Heavy Traffic

Traffic was very heavy this morning. This was simply down to the fact I had a 09:00 hrs start rather than my usual one of 07:30 hrs. It must have slowed my 4 mile commute by a minute or so I suppose. Is it just me or do other cyclists get a perverse sense of pleasure shooting past all those stationery/crawling vehicles?

Club Cycling

Since I got back into cycling in 2008 I've been happy to cycle on my tod; the commute to work, utility cycling and touring trips forming the bulk of my miles covered. When I did the Blackpool charity cycle ride earlier this year, I really enjoyed mixing it with other cyclists and wondered what it would be like to join a local cycling club. I needed two things for this - a road bike and some free time on a Sunday. Well I have the new bike and today I had a free morning, so I met up with the Bury branch of the Cyclists Touring Club for their 'B' ride. 

Their website suggested it would be a route of about 50 miles and I reckoned we would be back in Bury early PM after a 09:30 hrs start. When the 'leader' turned up I found out, as the weather was looking good and this could be the last chance for a long ride this year, they were going to do a 80 mile route and would not be back until about 17:00 hrs. I elected to go with them and peel off and return alone at a suitable point as I had family things to do later in the day. As the ride started we were joined by another rider, John, with whom I'd initially made contact. He was going to head back early and so I decided to cycle with him when this happened.

I was a little apprehensive before the ride as I wondered what kind of pace was going to be set and if I'd be able to keep up. Well I needn't have worried. I'm not interested in joining an out and out race club and this is definitely a touring club. The pace was an average 12 mph and I had more trouble keeping my speed down. I must admit, on the descent along Haslingden Road going towards Blackburn I did tuck in and hold off the brakes. I was soon a quarter mile ahead and had to slow down as my turn for home was coming. I do love a fast descent! The others carried on north and I returned via the West Pennine Moors with John.

I've not cycled on the northern section of this route before and the roads and views were great. I will definitely be trying to get some more rides in with them when I can. Hopefully, next time I can have a pass from the OH for an all day excursion and so can make the cafe stop and have a chat, a pot of tea and some cake!

Training Is Good

There are some days when I cannot get out for a bike ride at all. These are usually at the weekends when the OH is working and I am left to nurture the Golden Child all by myself. I would take her out for a ride but she does create at the idea of cycling in the rain/cold. With my recent one week holiday lay off  and my commuting being done in the dark, I haven't had a long bike ride with full daylight for about a month. I'd almost forgotten how good it is!

I decided to take my new road bike out for a bit of hill training while the weather is dry, the OH is on nights and the Golden Child at school. Oh, the new road bike? Yes I have succumbed and got a carbon fibre bike before hitting my target weight loss! I have managed to drop 6 kg, plan to shed another 9 kg and was going to leave it until next year to make the final decision on the bike but Wiggle put a stop to that. I could only get bikes for a test ride if they were not discounted but just as I returned the Verenti Rhigos 0.3 they decided to discount most of them. This included the Rhigos which I really liked, so it had only been with the courier for a couple of hours when I reordered it with a £210.00 drop in price. Anyway, I digress.

I've worked out two routes I plan to use for training, one of 40 km and the other of 80 (ish) km. While both these distances are well under even a baby audax distance, they mean I can get some hill training done while the Golden Child is at school and because the routes never go more than 15 miles from home also allow me to get back within an hour or so if the school contact me.

So this is the 40km (25m) route and a lot of this will also form part of the longer route which will go on via Holcombe to Bolton before turning for home. It's great to get up high on the moor road above Rochdale and the effort is rewarded with a lovely sweeping decent. I had to watch out for muddy patches on the road though and it was cold despite several layers. That's why I didn't go on to do the longer ride - toes were hurting. I shall have to break out the winter socks next time!

Bending The Rules?

I have recently been introduced to 'The Rules' for cyclists by the 'Keepers Of The Cog'. While I freely admit these rules have been laid down by roadies for roadies and so they do not really have a huge amount of relevance for other cycling types, I have found I was already, unwittingly, following a few of them while breaking some others.

It is a long list of rules. There are 87 of them. I am already meeting rules; 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 17, 41, 44, 53, 62 and 77. I strongly disagree with rules 4 and 11 and will never change my mind on that. Some of the other rules I have no interest in but others I would happily follow if the right circumstances allow e.g. I have never been in an official cycle race so cannot attempt to meet rules pertaining to racing as yet. One of my favourite rules though is 12.

Rule 12 states:

The correct number of bikes to own is n+1

While the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

I have already surpassed the minimum number with four. There is my old MTB that got me back into cycling in 2008, now relegated to hack status; the Santos Travelmaster, the everyday workhorse and tourer; the Marin Rocky Ridge hardtail for off road XC fun and the new road bike - a Verenti Rhigos 0.3 carbon fibre speed machine (which I decided to keep from my test ride when Wiggle reduced the price by £210.00. Needs a separate post really). I still have hankerings for more though - n+1!

Being a long admirer of Brommies for their engineering genius and having recently ridden my brother in laws for a couple of days, I thought one of these iconic machines would make an ideal 'family bike'. Not something I would likely use everyday but great for taking in the car on holiday or even to the USA for the big motorhome trip next year, using on my occasional train trips to London, Leeds and Oxford and, after persuading the OH to have a go, a great bike for her on family pootles. 

Well I think I have now found my s-1 number. I have been told no more bikes and clearly informed the OH does not wish to have the use of a Brommie even if she can choose the colour. This is a shame because I had already decided on the spec'. We were going to go lightweight but without the expense of titanium. An M3L - easy to maintain and use with three speed internal hub gear, mudguards (but no rack) and a standard handlebar. I would have drawn the line at shocking pink though! :-((

A Brompton M3L

Joining The Club

The Brother in law's Brompton P6R

Well I have borrowed my Brother in law's shiny new Brompton for a few days to see what they are like. 

He plumped for a P6R model in a lovely 'Turkish Green' colour. The 'P' refers to the handlebar type, the '6' to the number of gears (a 3 speed hub with a 2 speed derailleur) and the 'R' to the presence of a rear rack and mudguards. He also got a Shimano hub dynamo running a front halogen light and rear LED light. It's very nice! 

I commuted to and from work yesterday on a route with some incline. I found the gearing more than adequate for the job (and didn't even use them all!). The ride was surprisingly assured. There was some flex through the handlebars but this was not excessive by any means. Yep, very nice and I managed a fold in less than 25 seconds! 

I am now well on my way to joining the Brommie Appreciation From A Distance Society. I have heard about. Can't quite remember the complete joining criteria though. Something about; riding around on it (check), demonstrating the fold (check), carrying it in a supermarket (to do) and being cool/saying cool things? (difficult). Anyone know the full list and where to send the completed application form can they please let me know. Thanks.