And today I did......
- Thread starter kaiser
- Start date
velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
I ranted here at length about how crap I felt the NHS were when I could not get my good lady, Lisa into hospital when she was extremely unwell. I have removed most of this rant as I know to many the NHS have heroic status at the moment, I did not want the get hit by lots of flak.
Lisa is soldiering on, she has no choice, I am very sad that things like this happen nowadays :-(
Lisa is soldiering on, she has no choice, I am very sad that things like this happen nowadays :-(
Last edited:
NHS has good and bad points mate a lot of the day to day has been bumped by Covid and a lot of people suffering as a result - its a job - they chose to do it and even though I have friends who work there I dont hero worship them
Anyway moving on, I've spent the last 5 months getting fit, Mrs B had a big Op at the start of Jan (planned jaw surgery) so I decided to help her recuperate and started doing gentle gym work (in the garage surrounded by retro bikes) I've been riding 2/3 times per week recently and despite the crap brakes on the Zaskar and the yo still needing repaired I keep the faith
Rode Inners XC last week for the first time in years with 2 guys on ebikes, beat them up and down but was dead by the end, also have been exploring Cademuir and GT a bit more, fun times!
Anyway moving on, I've spent the last 5 months getting fit, Mrs B had a big Op at the start of Jan (planned jaw surgery) so I decided to help her recuperate and started doing gentle gym work (in the garage surrounded by retro bikes) I've been riding 2/3 times per week recently and despite the crap brakes on the Zaskar and the yo still needing repaired I keep the faith
Rode Inners XC last week for the first time in years with 2 guys on ebikes, beat them up and down but was dead by the end, also have been exploring Cademuir and GT a bit more, fun times!
Decent - has a few short but techy tracks - dangermouse is epic as is Decade. Its not the tallest so quite quick to shuttle but you can put a couple hours in and barely hit the same trail twice
30 years since we started our race team as juniors, so I organised a reunion ride up the Sidlaws. Amazingly I hadn't put on the most weight or lost the most hair!!!! Did take the ebike though, much to the disgust of some, but good to get my own back by clearing off into the distance on the climbs like they used to do to me BITD! Not seen some of the guys in over a decade, so really good to catch up.
epicyclo
Senior Retro Guru
Jamie is such a kind lad. He realises I'm missing my dog, so he's decided to reunite us.
The other day we arranged to meet halfway between his place and mine, he was to ride down from Thurso and I'd ride north from Dingwall.
Thinking I was going well, I texted him from the top of the Struie to say where I was, only to get a reply that he was already at Bettyhill. Jamie is a fit bugger, but that was some motoring along. Especially as I regard the 30 miles from Jamie's place to Bettyhill as a bit tough with lots of climbs.
With him going at that speed it looked like we'd meet much further south than arranged.
Not wanting to expose my decrepitude by just cruising along until that happened I thought I'd better get my finger out so I could meet him at Altnaharra as originally proposed. I flogged my ageing body but didn't quite make Altnaharra. We met up about 5 miles north of Lairg. I'd only managed just under 50 miles so far against Jamie's 75.
Jamie took a look at my pitiful state and realised my rapidly fading body would be an encumbrance if I joined my dog in woof heaven right then. (He's got big panniers, but not that big.) We stopped for a big feed at Lairg and suitably fuelled headed back south back to my place.
Part of the problem was my own fault. I'd slapped together a bike the night before. I thought trying gears would be a good idea so put a Rohloff wheel on the bike. I don't know how gearies do it, the mental energy of trying to nut out the right time to change gear was beyond me. By the time we got to the Struie I had discovered that it was far more pleasant to walk than ride at walking speed, so what's the point of all those low gears? I did enjoy the opportunity to use the higher gears though.
We made it up the 800 feet of the Struie ok, I didn't have to walk more than a hundred yards or so, but I'll have to get fitter, I used to ride up that on my track bike.
I also relearned a lesson I'd learned years ago. Don't go for a long ride on a bike you've just tacked together. My saddle kept slipping down so I would end up pedalling like a clown and the handlebar position had to be adjusted several times to alleviate pain in my wrists.
Jamie, kind fellow that he is, was very tolerant of my pace.
It was only when I got home I realised he had actually been motoring along. He had got a lift to Bettyhill!
The real bummer was realising I hadn't quite managed a century at 98 miles all up.
So maybe it's not time to hang up the bike...
To celebrate I took my track bike for the next day's ride up the Lenaig (abt 500'). It' was no problem and a much nicer feeling than grinding uphill with a Rohloff.
Edit: it turns out my seat was nearly 50mm too low by the time I got home. I've ditched the nice shiny anodised seat clamp that blended so well with the bike's aesthetic, and replaced it with a sturdy but ugly Giant one.
The other day we arranged to meet halfway between his place and mine, he was to ride down from Thurso and I'd ride north from Dingwall.
Thinking I was going well, I texted him from the top of the Struie to say where I was, only to get a reply that he was already at Bettyhill. Jamie is a fit bugger, but that was some motoring along. Especially as I regard the 30 miles from Jamie's place to Bettyhill as a bit tough with lots of climbs.
With him going at that speed it looked like we'd meet much further south than arranged.
Not wanting to expose my decrepitude by just cruising along until that happened I thought I'd better get my finger out so I could meet him at Altnaharra as originally proposed. I flogged my ageing body but didn't quite make Altnaharra. We met up about 5 miles north of Lairg. I'd only managed just under 50 miles so far against Jamie's 75.
Jamie took a look at my pitiful state and realised my rapidly fading body would be an encumbrance if I joined my dog in woof heaven right then. (He's got big panniers, but not that big.) We stopped for a big feed at Lairg and suitably fuelled headed back south back to my place.
Part of the problem was my own fault. I'd slapped together a bike the night before. I thought trying gears would be a good idea so put a Rohloff wheel on the bike. I don't know how gearies do it, the mental energy of trying to nut out the right time to change gear was beyond me. By the time we got to the Struie I had discovered that it was far more pleasant to walk than ride at walking speed, so what's the point of all those low gears? I did enjoy the opportunity to use the higher gears though.
We made it up the 800 feet of the Struie ok, I didn't have to walk more than a hundred yards or so, but I'll have to get fitter, I used to ride up that on my track bike.
I also relearned a lesson I'd learned years ago. Don't go for a long ride on a bike you've just tacked together. My saddle kept slipping down so I would end up pedalling like a clown and the handlebar position had to be adjusted several times to alleviate pain in my wrists.
Jamie, kind fellow that he is, was very tolerant of my pace.
It was only when I got home I realised he had actually been motoring along. He had got a lift to Bettyhill!
The real bummer was realising I hadn't quite managed a century at 98 miles all up.
So maybe it's not time to hang up the bike...
To celebrate I took my track bike for the next day's ride up the Lenaig (abt 500'). It' was no problem and a much nicer feeling than grinding uphill with a Rohloff.
Edit: it turns out my seat was nearly 50mm too low by the time I got home. I've ditched the nice shiny anodised seat clamp that blended so well with the bike's aesthetic, and replaced it with a sturdy but ugly Giant one.
Last edited:
Is that a guided ride Clubby?
I'm on target to do the lowest mileage of any year so far! Busted ribs and then wrist have limited riding the last few months, but bizarrely I find I generally do less miles in the summer, but more in the depths of winter!
I'm on target to do the lowest mileage of any year so far! Busted ribs and then wrist have limited riding the last few months, but bizarrely I find I generally do less miles in the summer, but more in the depths of winter!
