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Personally, I’d be livid. A
Personally, I’d be livid. A ‘read the manual’ sticker does not have a permanent place on a bike. Regardless, the paint should adhere more strongly to the frame than a sticker should bond to paint. Next time though, heat stickers gently with a hair drier before removal – those grim stickers on wheels, for example. Wheels are black or silver, not blotchy.
The DVLA has a twitch about
The DVLA has a twitch about number plates being personal data, despite them being available to anyone who cares to look. Perhaps that has spread to the police.
The reason you provided the number was because you thought an offence had been committed. Saying whether or not they agree with you does not seem to conflict with the purpose for which you provided the data, or indeed the purpose for which the motorist displayed their number plate in the first place, and seems to be wholy compatible with the provisions of the Data Protection wotsits. If there is an identifiable person in the video that might change things a bit.
Of course, if they have prosecuted the person, that is a matter of public record and you have a right to know
Share the pain. Vary the
Share the pain. Vary the muscles that you use. Practice ‘pedalling circles not pistons’. Not on a hill, pedal with just one foot to get the hang of a circular stroke. Then change to the other foot. Then both together. When you’re going up the hill give tiring muscles a break by alternating pushing down with this circular stroke. Vary your seating position too, sitting up more makes it easier to engage the muscles in your backside. When you get out of the saddle, really work on the circular motion and keep your knees in line – don’t pedal like a cowboy, keep the ‘stair climber’ going. If it’s so steep that your back wheel is slipping when you’re standing, turn your hands round so that you’ve got your bars in an underhand rather than an overhand grasp, which will push your weight back a bit – or sit down and get your weight on the back wheel. If you’re getting serious, do laps of a moderate 8 to 10 minute hill, once standing, once seated – and repeat. That way, when it comes to standing, you know you’ve got it covered.
I was riding home from London
I was riding home from London last winter – it had been raining a lot and parts of the road were flooded. A motorcyclist in full waterproofs thought it would be a great idea to blast though a big deep puddle and soak a long line of CS7 cyclists.
In case you haven’t already worked this out, he wasn’t too bright. He had to stop 100 yards up the road at some traffic lights and quickly found himself surrounded by a number of very, very pissed off cyclists who explained his error to him robustly. I’d have sent the video to the Met, except that the ‘2 minutes’ footage before and after the incident’ would perhaps have raised a few questions. Justice served, without delay.
IMHO it’s harder to see a
IMHO it’s harder to see a cyclist in lit areas than it is in pitch black, unless that cyclist has no lights. I have two Exposire Sirius on the front – flashing, but with a solid ‘backlight’ in town, and then one or both of them on fixed beam out of town – if I’m concerned about a car or a junction I’ll switch one to flashing to avoid the ‘car in the distance’ illusion. Two flashing lights on the back (one of which is a camera too) and one on my helmet. All bright and with different flashing patterns. Reflective bands on right wrist and right ankle.
During the day, a day bright flashing light front and rear, especially on bright sunny days, because when you’re in the shade under some trees and the cars are in bright sunlight, you are invisible without a light.
Assos have got £20 off if you
Assos have got £20 off if you fill in their questionnaire. It only takes a few minutes but does contain some of the most surreal questions that I have ever been asked. I’m not even going to try to explain, because it would make me look like a maniac.
Anyway – Assos for me – just bought a new pair to replace some perfectly good Castelli ones, because I simply am not that shape (whatever that is – hunch back midget with fat knees and no waist, I think). 6 feet tall, 11st 7 lb, 32 waist and Assos medium fits me perfectly. Parts of me are Castelli XL, but other parts are not
The clue is in the name – it
The clue is in the name – it’s a saddle, not a seat. If you’re sittting in the same position without moving then all the pressure is going to be taken by the same points in your backside and the nerves are going to start to tell you that you need to move. Alternatively, you need a seat that spreads the load and allows you to sit in the same position for longer. It might look like this:
https://www.123rf.com/photo_23309251_red-round-vintage-tractor-seat.html
So have you actually taken
So have you actually taken the seat post out, cleaned it all and re-positioned it? My money is still on that
Seat post – it’s nearly
Seat post – it’s nearly always the seat post if it’s not an obvious candidate. Especially as it happens when you’re seated, although this is not a necessary condition for a creaking seat post. Take it out, clean both it and the tube and replace.
One of the Stolen Goat
One of the Stolen Goat bodyline long sleeve jerseys. Proper summer weight, really well made and durable. There’s about half a dozen long sleeve styles
Not the Orkaan ones, though. They’re a bit thicker – spring weight really, or when its raining a bit. Orkaan are not windproof which makes them fine for warmer damp rides – I overheat in anything windproof.
Or ES600 which are single
Or ES600 which are single sided. I had 520/540 on my commuter and fixie for years and put ES600 on when one pair wore out. So much kinder on your feet. I have road bikes with SPD-SL and the larger platform, but hadn’t really noticed the difference on my commuter until I changed – I suppose that’s just the way things were and assumed that it was the knackered softer shoes that accounted for the greater pressure in one spot. No going back to mountain bike pedals on a road bike now.
The single sided thing doesn’t take long to get used to. Possibly simpler to get double-sided for a fixie, but that rather depends on how many traffic lights there are on your commute
Doesn’t the answer depend on
Doesn’t the answer depend on whether or not the bike is on rollers or not?
1. My commute – no respecter
1. My commute – no respecter of a delicate constitution.
2. One of those shaky coats – the only one that I can really wear without turning into a complete sweaty mess (just a partial one – I overheat if no breeze at all gets to my arms.
3. A tiny gilet – see above.
4. But for most averagely drizzly, cold conditions (i.e not bouncing off the pavements) Stolen Goat Orkaan – puts Castelli Gabba/Perfetto and Sportful no rain in their place (at the bottom of the clothing pile). I was out in the rain last week wearing a Stolen Goat Orkaan jersey, a non-waterproof gilet and Sportful No Rain armwarmers- dry and warm upper half, soaking arms.
5. Neoprene overshoes and de feet woolie boolie socks. If it’s raining hard, waterproof socks (Sealskinz or Altura) with a few wraps of masking tape around the top to stop them filling with water from the top (I’m not hard enough for gaffer tape).
6. Neoprene gloves for rain. Decathlon triban 900 for cold.
7. It’s never as bad as you think once you’re going, so long as you’re warm and wet
BBB Heavy duty overshoes –
BBB Heavy duty overshoes – size 43-44 for size 45 shoes and a snug fit
BBB heavy duty overshoes for
BBB heavy duty overshoes for me. Plus a tube of McNett Seamgrip. Fit the overshoes to your shoes and cover the wear points with Seamgrip – lasts for ages. Patch any holes subsequently as necessary, with a few stitches to hold it togther initially if needed. Takes 24 hours to cure properly, but overnight next to the boiler is close enough usually. Reinforce them with Seamgrip before you wear them. My first pair did several winters of daily commuting (I commute into London, so loads of traffic lights and putting my left foot down). They were the fluo green ones, which was probably a mistake as they soon looked minging. Black hides the grime a lot better.
The sizing is off though – I haven’t got mine with me so I can’t check which way. If I remember this evening…..
Tredz or Wiggle
After all the rain this month I now have the answer to dry feet – sealskins/altura waterproof socks with masking tape to seal the top, and then a pair of these overshoes. Gaffer tape seems like overkill and probably a bad day out when it comes to removal……..
