After faffing around a bit I eventually got going at just gone 9 (Only about an hour later than I planned!)
The plan was to head cross country to the Bath - Bristol cycle way, then head of on route 10 down to Chew Magna lake, do a once round the lake then head back home cross country....simple!
Unfortunately I underestimated the slight head wind, the condition of the unclassified roads and the amount of climbing involved! (I was also a bit wary when I set off as it was only just above freezing - and there was a small amount of ice on the surface)
It was a gorgeous clear morning, with clear blue skies....Until I got near Bath...
And I started cycling in to some cold fog.....It did get very dense...
It was amazing when I broke through the top of the cloud, it made some nice photies...You can see all of the cloud in the valley...
When I got to Bath, instead of heading straight of in to the city centre I decided to follow the canal instead...
It was a mixed blessing, nice to be on the flat and level, but the surface is a little ruff, and I only have 700x 23c tyres....
Now the plan was to video the ride down the Bath-Bristol cycleway..it is superb...a really good quick surface and wide enough to allow cyclists both ways and walkers!...But the plan didn't work (I forgot to delete the old garbage from the memory card...and it was full)
I also started to realise that my plan for a quick morning ride was going very badly awry....I had been going for over an hour n half....and I hadn't even done 20 miles :-(
For all of the compliments I have for NCR4 (Well the Bristol-Bath bit anyway!) Route 10 is a completely different kettle of fish...the last time I went down it, it was bad.....this time it was dangerous! The pot holes were lethal! and there was so much loose gravel that it was interesting to stay up-right.
I did have to stop and take the obligatory photograph of the Pensford viaduct (Long since fallen out of use)
It was then more ups and downs to Chew Magna......
I was really starting to feel fatigued at Chew....I had a Torq energy gel and a Cereal Bar, just as I was leaving a group of fast cyclists went by.....So I gave chase...
Hmmmm they were very fast! I never actually caught them up....(my excuses are...I had already done nearly 40 tough miles, I was on my heavy winter bike, they were riding in a group....etc..etc..etc)
At least I turned from a head wind into a tail wind....I was also on some faster main roads....
That was until my planned route sent me cross country again (Generally as I am sure you already know..as the standard of road goes down the gradient goes up!) At least I now know I can make it up 25% hills on the Peugeot!
The 25% was just after the above photo....
Just after Monkton Coombe (and an awful lot more ups and downs) I headed back on to a canal path.
Things had been taking rather longer than planed, when I got to Bradford on Avon, I had a check on the saddle bag finances (I always carry £5 in change), unfortunately the last time I tucked into the bag, I didn't top it up afterwards, I was down to a pound... :-(
So the idea of stopping at the canal side pub in Bradford to eat (and possibly have a nice pint of cider!) disappeared.....I had no choice but to continue on home...
I dived off the canal path at the Cross Keys pub, and headed on to the B3109 and thankfully the last REAL climb of the day.
I headed back down the country roads to Great Chalfield and Atworth....
And then finally 5 and a half hours after setting off I made it back home....The Idea of spending an afternoon at home disappeared in the revolution of some pedals...
The Garmin had the ride as 72.29 miles in 5 hours 35 minutes with an appalling average speed of 12.9 mph (But there was over 4000 ft of climbing!), route here...
That was all very nice...apart from the grime from the country roads,cycle paths and canal tow paths had turned into grinding paste and was all over the bike.....so instead of sitting down and relaxing I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the bike :-(
And here is an explanation of why it takes me 2 hours plus to clean the bike....
The most important part to clean properly is the chain....never put fresh oil on a dirty chain..the oil will carry the grime into the chain and it will turn into a grinding paste....
I use a KMC missing link chain, it means I can take the chain off easily, and it's the ONLY way to clean the chain properly!
I put the chain into an old Gatorade bottle with some White Spirit and give it a shake, leaving it soaking whilst I clean the rest of the bike...
The frame gets a good clean with the wheels removed (I always use car shampoo, normally wash n wax - never use washing up liquid...it contains salt)
After the frame,brakes, dérailleurs have all been given a good clean, I spray some light oil on the dérailleurs, then a couple of drops of 3 in 1 on the brake pivots and the dérailleur parallel pins.
Then I start on the front wheel...
Cleaning the tyres, rims, spokes and hubs.
Then the Back wheel..
I start by removing the cassette
It gets cleaned in a tub using the white spirit that cleaned the chain.
The cassette and chain then get wiped dry with a cloth..in the summer they get left in the sun to dry, in the winter they get put in front of the fire to dry.
The jockey wheels in the rear dérailleur then get a good looking at, today they were very dirty and obviously lacked any grease in the bearings...so they were removed and cleaned in the white spirit....the bearings and caps got a good squeeze of silicon grease.
The rear cassette is the re-assembled and the rear wheel fitted.
Then the chain is re-fitted wiped down, dry lube applied, I keep the chain turning as the ethanol carrier evaporates, then the external lube gets wiped off.
I then apply a little 3 in 1 to the cable runs...
Then 2 hours later its all done.......ready to get dirty again!
9 comments:
The average speed of my rides seems to have dropped to about 10/12mph too. Depressing isn't it! I'm moving along on the flat at 18ish mph so i'm not sure why i've gone so slow.
I need a long ride too. I covered just 50miles yesterday and today my legs are so sore i've had to drive to work.
Red...I think I may be overdoing it....I am finding the slow speed is really getting to me now..
I really struggled on the chain gang on Sunday....I think I will take it easy this week and see if I recover a little...
I must learn to take my bike apart like you do - but all looks rather complicated.
For a good clean I do almost exactly as you do. The white spirit method for chains is the only way to go IMO. I'm actually making sure new bike has (or can have) a removeable chain for that very reason.
I don't take my cassette off though so I find that bit interesting. The cassettes I have now (Ultegra/XT) have lightweight carriers and there's a bit of free space so I can get them clean on the bike using a Muc Off Claw Brush. Or do you find the splines get dirty?
I tend to slap some GT85 around instead of 3in1 but no real difference.
Think the washing up liquid/salt argument is bollocks - otherwise surely my pots and pans would disintegrate? Dilute properly and it'll be fine in my view. That said don't use it, I use Swarfega car cleaner!
Joby, it's very very easy.
Rafe...The rear cassette is a lot easier to clean of the bike :-) I try not to get any solvents, washable or not any where near the bearings....
The salt in detergent argument, not convinced myself either way, but car wash shampoo is designed to leave a wax on the surface, washing up liquid is designed to be squeaky clean....
Joby...it really is a piece of piss, with the winter weather it really is a necessity to keep the bike clean and lubed....fortunately that means taking it to pieces :-)
Saying that most modern bikes have sealed wheel bearings and bottom brackets, feck all you can do with them apart from replace them when they are worn out :-( My winter bike is all maintainable :-)
There are two types of people in this world, those that played with Lego as a kid and those that didn't :-)
I played with Lego - a lot.
I also dismantled the bike in a John stylie yesterday afternoon and it too was ready to get dirty again. I even managed to commute into work today the long way there and back to add another 17 miles.
Rich.....have I educated you in the correct way of doing things :-)
Did the wheel bearings tonight :-)
Going to do the trophy things Thursday/Friday...
Interesting thought about why to clean the cassette off the bike. Might have to start doing that, especially if it's really cack. I presume the lockring doesn't wear out?
The swafega cleaner is excellent, and cheap from screwfix. Car shampoo would be my second choice!
Unfortunately my bikes are in the "sealed for life" category :(
Oh yes I played with Lego as a kid, and then worked in construction during school holidays when I was older. And now I do (did! just about finished) a lot of major DIY and lets not forget about the Land Rover!
Rafe...It was an accountant I was speaking to last week that eluded to the Lego theory...He didn't play with Lego, therefore he is not mechanically minded ...hence he is an a accountant
I spent my early years with Lego and Meccano, then progressed onto taking everything I could lay my hands on to pieces to find out how it worked..
As to the lock ring...I haven't had an issue yet :-)
Normally through the summer the cassette gets left alone, during the winter or when it gets minging it gets removed and cleaned....
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