A day off from training today, so I set to finding the annoying squeak on my Specialized Tricross that I get whenever I stand up and turn up the effort.
Last week I replaced the bottom bracket bearings in an attempt to banish it, but no luck. Today I took off the seatpost and bottle cages, then removed the crank, stripped it down, and put it back together with plenty of grease between all mating surfaces. No joy, just as creaky as ever.
Just before giving up for the day, I swapped out the rear wheel for the one on the Planet-X, and suddenly all fell silent. I put the Tricross wheel back, and still pretty quiet. So it looks like the noise is in the area of the axle and quick-release, so next time I'll know where to concentrate my efforts.
Anyway, it's nice to have a shiny clean crank, even though it was a waste of effort. Helps to set off my blingin' new KMC X10-SL shiny gold chain. If I was that way inclined I'd be tempted to use it as jewellery, except a gold chain would probably be cheaper!
Monday, 28 June 2010
Saturday, 26 June 2010
78.5 Miles, 890m ascent, average 14.8 mph
Just got back from a lovely ride south of Peebles. Planned to download all the stats from the GPS and show lots of pretty graphs and maps and stuff, but the GPS is in the car, and I can't be bothered to go and get it. Sorry, but you'll have to put up with me wittering instead.
We did a route heading southwest out of Peebles to the A701, then south a bit, then east past the Talla and Megget reservoirs (including a nice little 20% climb), along to Mountbenger, then south again to Crosslee, over towards Selkirk, and then back to Peebles.
The day was much more interesting than anticipated. It started with the discovery that Peebles had decided to hold their "Beltane Festival" on the one day of the year (possibly the decade) that I wanted to drive through. And for a bit of fun, they hadn't bothered putting up any diversion signs after closing the A road that goes straight through the middle. iPhone satnav came to the rescue, though, and after a couple of false starts we made it to the car park.
Our next exciting encounter was with a classic car rally - 200 cars - which had decided it would be a fine day to process along the single-track, 1 in 5 hill that joins the Talla and Megget reservoirs. Most of the drivers were considerate, though, and Helen got lots of encouragement (plus a load of verbal from a gruff Weegie that we'll assume was positive).
Just when we thought the day couldn't get any more exciting, we encountered an RAF helicopter landing in the road west of Mountbenger, apparently picking up the victim of a motorcycle accident. We appreciated the enforced rest, but hope there is good news for the casualty.
And then, finally, the highlight of the day! Descending into Crosslee, Helen spotted a sign advertising "Riks Cream Teas". It was out of our way, and didn't say how far, but it's never wrong to seek out a scone, so off we went. In the event it was only a mile or so, and well worth the effort. Rik's little catering enterprise is run out of a couple of stationary caravans, with a tented outdoor area, but the scones were excellent.
So how was the riding? Fairly comfortable, a bit tired towards the end, but no real problems. The only challenging bit was the 20% hill, which I tackled rather more aggressively than Helen, giving me time to stop for a flapjack half way up. Helen managed not to stop and overtook me while I was munching; I gave chase and we summitted together.
We'll both sleep well tonight. Until I roll over onto the blistering sunburn on my arms, that is. Ouch!
We did a route heading southwest out of Peebles to the A701, then south a bit, then east past the Talla and Megget reservoirs (including a nice little 20% climb), along to Mountbenger, then south again to Crosslee, over towards Selkirk, and then back to Peebles.
The day was much more interesting than anticipated. It started with the discovery that Peebles had decided to hold their "Beltane Festival" on the one day of the year (possibly the decade) that I wanted to drive through. And for a bit of fun, they hadn't bothered putting up any diversion signs after closing the A road that goes straight through the middle. iPhone satnav came to the rescue, though, and after a couple of false starts we made it to the car park.
Our next exciting encounter was with a classic car rally - 200 cars - which had decided it would be a fine day to process along the single-track, 1 in 5 hill that joins the Talla and Megget reservoirs. Most of the drivers were considerate, though, and Helen got lots of encouragement (plus a load of verbal from a gruff Weegie that we'll assume was positive).
Just when we thought the day couldn't get any more exciting, we encountered an RAF helicopter landing in the road west of Mountbenger, apparently picking up the victim of a motorcycle accident. We appreciated the enforced rest, but hope there is good news for the casualty.
And then, finally, the highlight of the day! Descending into Crosslee, Helen spotted a sign advertising "Riks Cream Teas". It was out of our way, and didn't say how far, but it's never wrong to seek out a scone, so off we went. In the event it was only a mile or so, and well worth the effort. Rik's little catering enterprise is run out of a couple of stationary caravans, with a tented outdoor area, but the scones were excellent.
So how was the riding? Fairly comfortable, a bit tired towards the end, but no real problems. The only challenging bit was the 20% hill, which I tackled rather more aggressively than Helen, giving me time to stop for a flapjack half way up. Helen managed not to stop and overtook me while I was munching; I gave chase and we summitted together.
We'll both sleep well tonight. Until I roll over onto the blistering sunburn on my arms, that is. Ouch!
A Bit of Background
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
OK, not quite that much background. It all started in the Plockton Hotel, in May 2007. Helen, emboldened by half a pint of Lancaster Bomber, wouldn't let drop Stuart's comment that he "bet she couldn't complete the Munros by the time she reached a certain, significant birthday". At the time, that meant 250 mountains in 2.5 years. The bet would be settled by by a "slap up meal in the Plockton Hotel, and us much ale as she could drink". Frankly, the second part of that was never going to cost very much.
Now fast-forward 2.5 years of frantic Munro bagging. Numerous pairs of boots had been bought and trashed, the car had put on many thousands of miles, but the challenge had been met. Amazingly, for those who have ever played board games with Helen, she didn't cheat once. It was agreed that the bet would be settled in Chester for various reasons, especially Dave and Nic's burgeoning bump, so off we trooped.
(Hang in there, I will get to the point eventually...)
After having enjoyed a splendid meal (and Helen had made the most of "all the ale she could drink" - pathetic), conversation (not involving Stuart) turned to the fact that it was now Stuart's turn to face a challenge. Cycling is much more his bag than walking, and so I suggested a cycling challenge in the Lakes.
By the next day, preliminary Googling was complete, and the basic stats (112 miles, 3000m ascent) were burned into my psyche. We all trooped off to dinner chez Bernard (a splendid effort at almost no notice) and I popped the question to Stuart. To "sweeten" the pill, I offered to join him in the endeavour. After minimal cajoling, Stuart accepted - I think secretly he wanted a focus for some training, as did I.
So here we are, both training like mad towards a deadline in September. Stuart's in Chester, and is being coached by the ever-helpful Dave, who recommended that he start his training by going back several months in a time machine to build a base level of fitness. Oops! No such professional help for me, just getting in the miles, and enjoying the opportunity to tart up my slightly tired (or tyred?) steed.
OK, not quite that much background. It all started in the Plockton Hotel, in May 2007. Helen, emboldened by half a pint of Lancaster Bomber, wouldn't let drop Stuart's comment that he "bet she couldn't complete the Munros by the time she reached a certain, significant birthday". At the time, that meant 250 mountains in 2.5 years. The bet would be settled by by a "slap up meal in the Plockton Hotel, and us much ale as she could drink". Frankly, the second part of that was never going to cost very much.
Now fast-forward 2.5 years of frantic Munro bagging. Numerous pairs of boots had been bought and trashed, the car had put on many thousands of miles, but the challenge had been met. Amazingly, for those who have ever played board games with Helen, she didn't cheat once. It was agreed that the bet would be settled in Chester for various reasons, especially Dave and Nic's burgeoning bump, so off we trooped.
(Hang in there, I will get to the point eventually...)
After having enjoyed a splendid meal (and Helen had made the most of "all the ale she could drink" - pathetic), conversation (not involving Stuart) turned to the fact that it was now Stuart's turn to face a challenge. Cycling is much more his bag than walking, and so I suggested a cycling challenge in the Lakes.
By the next day, preliminary Googling was complete, and the basic stats (112 miles, 3000m ascent) were burned into my psyche. We all trooped off to dinner chez Bernard (a splendid effort at almost no notice) and I popped the question to Stuart. To "sweeten" the pill, I offered to join him in the endeavour. After minimal cajoling, Stuart accepted - I think secretly he wanted a focus for some training, as did I.
So here we are, both training like mad towards a deadline in September. Stuart's in Chester, and is being coached by the ever-helpful Dave, who recommended that he start his training by going back several months in a time machine to build a base level of fitness. Oops! No such professional help for me, just getting in the miles, and enjoying the opportunity to tart up my slightly tired (or tyred?) steed.
Friday, 25 June 2010
The Training so Far
We've been training for a couple of weeks now. Twice a week we get dizzy doing laps of Arthur's seat (one lap is 100m ascent and 3 miles). Last night we did 4 laps, the longest yet.
Last Saturday we did our first distance training ride, 30 miles along the north Cumbrian coast to visit our friend Ian for a cup to tea, then 30 miles back to the car. Lovely, sunny, flat ride at a comfortable pace - and no ill effects the following day! Averaged 16.8 mph.
So we've done half the distance, but with 200m of ascent (rather than 4,500). Tomorrow we're upping the distance a little (to either 65 or 75 miles), and also the ascent (to 700 meters) riding in the borders. I'll let you know how we get on.
Introduction
On September 9th, 2010, I'll be undertaking "The Fred Whitton Challenge". It's a cycle route of 112 miles in the Lake District, including the main passes. That amounts to 3800m of ascent over the course of the day, which will be quite a challenge. See here for details.
If you'd consider sponsoring me in this endeavour, to raise money for Macmillan's, please visit my justgiving page.
The purpose of this blog is to track my training and thoughts about the event.
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