shock off my daughter's Marin till I can fix the Rockshox one.
Found another way through/round the mess of blown down trees in woods at Ballingry end of Benarty. Will need to get up there with my chainsaw, there's one tree blocking the old trail beyond the mess and just some branches on another downed tree that we can ride under. The first part of this trail is gone and another line will need cleared to get to point where it can join old bit of trail. Walkers are already using a "line of least resistance" so that's the only option. So some work involved.
The path that I found further down on Benarty rode OK today after I'd been up there on Thursday to clear the line for riding as opposed to walking. Put some flat boulders in wet ditch so it's ridable and dug a ridable line across a set of the muckle machine tracks that were deep and had water/mud in them. Somebody didnae like that I'd put a couple of wee turns in so they've removed the branches I put in to encourage riders to take a different line from the path.
There's still some twat riding a trail bike up there from Ballingry end, along top to Trig point then down the steps path. Looked fresh as in earlier today.
Went for a ride up Benarty this afternoon, late afternoon actually by the time I got my arse in gear. Hung about waiting to bid on something on ebay then when that was done noticed the rear shock on the Marin Wolf Ridge wasn't holding air. Bollocks. Took it off, removed the angled swivelling connector for pressurising it as the connection seemed not as tight as it should be, seemed to hold the air OK till just over halfway round ride then skoosh, all gone. It's a Rockshox Monarch and losing air is a common fault even from new, feck.
Will rob the virtually new shock off my daughter's Marin till I can fix the Rockshox one.
Found another way through/round the mess of blown down trees in woods at Ballingry end of Benarty. Will need to get up there with my chainsaw, there's one tree blocking the old trail beyond the mess and just some branches on another downed tree that we can ride under. The first part of this trail is gone and another line will need cleared to get to point where it can join old bit of trail. Walkers are already using a "line of least resistance" so that's the only option. So some work involved.
The path that I found further down on Benarty rode OK today after I'd been up there on Thursday to clear the line for riding as opposed to walking. Put some flat boulders in wet ditch so it's ridable and dug a ridable line across a set of the muckle machine tracks that were deep and had water/mud in them. Somebody didnae like that I'd put a couple of wee turns in so they've removed the branches I put in to encourage riders to take a different line from the path.
There's still some twat riding a trail bike up there from Ballingry end, along top to Trig point then down the steps path. Looked fresh as in earlier today.
old_coyote_pedaller
MacRetro Rider
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Rode Benarty today in the sunshine.
Yesterday afternoon I went up with a saw, an axe and a spade to clear the "line of least resistance" in woods at Ballingry end of hill mentioned in previous post. Cut and removed 1 tree blocking old trail and then dug out a new bit to connect with the line that walkers had been taking. This went under a fallen tree which I cut the branches off to ride under it. Cleared nearly all of the cut branches/crap from the tree-felling so rest of trail was rideable. When we rode the bit where new bit went under tree somebody else had been at it today and tree is gone. :mrgreen:
The walkers path I found elsewhere mentioned above that I had cleared from the top where it meets the forest road, plus put flat boulders in water-filled ditch, rode great as did the old bit of bermed DH trail I found that can be added in to make a nice longer trail.
Got that satisfied knackered feeling. And feeling a bit full, couple of cups of tea accompanied by a fried egg and a fried tattie scone on a well-fired roll. Braw.
Rode Benarty today in the sunshine.
Yesterday afternoon I went up with a saw, an axe and a spade to clear the "line of least resistance" in woods at Ballingry end of hill mentioned in previous post. Cut and removed 1 tree blocking old trail and then dug out a new bit to connect with the line that walkers had been taking. This went under a fallen tree which I cut the branches off to ride under it. Cleared nearly all of the cut branches/crap from the tree-felling so rest of trail was rideable. When we rode the bit where new bit went under tree somebody else had been at it today and tree is gone. :mrgreen:
The walkers path I found elsewhere mentioned above that I had cleared from the top where it meets the forest road, plus put flat boulders in water-filled ditch, rode great as did the old bit of bermed DH trail I found that can be added in to make a nice longer trail.
Got that satisfied knackered feeling. And feeling a bit full, couple of cups of tea accompanied by a fried egg and a fried tattie scone on a well-fired roll. Braw.
old_coyote_pedaller
MacRetro Rider
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Yer right there, neebs.
RobMac":pxchxalo said:
Yer right there, neebs.
