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I am far too un-active.. its pissing me off. So once again, chocolate banned (although there was a big slice of choc cake today.. stupid me..).

need to loose a load and build fitness again, so have plans for the Gym before work.. need to get membership sorted, but with finances tight £40 a month (or there abouts) is a bit of an issue. Still..

Thankfully Andy popped over yesterday and managed to persuade me out on my bike again today. He used the trick of turning up on his bike and pointing at the various bits.. worked a charm Glorious day so off we went. Headed West which was new for me, and to Liverpool airport. Stopping at the bottom of the runway to watch planes coming in and others take off. Helicopters are just weird, as they have to follow the runway and taxi ways.. funny to watch.

Snagged me a video of a Jet landing too, used phone so not amazing but still :

I will stick the few snaps I took up on the gallery.. it could do with something new too I think.

Overall 22 miles, which isn’t too bad for the 1st run in about 12 months. Absolutely shattered and my legs and arse are sore, but so glad I did it. Thanks for dragging me out Andy.

Now I just need to keep at it and get the old vibe back

Been too long, much too long.. So I finally got my arse in my Lycra (there’s a whole bunch of people reaching for the mind bleach right there ) and got on me bike.. well 1st I had to change the tyres.. and blow an inertube.. to be fair it probably took one look at my bulky mass of lard and topped itself. Thankfully spares were on hand.

Decided to not do something too stupid like my old hill climb/stamina route, but something nice and flatish with a goal. So along the TPT I went, plus a few extra hills do to some bridge work :/

Planned destination, the Rope and Anchor pub for a nice cold coke, maybe a salad or summink. Alas 10 slow (so very very slow) and effort filled miles later, and the damn thing was boarded up, so I sat in a planter and munched an energy bar I had in me bag whilst pondering my GPS figures. Back off home slower still, damn it was hard work.

so 20 miles and 2177 calories (about) burnt. Arse sore, and confirmed ones self unfit lardy bastard. Hopefully get more bike time as time goes on and right a few wrongs.

The Manchester to Blackpool ride is tomorrow, so it’s the test I don’t think I have done anywhere near enough training for it, and wouldn’t be suprised if I end up calling Diane to come and collect me part way, but I plan to treat it as 4 15 ish mile rides and see how I do. Going to go at my pace and enjoy it as much as I can.

So yesterday I preped the bike, road tires on etc. However, and thankfully, I did it yesterday. Seems the one of my 1.5 innertubes had the start of a split in it, no worries thinks me and dives off for my nifty Park Tools sticky patches, patting myself for my prehole spotting skills. Upon collection of the patches I find they have been soaked and now are useless.. ARSES, so in the bin they go. So out comes the spare innertube, who’s box had disintegrated completely in the rain.. guess it isn’t as waterproof a bag as I thought silly Graeme. So tyres on and shopping list made.

Fortunate I found out my patches were shafted now and not part way to Blackpool! So I popped off to the various LBSes in Warrington today with Colin for a mooch and some toy action. Snagged myself a swanky new CamelBak (now with storage!), and even managed to wangle a 10% discount of the marked price as it was last years styling , 4 energy chew bars, a replacement spare innertube. Not a bad score I thought. Off to Robbin Rons we went for giggles as the under the arches LBS didn’t have the patches I wanted. Robin’ Rons did, yay! £2.50 so pretty reasonable I think did chuckle at the waterproofs they had there, £90 and I am sure it’s the one that has been advertised at CRC for £30 ish holding upto his name as usual. Did get a look at the Giant “Three Point 0″ bike.. it’s an adult sized “Cruiser”, full reclined riding position, cranks so far forward that there is actually a 1:1 gear in the middle of the bike with a 2nd chain to the rear wheel!, no suspension, big fat tyres, and a REAR disc brake !? front is Rim.. it just looked awesome (in a comedy way).

Finaly off to Cycle Surgery for a mooch in there as Colin was after some clobber for preventing excessive external surface hydration Whilst he went to look at dull bland, colourless jackets (Sarcasm?) I played with the 07 Reflex they had on show, now with LCR shock.. I did say ‘OOooooOOOOoo’ and fiddled, so I should be getting a call from them to see if Scott say I can buy just the shock and gubbery and how much. I do like the styling on the 07 frame, but the paintjob is a bit gash.

Now I am just relaxing and prepping the MiniDisc player for some epic riding tunes thanks to iTunes (I don’t think my iPods battery has it in it to go solo for 6 hours and I can at least swap the battery on the MiniDisc). Also going to throw together some maps and a check list for tomorrow.

Wish me luck

Tried out the virtual partner feature of the GPS today, not too sure if I was really that much quicker, plus I think I knocked the start/stop button near the start and gave me an advantage over my virtual self. If it is accurate I got home 0.8 of a mile ahead of my previous wet self

This could also be because of the stop for the swing bridge.

Tomorrow (weather permitting) I should be attempting the hedges, an MOT, and get the road tyres on the bike and see if I can do 2 laps. Think I will only hit the start button when I get to the notional lap point of the ride.

Is one way of summing up my ride today. The weather has been crap for the last few weeks, so I have not felt particularly inclined to go out and train.. more fool me. The big ride looms and as usual I have left things a bit last minute So today despite the drizzle I decided to go out anyway, doning nothing more than my new Gill shorts and my Foska Colmans Jersey I set off. Of course weather in the UK has a sense of humour, so the rain became progressivley worse, at some points I felt like I was drowning as wind was stealing my breath and my nose was full of water, I couldn’t see as my glasses were covered in rain drops and had misted up.

Thankfuly I too have a sick sense of humor and continued fighting the urge to turn back. Despite having little in the way of clothing and being soaked to the bone, I was actually quite comfortable, the rain kept me refreshed throughout the ride and the odd looks gave me a giggle. I even made it round my hill route which has been proving annoyingly difficult without stopping! so it went quite well. I will rest up Sunday (do a spot of gardening ) and then Monday I am going to attempt the route twice (so 2 laps of the obvious loop). The Gill shorts certainly are the win, they erm, ‘held’ me in place throughout the ride, and well the Foska top is just ace .

Here is the Bikley route for your purusal:

Right, time to try this GPS out properly, last attempt was called off on account of rain shall we say well today is Dads day, I am a dad, so I get to do what I want.. so nice lie in.. followed by dragging my tubby bum off on me bike down the TPT. Texted Colin and he was up for it also, so I set off met him at his place and off we toddled.

GPS was a bit random I found, it’s accuracy was less than when there was bad weathe! varied the whole ride from 20ft to 90+ft!! this can be seen on the resultant route log, as the same path ridden has obvious devations through houses etc.

anyway, after a bit of trimming of private locations (my house for example), I have uploaded the route to bikley.. and for your purusal:

20 miles, so it’s a start, need to do more.. MUCH more.. times ticking..

Only 4 weeks until this years Manchester to Blackpool ride for Christies.. that came around far too quickly, and I have done nothing bike related. So.. time to start training… I think in my current state I have NO chance of doing it as I was shattered (and still am) from my ride yesterday.

I decided best to build my stamina and get the ole legs used to the cycling by crusing the TPT a wee bit. So did the full TPT route from my house to the pub (which as Pie said, is under new management and not as nice in it’s service ).. but it was a 12ish mile ride out. The ride back I felt my legs going from under me, no energy bars on me (soooo out of practice) but luckily near to a shop in a fairly nice area.. I put the bike out of site and ran round the shop for some rapid food purchasing and headed out to consume my quarry.. bike still there and a couple of nice ladies for me to move out of the way of for too

So overall I managed 20+ miles.. in 1 hour 50.. so average speed of about 11.3 MPH! need to improve that or it will take me 6 hours of riding to get to blackpool (and I know that isn’t flat). top speed was 18MPH for the initial ride from my house up my lane. Just couldn’t keep it up.

Plan now is a ride every other day, and I have to stick to it too. GPS should hopefully be waiting for me at work on Tuesday so I can start to monitor my performance. If I only have a short amount of time I will do my hill climb training route as it’s only an hour and at the moe shatters me out.

Hill Climb route:

OK, had a crappy weekend, I have sat on my fat lazy arse being captain Apathy.. BAH!

Today I dragged myself off for a much needed ride up round walton. This was the 1st ride since the shock work. Must say WOW! feels like a sexy slinky thing now, super smooth action on the rear suspension. The lockout makes it hard and solid too again. GREAT!

Rode all the way up the climbs locked out (slight damping on the front), then downhill, fully unlocked.. and mmmm like riding on a cloud, the bike felt like it was gliding at times, small bumps and jolts were sucked up beatifully. Top marks to TF Tuned Shox. Tempted to send my forks in for a service, see what they can do with them

Also had a play with Bikely and added my route to that. Seems like a nice free resource originally linked to me by Mr Colin. Shall have to try using it more as I build my own route collection.

Shock is back on the bike and looks happy. Alas due to timing I didn’t get to take her out for a spin, (traffic was silly round Warrington centre, so would need to leave it until about 7pm for sanity which then starts to impose time restrictions due to the planned Cinema going tonight with Pie.)

So far tho, I am singing the praises of TF Tuned Shox, their service was spot on. Was given the booking date of when the shock would be done (at the latest), they were even a little unsure on being able to service it. The day came and I got a call to take payment and let me know it was on it’s way. I asked a question about alternative shocks for my bike, the lady didn’t know and said I would need to speak to one of their techs, I made a mental note to ring them at some future point.

Parcel arrived today, shock repackaged in the box and bubble wrap I sent it in. The Invoice had written by hand in pencil a nice note from the lady I spoke to who had gone and asked for me (alas there are no alternatives). On the back of the invoice is a detailed description of tests done, maintenance, condition of shock, faults found (none) and work carried out. Superbe.

Shock is even setup for my weight. Now I just need to get out and ride to see if it really is OK. Tomorrow I think will be my 1st test.

Shock was paid for and posted yesterday, £65 including postage, and should apparently arrive today before 3pm..

All excided.. I may get to go out and play tonight before going the flix with Mr Pie. Which reminds me of something else I need to sort …

YAY! I think I have found a place to send my borken shock for a good fixing.. They even do next day (assuming they have a slot available. I am just waiting till after 9am to give them a call and get some more details from them before I assault my poorly gurl and whip her sussies off… ooer.

Anyone else interested, suspension repair (recommended by Scott themselves) can be obtained in the UK from TF Tuned Shox I’ll report back on their ‘mad skillz’ when I know myself.

Update

Despite never having seen my model of shock, they are going to have a look for me. Guranteed to be done by next Tuesday, which is a nice touch, lets hope they can fix it. Seemed like a nice friendly bunch.

Poor lass isn’t well

Rear shock needs maintenance stat! I do believe I have a dead seal on the negative chamber as when I came to check levels before a jaunt round my hill climb route with Simon and Pie there was no pressure (less than 60PSI anyway as thats as low as the shock pump will go) in it, but the + still held the correct 170PSI. Pumping it up it seemed happy, but part way round the fault was apparent.

It is overdue a service anyway, so I guess I need to sort that out. Not going to be riding the bike till it’s fixed as I don’t want to risk damaging the shock or the linkage for it. Ah well.. my bad.. Had a good ride today too, faster than I thought I would be, but being dense I didn’t reset the ole trip computer. Was fun, will have to try and get a few circuits of it in post work.

Bit late this entry, popped off round Lady Bower on Sunday morning with Simon, Pie and Slick. Nice early start in the carpark for 9:30 am, Mr Slick already waiting. Quick unload and the usual bike tweakery and testing, new handlebars perfectly lined up (impressed myself), much more comfortable with the 10mm shorter stem and the increased rise and sweep.

Also air in the tyres made a big diff and much fun was had ‘cheating’ at bunny hops (gotta love clipless pedals ).

When we started the ride there was no wind, alas that soon changed and has us pedaling to get down hills! bloody annoying gusty crap. Halfway point proved a little more painful and the cause of the title as muggins here ended up nearly coreing himself on the open end of his new handlebars, thanks to a sudden gust of wind, bad gear choice and bad placed rock, I went over, didn’t manage to unclip and landed on the open end of my handlebar with me (substantial) gut.. I now have a very painful stomach and a round graze/bruse on my gut. VERY lucky to not end up dead or in hostiple.

The pain was partially reduced by the ample chested lovely young lady rinding up the bumps with a nice low cut top on.. lovely

Ride itself took 2 hours overall, had to push up a couple of the silly hills and, well, after I cored myself Overall was good, lots of nice ’scenery’ new bars worked well.. might have to replumb my rear brake hose. Alas seems my rear shock may have given up the ghost in it’s lockout ability, suspect it may be wanting a service yay more hassle..

Fitted my new bar and stem. The one I went for were the WTB TXC range and nice and light and slinky they are too.. I got a shorter stem 80mm over the 90mm fitted and the bars have 9deg of sweep on them and a fair bit more elevation, so that should hopefully remove or reduce my back pains, and increase the ride comfort considerably.

Down side so far is that I have left the bar at it’s full uncut length, which means my rear brake hose is a little taught when making sharp left turns.. so either a rethink on hoses, bar cutting or new hose for the rear :/ Also the bar is thinner walled than the scott original, so I need new endplugs too. Might visit an LBS if I have time tomorrow morning and see if I can scare a set up.

Also sorted my tyre pressure (or lack off) with the track pump I snagged.. 20PSI!!! no wonder it was hard work! See how it goes on Sunday now.

Yesterday saw me and Pie off to Derwent. Thecko was scheduled to attend but lucky for Pie he was chucking his ring and bailed

Lucky for Pie ? well I was able to give Pie a lift… on the way there Pie gave me a few confused glances and asked if I had found a new way there. Seems he confused Derwent with Delamere… which would have been bad if he had driven himself

Anywho.. got there early ish, very lucky in our timing, as we parked at the end of an empty bay, not 5 minutes later the rest of the bay was full of cars. Spent a lot of time messing about with the helmet cam I have obtained (Thanks Mr Andrew) and eventually we set off. Wind was in full force again.. so it was a hard slog round.. Just after halfway round we met Andrew and Danby coming the otherway and stopped for a gas for a wee while.. Camera on and off back to the carpark, stopping to give aid to the family out on bikes with no spares or tools and a flat tyre.

Only took 27 minutes (including 5 minute stop for roadside assistance) to get back to the carpark, vs, what must have been over an hour to get halfway out. I will cut the footage up when I get it on my Mac… until then here are a couple of trial short links to 2 small clips.

Riding across the carpark 5MB
Just before the halfway point 17MB

I have also ordered some replacement bars and stem as my riding position is killing my back and neck.. should be here Tuesday I think.

Popped off to Derwent on Sunday with Mr Thecko as part of our healthier (again) lifestyles. 1st time I have been on my bike since the Manchester -> Blackpool ride, so almost 1 year! Was very happy how well she behaved, nothing wrong, and the re-greased hub worked fan-dabby-dosey.

The roof rack on the car was superbe for getting the bikes there and back and no issues in the wind or doing 70 MPH on the motorway, the car even seemed to handle it OK!

The ride itself was hard work but fun, I am not as unfit as I thought so was very happy, I am just now very sore and tired. So get back into the post work rides I think and get my overall fitness level back up I think. The wind was it’s usual self and in our face no matter where we were, but the sun was out and gave some lovely views and some nice warm spots to ride slowly through

I only took a few pics, Click image to get there: