Commuters Daily

The Big THREE-OH..OH-OH

2006-10-26T12:54:00.000Z

Its been ages since my last post, to be honest that's down to a combination of work constraints as well as a distinct lack of anything particularly remarkable to report. Now that I do have something to report, however, I feel almost duty bound to make this a ridiculously long post so that I can bring everyone up to speed.

The reason for the post? Well, I've just gone through the 3000 mile barrier today. That means I have actually achieved the target I originally set myself but haven't quite reached the increased target that I ended up setting myself. I guess I have a few more days in the saddle ahead then.

What else?

Well, I guess if I pick up the story from my last post then Team Gear and Loathing did the business at the 10 Under The Ben
event earning 9th place and handing Team Four Crank Redemption a royal spanking in the process (they claim that mechanical failures were the cause of their demise but isn't this part and parcel of an endurance event?). Full results can be viewed from here but Cris put together an excellent montage of the event on his photo blog site (look for the gallery titled Ten Under The Ben - Ben Nevis, Fort William).

Since then, the only other cycling event I have been involved in was Pedal For Scotland 2006 which took place on 27 August and was from Glasgow to Edinburgh this year. Initially I had assumed that I would be cycling the event on my own and was focussed on trying to beat my solo time from last year which was 3hrs 40 mins. Three days before the event was due to start I was given the happy news that my Team Gear and Loathing team mate, Cris, would be joining me for the event and we spent an excited couple of nights planning how we would break the 3hr 40min time barrier and discussing whether it was feasible for us to record a time around the 3hrs mark (remember that we ride heavy, steel framed, commuter, mtb hybrid bikes, not carbon fibre racing machines). Anyway, Cris had been on a strict diet of circuit training and 1/2 marathons for a good few months by then so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he darted off at the start of the race and basically pedalled at top speed for the duration of the whole event. It was everything I could do to keep on his back wheel (I couldn't have suffered the humiliation of being left behind by the Walsh!) and thanks to his manic pace setting we managed to finish in the top 30 riders (we were the only ones on mountain bikes) with an incredible time of 2hrs 31mins!!! Victory pints were this time courtesy of Mike and Annie Walsh who met us at the finish line.... eventually (we had obviously arrived a hell of a lot sooner than we had expected to).

The rest of the time has pretty much been normal cycling days, nothing too extreme to report apart from hitting the back of a bus one morning (they are made of plastic panels now BTW, very bouncy and not too painful) and snapping my rear hanger another morning and having to convert my bike into a single speed machine in a day (thanks to the guys on the Cycling Plus forums for their info and encouragement. Single speed riding is pretty strange at first but then becomes rather addictive and fun - I didn't fix the bike for a week after that because I was enjoy it so much.

So, 3000 miles done with 2 months left in the year which means i need to cycle 500 miles a month if i am going to reach my actual target of 4000 miles... might be a bit tight, but lets see how close I get.

:o)

Overall Total: 3005 miles

Gear and Loathing

2006-06-15T08:13:00.000Z

Cris, Pete, Jimbo and I are all entered in the 10 hour endurance race that is 10 Under The Ben. Taking place this weekend, the idea is that the team which has completed the most number of laps after 10 hours of competition, wins.

Simple really, but then I haven't mentioned the fact that as well as the individual challenge of mountain bike racing and the physical challenge that the 10 hour format will bring, we also have to face down a personal battle against our nemeses, Team Barlas (aka Four Crank Redemption). This team of young whippersnappers will be lead by their incredibly motivated captain, Simon Barlas, against the might of our own collection of finely honed athletes, lead out by our charismatic captain, Cris Walsh. The vitriolic verbal battle between these two captains has been in effect for the past couple of months now and has escalated to the point where the rest of the team members began to wonder if they would even be allowed to ride the event or whether the captains would simply choose to ride the full 10 hours themselves! Those concerns have been soothed however and the respective captains both appear fairly confident in their own teams abilities (although it would appear that Team Barlas have made a couple of team changes in the run up to the event).

Personally speaking, I'm just looking forward to a weekend of camping with friends, a good hard bike ride on Saturday and a lot of drinking on Saturday night. I've managed to borrow a bike for the event from a work mate, a Kona CinderCone which, after riding it back home last night, is quickly becoming my most favourite bike in my (very small) biking experience. I want one, even if it is only for blasting up and down the canal paths, it just makes everything so much more fun!

Anyway, because I have the Kona (and my computer is on my own bike), there are no more commuting miles to add on to the overall tally other than the couple of days I've done at the start of the week. We will be slapping a computer on the Kona at the weekend, so any miles I clock up there will be added to the overall total.

Here's to a cracking weekend.

Weekly Total: 44.61 miles
Overall Total: 1587 miles

World Cup 2006

2006-06-11T23:36:00.000Z

Its started.

I know that because I've just got back after flying down to Luton over the weekend along with my mate Paul who is an avid England fan (well he's English, so he has little choice in the matter) to watch the England v Paraguay game in the heart of the motherland and to enjoy the fine hospitality of our excellent host, Mr Sweeper, who has just bought himself a fantastic little property in the lovely village of Chesunt, Hertfordshire. England managed to earn an unconvincing win.

Anyway, I broke through the 1500 mile barrier this week. I reckon I'm about 6 weeks behind where I should be if I am to reach my target but as long as I'm still cycling every week then I will certainly smash last year's total.

Weekly Total: 95.77 miles
Overall Total: 1542 miles

It's damn quiet around here...

2006-06-04T21:35:00.000Z

It's been a while since my last ramble, but that isn't to say that I've stopped cycling, it's more a reflection on an increased workload at work (how dare they!) and also a lack of free time at home (which is a good thing). I guess my motivation for recording every single aspect of the challenge has dwindled and I'm less concerned about the days I can't cycle in (eg because I'm off to the beach for a kitesurfing session that evening) and enjoying the journey more as a result.

Total travelling over the past 4 weeks: 256.5 miles
Overall Total: 1447 miles

The Story of a Screw

2006-05-14T21:10:00.000Z

Imagine, if you will, the minor existance of a small screw, whose primary remit is to tightly fix a small, shaped lump of brass (aka a cleat) to the bottom of a piece of moulded plastic and rubber (aka a cycling shoe).

Now this screw has no other real concerns in life, it really has nothing more to focus its energy on overcoming the deadly vibrations that try to shake loose its hold on the cleat and pedal along with the daily barrage of mud, water, dust and the odd sliver of dog poo (it happens). Its no wonder, therefore, that when it comes to the time for the screw to relinquish his duty and allow the cleat he has loved more dearly than a brother to be replaced by a newer, shinier version that the screw decides to put up a vicious resistance to the impending change, a resistance that ultimately leads to his complete demise (as well as the total destruction of his friend, the cleat).

Translation?

The cleats I had on my cycling shoes were so worn out that my feet were constantly slipping out the pedals. I hadn't greased the screws before I put the cleats on so a few months of day to day dirt has proved to be a better weld than some industrial glues and I eventual had to take a hacksaw to the cleat to get the damn thing off!!

Check the photo to see how much the old cleat has been worn compared to the new one and also the hacksaw action that I had to resort to after rounding the head of the screws (the new cleats have been installed with waterproof grease in the threads).

Weekly Total: 77.58 miles
Overall Total: 1264 miles

Whale of a Time

2006-05-07T22:05:00.000Z

A busy week culminating in a strangely relaxing and ultimately enjoyable float in the North Sea.

It was a Bank Holiday and I had to take Thursday off work to look after my sick son (who then got very healthy rather quickly and demanded a game of football about lunchtime) so that was 2 days off the bike. The rest of the week was pretty nice, Thursday's storms didn't bring any more rain the next day and I was happy to finish off the week cycling home in glorious sunshine.

The 'floating in the North Sea' bit? That was something that transpired after the wind failed to make an appearance on Sunday afternoon and made all our kite kit completely redundant. Almost all of it, actually - I was (eventually) persuaded to clamber into my suit by the rest of the group and we all made a desperate attempt to imitate a collection of basking seals as we floated in and under and through and over the 8 foot waves that were crashing about us. Brilliant fun.

More sunshine forecast for next week, which means more excuses to let the world see how white my legs really are.

Weekly Total: 62.65 miles
Overall Total: 1186 miles

Guess Who's Back?

2006-05-02T14:44:00.000Z

Apologies for the lack of updates - although its been fairly quiet on the blog front, its been pretty busy behind the scenes.

I got the bike back about two weeks ago, and have actually been enjoying a relatively trouble-free experience on it since it came back from Halfords, although I hadn't been aware that exorcism was a service option with them.

Anyhow, the bike's back and I'm back in the zone again and cycling almost every day. I don't seem to be as focussed on the whole 'challenge' thing however, I'm much more content to cycling the majority of the days but, if I have to go in particularly early or work late, then its back to catching the train or a taxi to complete the journey. Its not that I've lost the bug or that I can't be bothered to bike in, its just I've discovered that it makes far more sense to cycle whenevr possible, but sometimes its simply not an option without ridiculous effort and organisation. The new 'business casual' dress code at work doesn't help either - shirts and trousers do not tend to travel well when compared to jeans and t-shirts but I do seem to be getting the knack of (almost) crease free folding... any tips would be gladly received however.

Total since getting my bike back: 140.59 miles
Overall Total: 1124 miles

No bike today

2006-04-13T07:18:00.000Z

I did pick up the bike last night, even managed to fit the speedo and generally get it ready for the journey in until I rememebered taht i was supposed to be onsite this morning at 7am, so I decided to leave the bike at home and restart the challenge next week.

It's Ready?

2006-04-12T14:09:00.000Z

Just received a call from Halfords, Clydebank to tell me that my bike has been repaired and is ready to be picked up.

I'll get it after work today and hopefully be back on the road tomorrow morning. I'm praying that the repair will be far better than the quality i have come to expect from Halfords over the years.... fingers crossed!

It's Cursed, I Tell Thee!

2006-04-04T10:50:00.000Z

I don't remember smashing any mirrors recently, I haven't desecrated any shrines and I'm absolutely certain that I have kept up with the regulatory number of sacrifices this year.... so why is my new bike cursed?

The journey home last night was hampered by a slow puncture that I picked up after about 10 mins. This isn't usually too much of a problem, its just a case of stopping to repair the puncture or replace the tube and get back on my way again. Unfortunately, however, after I dug out my puncture repair kit I discovered that I'd left my tyre levers back in Mabie Forest when I repaired a puncture on Sunday - bugger. No tyre lever meant a pretty nasty job trying to remove the tyre so I decided to reinflate the tyre and see how far I could get before I had to pump it up again. By the time I got home, I had had to stop four times to pump up the tyre.
Not a brilliant start to a new bike relationship, but I figured I had the answer to the problem and decided to swap over the tubes currently on the bike with Dr Sludge tubes that I bought from Chain Reaction when I had my last bike. It took a bit of time and effort, but I was glad that I'd changed them over and that I had one good 'spare' tube to take with me. Unfortunately the bike did fall over at one point during the process (it was upside down at the time), but other than that, all seemed to go fairly well and I went on to replace the nasty cheap flat pedals that had come with the bike with some shiny and new Candy pedals.

Which takes the story up to this morning, a lovely sunny day with a hint of winter in the air, absolutely perfect cycling conditions and a brilliant time to be out on the bike. I liked the new setup, the pedals made me feel more connected to the bike, the new inner tubes filling me with confidence as I dodged through on of the puddles of broken glass that can be found along Glasgow's roads, my only gripe was that I couldn't go faster (the other bike had more gears). It was turning out to be a good day....

... and then my rear mech got stuck in the spokes in my rear wheel and brought everything to a crashing stop.

The bike falling over the night before had bent the rear mech hanger which meant that the rear mech was able to shift up into the path of the turning wheel itself. 2 spokes snapped and one is pretty badly bent and the rear mech is almost unrecognisable. Not good.

I've dropped the bike off at Halfords, hardly the most auspicious of bike repair shops, but the closest one available to me at the time. The bike won't be fixed until Monday. Definitely cursed.

My only consolation? Well, the replacement sensor for my bike computer still hasn't arrived, so none of the cycling this week would have counted towards the overall mileage.

Back on the Road

2006-04-03T07:49:00.000Z

I had to pedal through a small hail storm to get into work this morning but it only lasted a few minutes and I was rewarded with glorious sunshine for the remainder of my journey.

The new bike was smooth, unfamiliar and felt a little clunky compared to my last bike, but a few modifications along the way and it was feeling far better by the time I got to work. I didn't have time to put on my replacement clipless pedals though and really noticed a difference riding in on falts.

No bike computer yet so no mileage towards the challenge, but its lovely to be able to opt out of the souless commute by train.

New Bike

2006-04-02T20:18:00.000Z

I got to pick up my new bike from Edinburgh this evening. The shop closed at 6pm and we managed to make it there by 5.57pm after some awesome and audacious driving from Pete who managed to claw back the time we lost due to roadworks and slow traffic on the drive back up from Dumfries.

Bike's all ready to go, my legs have had a wee bit of exercise today and its looking like its going to be a wet start to the week - bring it on.

Team Training

2006-04-02T20:04:00.000Z

It was the first training session for Team Gear and loathing today.

Gear and Loathing is a team of four riders currently entered in the 10 Under the Ben endurance race that is taking place on the 17th / 18th June this year. It's going to be pretty cool to race offroad for the very first time, but the pressure is on as we also have to beat our nemeses, Team Four Crank Redemtion who comprise of Simon, Gaz, Jim and their secret weapon, Mr TBC. Apparently Mr TBC is a uber-fit athlete with a carbon fibre bike, but after todays 20 mile training session, we reckon we'll have the measure of him.

It was a wet day in Mabie Forest today, lots of slippy root, sticky mud, nasty rocks, a stinky bog and the odd tricky skinny, but we all finished the course with wide smiles and some serious filthy clothes.

Top day out - thanks to Pete, Cris and, of course, the mighty Hippo (who's hospitality really is second to none).

Run Forrest, Run!

2006-03-29T22:17:00.000Z

Cris and Pete both pushed themselves way beyond their comfort zones on Sunday when they took part in the Edinburgh Half Marathon on Sunday.

Both of them did brilliantly well, both have also had very different thoughts on the whole experience; Cris loved the experience and is looking to repeat it again by signing up to do another run in the very near future. Pete on the other hand, while being suitably chuffed with his performance, came out with the classic quote 'man, I could have been cycling or kiting'.

Cris managed to run the route in an amazing 1hr 30mins while Pete managed to run the whole route in 1hr 51mins.

Pics of the event can be found at www.marathon-photos.com but I could only find pictures of Cris but none of Pete (sorry Pete).

Well done gents, way to go!

UPDATE: We've found Pete!! (it does look like i am walking but i can assure u im running - slowly!)

Insurance claimed

2006-03-29T22:10:00.000Z

OK, thats the deal done.

The insurance company will reimburse me the cost of my bike (2005 model not available so they will pay for a 2006 version) as well as the cost of the various accessories that I had on the bike too. Not a bad deal, until they then spring the £110 excess that they cream right off the top of that - ouch.

As a result of that, my new bike is ordered and will be available for pick up on Sunday afternoon. I've stuck with the Revolution brand and even with the frame that I loved so much on the Cuillin Sport but I have had to consider costs and set my sights on a slightly more commuter friendly bike, the Revolution Trailfinder 2006. I'm getting new clipless pedals and a new pannier rack for the bike too.

Can't wait to get back on the trail again and start clocking up those miles.

It's Gone!!! Thieving Scum.

2006-03-24T15:16:00.000Z

I hooked up with a former work colleague of mine yesterday evening for a couple of hours of catching up interspersed with the odd game of pool. In the two hours (6.15pm - 8.15pm) that I was inside the Sports Cafe bar on Sauchiehall Street, someone decided to help themselves to my bike, which was chained to the railings just outside. The bouncers never saw anything, the police say that the CCTV cameras haven't been able to see anything, the policeman handling my case has said that all they can really do is take a note of the frame number (SA41144544) and if they retrieve any propety that looks remotely like the bike (black MTB, Revolution Cuillin Sport, crud catcher mudguards, pannier rack, Candy SL pedals, twin Electron front lights) then they will check to see if it has a frame ref that matches. I won't hold my breath.

Probably the most frustrating thing about the whole situation was that I'd deliberately cycled a sufficient number of miles this week so that I'd be breaking through the 1000 mile barrier today. I figured that would have been a pretty cool way to end the week. Oh well, just makes the challenge that little bit more interesting.

I'll give the insurance company a call over the weekend and see what they say about the matter.

Weekly Total: 77.07 miles
Overall Total: 982 miles

Cycling Weather

2006-03-22T09:40:00.000Z

The last couple of days have been glorious sunshine coupled with a cold snap in the air - perfect cycling weather.

Weekly Total: 50.45 miles

Weekend

2006-03-19T13:56:00.000Z

The Sunday Service was duly completed this weekend following an amazing day on the slopes on Saturday where Seonaidh learnt how to turn, I learnt how to go fakie and Bov and Kinnie made every effort to cover every square metre of the Glenshee pistes. Burnt noses and big wide smiles all round.

Tough Week

2006-03-17T19:20:00.000Z

I found it hard getting back into the cycling this week after a couple of easy days the week before. Not getting to clean and grease the bike also made a big difference too. Still, got more miles under my belt and I'm off snowboarding tomorrow - all good.

Weekly Total: 89.76 miles
Overall Total: 905 miles

Weather-tastic

2006-03-16T23:14:00.000Z

It was a crazy day weatherwise today.

I left the house in the midst of a blizzard, I arrived at work in glorious sunshine. It was dry when I left work but in the last section of the journey home it poured with rain!

Weekly Total: 67.93 miles

Feeling Flat and Knackered

2006-03-15T21:35:00.000Z

The day started off so well. The roads were dry, it wasn't that cold, bike seemed to be running well... then I picked up two punctures on the way into work, which kind of put a dampner on things.

Work was busy, really busy, but the cycle home is normally something that helps clear the head and help unwind. This time however, it felt draining. No real answers why, just hope it feels better tomorrow.

Self-sealing inner tubes have now been purchased and are en route. Overall spending has gone up to £361.83.

Weekly Total: 45.87 miles

Snow Travels

2006-03-14T23:55:00.000Z

So I did manage to cycle in to work on Monday. It was a pretty stressful situation at first, crowded roads, single lane traffic and a complete lack of traction anytime I was stupid enough to try and cycle through a snow drift. Once I stopped being so tense and basically just embraced the situation I'd put myself in, things quickly became a whole lot more fun, to the point that I even decided to complete the last 500m of the journey by cycling through the foot deep snow on the canal path - that was a hilarious and rather time consuming mistake to make, but bloody good fun.

I only cycled one way on Monday and again today due to work problems on Monday and family commitments today, but I'm pleased I've managed to cycle at all and hope to cycle the rest of the week as the snows melting.

Weekly Total: 23.92 miles

Whiteout

2006-03-12T15:58:00.000Z

I went to bed just after midnight last night after enjoying the light snow showers that coloured the evening sky with a hint of white. When I woke up this morning, however, it was a completely different scene - almost a foot of snow covering the driveway, the garden, the shed, the car, the bin... everywhere was covered with a magnificent blanket of snow.

We've spent the day sledging, snowboarding (had to be done), building snowmen and having snowball fights and its been brilliant. Now all I have to do is decide whether or not its feasible to cycle in to work tomorrow morning. Just now its looking pretty shaky, but thats a good reason to make the attempt.

Saturday Service

2006-03-11T15:52:00.000Z

Cris was subjected to a masterclass in the basic servicing that I give my bike each week. It started off with a midweek email where Cris revealed that he probably hadn't cleaned or lubed his bike in almost a year. I responded by sending him the list below:

Anyway, to cut a longish story short, we cleaned Cris's bike this morning and, while he still needs to replace the chain and the brake blocks, everything else is looking all bling and clean. Happy Walshy.

Busy

2006-03-10T18:25:00.000Z

Snowboarding at the weekend was excellent, my sincerest thanks to Pete for being my personal flunkey and driving me about the place.

Its been busy at work this past week, but I've been on the bike every day and enjoyed the mix of weather that we've had. Its been cold, its been rainy, its been warm enough for shorts & t-shirts but the best thing of all is that its been staying light enough in the evenenings that I've not had to use my lights on the way home (much).

I forgot to declare a recent purchase for the bike, I bought myself a new bike lock (£8.75). That takes my overall spending for the year up to £351.85, ouch.

Weekly Total: 110.16 miles
Overall Total: 816 miles