Today's Ride
- Thread starter FairfaxPat
- Start date
Betsy
Old School Grand Master
Pt1 Derwent
Burning off some xmas calories
Millpond flat.. it's hard to see where the water ends
iphone4 pano.. this is where The Dambusters practiced their run
..around t'other side
Shooting Lodge where one could arrange straightforward... straight forward shooting weekends!?
Check the sign on the gate
In my quest for better coffee, i got a Velo Canteen for xmas.. it fits in your bottle cage
...
Burning off some xmas calories
Millpond flat.. it's hard to see where the water ends
iphone4 pano.. this is where The Dambusters practiced their run
..around t'other side
Shooting Lodge where one could arrange straightforward... straight forward shooting weekends!?
Check the sign on the gate
In my quest for better coffee, i got a Velo Canteen for xmas.. it fits in your bottle cage
...
bon appetit ........
Iwasgoodonce
Old School Grand Master
Straight to the Aftermath. Christmas Eve saw a rare idea arrive in my head. I haven’t really enjoyed mountain biking for a long while. Partially lack of fitness combined with a competitive streak and partially (I hate to say it) the hardware I think.
A mountain bike ride was the plan and I could pay homage to Turkey Twizzlers Past.
Disgracefully, I still haven’t finished fettling the stupid cantilevers on the pink Saracen. How about my owned by me from new 1990 Kili Flier Comp? The emergency (and HUGE) 2.2 Maxxis tyre I had to buy mid ride last time might fit between the forks? I found a Wild Slipper that wasn’t too perished in the loft and (finally) two suitably fat inner tubes. 1.3 Kojacs off and off-road rubber back on. It has been a number of years since this bike was ready for the rough stuff.
Unfortunately, Cannock was draped in a very thick fog so none of my photos show anything much. Here is proof that it got dirty:
As a result mainly of the brakes I think, I actually enjoyed it. Two laps of a diverted Follow the Dog plus a bit of off piste stuff to get back to the (White House) car park.
The above is nicer than a Flexstem. Profile bars purchased at the Worlds in Plymouth so long ago!
DX is a downgrade from the original XT but still very sexy! It was a lot drier than last year when @bontybonty and I braved the conditions and falling trees around the Monkey Trail.
Cleaned now and I’m wondering if I really need to put the slicks back on immediately? Happy new year to all.
A mountain bike ride was the plan and I could pay homage to Turkey Twizzlers Past.
Disgracefully, I still haven’t finished fettling the stupid cantilevers on the pink Saracen. How about my owned by me from new 1990 Kili Flier Comp? The emergency (and HUGE) 2.2 Maxxis tyre I had to buy mid ride last time might fit between the forks? I found a Wild Slipper that wasn’t too perished in the loft and (finally) two suitably fat inner tubes. 1.3 Kojacs off and off-road rubber back on. It has been a number of years since this bike was ready for the rough stuff.
Unfortunately, Cannock was draped in a very thick fog so none of my photos show anything much. Here is proof that it got dirty:
As a result mainly of the brakes I think, I actually enjoyed it. Two laps of a diverted Follow the Dog plus a bit of off piste stuff to get back to the (White House) car park.
The above is nicer than a Flexstem. Profile bars purchased at the Worlds in Plymouth so long ago!
DX is a downgrade from the original XT but still very sexy! It was a lot drier than last year when @bontybonty and I braved the conditions and falling trees around the Monkey Trail.
Cleaned now and I’m wondering if I really need to put the slicks back on immediately? Happy new year to all.
doctor-bond
Feature Bike
It’s mostly been shopping trips recently, so was nice to get out in the few of hours of daylight and have a bit of a longer stretch on the Randonneur. Mind you, I misjudged the cold and had a ticklish incident when the old gentleman’s area went dangerously frosty 
Luckily, I had an emergency scrim in the bag and trousered it to make a highly effective woolly cod piece. 
Toes were also numb - really need to up my winter game….
Luckily, I had an emergency scrim in the bag and trousered it to make a highly effective woolly cod piece. Toes were also numb - really need to up my winter game….
moonlite
Kona Fan
Last ride of the year in all likelihood as tomorrow we're planning to be off to Sydney for New Year's Eve / Day, so wanted to make it a good one. Even so, didn't get going until midday -- it was bright and dry, 23C with wind threatening to ramp up in the afternoon. Went off on the Kona Jake to see if the newly-mended rear wheel and general fettling would reveal its true qualities.
All was good climbing out of town on the tarmac and held up well through rolling countryside to the first gravel section. This has recently been graded, smoothing over the stones and corrugations, so it was a pleasure to race over a few kms' fast gravel -- but over the highest point we ran into the first of the breeze coming off the coast, right into our teeth. Stopped for a quick chat to a bloke who had pulled his ute over and was striding purposefully to where the dirt rejoins the highway. He declined my offer of help and I watched as he prodded his watch and set off up the road at a jog . . . miles from anywhere! I suspect a Strava segment bagger.
Another undulating gravel section, much rougher than the previous, took me through a nicely kept farming community and then onto a road which was barricaded with large 'road closed' signs -- the old wooden bridge further down is being replaced with concrete. Took the road anyway, enjoying the wind now at my back, until we reached the bridge works. Some consternation as the creek at this point is a good 10m wide and clearly pretty deep. Had to climb a fence and drag the bike over, giving myself a picturesque graze on the forearm in doing so.
Carried the bike a way downstream through a paddock until some stepping stones appeared and was then able to scramble up the other side to rejoin the road. It's great pedalling along a closed road, knowing you have it all to yourself -- we even surprised a Kestrel sitting on a fencepost and tucking into a field mouse.
Just a little more climbing and then it was all downhill back into town, going nicely with hardly any traffic. 40km, 450m climbing, no bike issues -- a nice close to a year which I started flat on my back with a leg in plaster and continued with seven weeks' inactivity with lower back trouble!
Happy new year to all you retro wronguns!
All was good climbing out of town on the tarmac and held up well through rolling countryside to the first gravel section. This has recently been graded, smoothing over the stones and corrugations, so it was a pleasure to race over a few kms' fast gravel -- but over the highest point we ran into the first of the breeze coming off the coast, right into our teeth. Stopped for a quick chat to a bloke who had pulled his ute over and was striding purposefully to where the dirt rejoins the highway. He declined my offer of help and I watched as he prodded his watch and set off up the road at a jog . . . miles from anywhere! I suspect a Strava segment bagger.
Another undulating gravel section, much rougher than the previous, took me through a nicely kept farming community and then onto a road which was barricaded with large 'road closed' signs -- the old wooden bridge further down is being replaced with concrete. Took the road anyway, enjoying the wind now at my back, until we reached the bridge works. Some consternation as the creek at this point is a good 10m wide and clearly pretty deep. Had to climb a fence and drag the bike over, giving myself a picturesque graze on the forearm in doing so.
Carried the bike a way downstream through a paddock until some stepping stones appeared and was then able to scramble up the other side to rejoin the road. It's great pedalling along a closed road, knowing you have it all to yourself -- we even surprised a Kestrel sitting on a fencepost and tucking into a field mouse.
Just a little more climbing and then it was all downhill back into town, going nicely with hardly any traffic. 40km, 450m climbing, no bike issues -- a nice close to a year which I started flat on my back with a leg in plaster and continued with seven weeks' inactivity with lower back trouble!
Happy new year to all you retro wronguns!
Last edited:
bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
day out with Minty, up and over the Bwlch ar y Fan, under Cribyn, brecon beacons - it was a poor forecast but turned out well worth the gamble.
Joined by the P7, old friends.
