[VecchioJo]

well October was, um, a
well October was, um, a struggle

a cold at the start of the month well and truly stuck on the lungs for a few weeks and i only managed a couple of quick rides in the last week to see if i’d die

another last day panic, out into the wind, intermittent rain and leafy greasy corners i was pretty much cooked at 50 miles but limped on, it’s a good job everyone i know was at work otherwise i’d have called them up to give me a lift home, and also lucky my route wasn’t close to any train stations. at about 70 miles i had to stop at the bottom of what you’d struggle to call a climb, which is something i haven’t done since i was about 12, where i had to give myself a stern talking to.

at 90 miles my body remembered it was a cyclist, suddenly woke up and we romped home, laughing. weird.

the same route as September, but 50 minutes slower, phoo.

[VecchioJo]

September done
Autumn Equinox
September done

Autumn Equinox and the last crisp sunny day before the rains, headed north into the Surrey Hills where the Rapha count was up 72.5%

[VecchioJo]

some manufacturers measure
some manufacturers measure their bars centre-to-centre, some outside edge to outside edge, which is pointlessly confusing, but it will usually say

probably best just to go the next width up if you feel cramped rather than go as big as possible

[VecchioJo]

“14 August 2010”
welcome to
“14 August 2010”

welcome to the internetz
🙂

[VecchioJo]

August done – 103 quite lumpy
August done – 103 quite lumpy miles [url=http://www.bradleywigginsfoundation.org/site/]with Brad[/url]

[VecchioJo]

notfastenough wrote:And

notfastenough wrote:

And having used this approach of mixing various chemicals, do you still have a bike? Do you even have eyebrows?

yes, and i now have a large pink rabbit, with yellow spots, that only i can see

[VecchioJo]

oh, and lighter fluid can
oh, and lighter fluid can work as well, everyone has lighter fluid in the house, right?
:/

i mostly end up using a mix of whatever solvents are available under the kitchen sink

[VecchioJo]

pick away at the lumpy chunks
pick away at the lumpy chunks with your fingernail and then have a go at the rest with nail varnish remover, the electrical tape will be okay

[VecchioJo]

the same as Gavin, er, the
the same as Gavin, er, the last one, up to Box Hill and back the pretty way (Steyning Bostal after 90 miles, yeah, ok) and a detour to the chip shop

grand day out

[VecchioJo]

crossing gears, small
crossing gears, small ring/small cog or large ring/large cog is generally considered ‘bad form’ and aside from rubbing can cause the rear mech to be too slack or (sometimes dangerously) too stretched, switching to the large ring up front and somewhere in the middle of the gears at the back will produce a similar gear to the one you’re having issues with, without issues

[VecchioJo]

i use any old (white)
i use any old (white) bar-tape on my CX bike and either put gel inserts or a few bits of old bar-tape cut-offs under the tape, placed in the elbow of the drops and on the tops just to provide a bit of extra padding where it’s needed

may be an option if you’ve having vanity issues

[VecchioJo]

25.4 is a mountainbike bar
25.4 is a mountainbike bar size so you might find it difficult to rind a road bar (25.8/26.0) to fit exactly (although some bodging can be done)

On-One do the Midge bar with a 25.4 clamp, shallow drop and flared

edit – it’s also an old quill stem clamp size as well innit, Nitto do some drop bars with a 25.4 clamp

[VecchioJo]

both the Castelli and Mavic
both the Castelli and Mavic jackets are similarly ‘racer’ cut to the Gore, although not quite as extreme, designed to be snug and not flappy in the wind which you might find tricky fitting over winter gear, not tried the Altura but as a brand they tend to be more generously cut

have a look at Montane, they do a good range of lightweight pocketable wind/waterproofs that will fit over lots of clothes

[VecchioJo]

the cut on some Gore jackets
the cut on some Gore jackets can be very ‘racer’ tight so if you’re carrying a few extra pounds or even too much stuff in your rear pockets they can be tricky to zip-up

that jacket’s really more water-resistant than waterproof and designed more of a breathable windproof, although it will keep drizzle off for a couple of hours, and it does pack down small and light

[VecchioJo]

100.74 off-road miles along
100.74 off-road miles along the South Downs Way

would have done the extra couple of miles to complete the whole SDW but it was dark and the clock showed 100.00 about half a mile from where the car was parked just down the hill

[Author]

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