Of broken gear-hubs, snow and fixed-gears

We've had a spot of snow here in the UK over the last week or two. You could tell quite readily in the first day it fell. Not from the white stuff on the floor (though that was a give-away) but from the mile after mile of nose-to-tail traffic on the road.

I managed to get home well enough on day one but as I pulled into our street , my rear wheel started making a truly dreadful noise. It sounded like a handful of loose nuts and bolts in the gear hub. For the next day's snowy commute, I took my fixed gear MTB. I have to say that, although it's a bit of an old dog, it was brilliant in the snow. Excellent grip from the knobbly tyres and much more slow speed control than just coasting and using the brakes.

It took the bike shop just over a week to sort my Dahon under warranty (complete new rear wheel, thanks guys) and so I spent that time commuting by fixed gear.

I have always enjoyed pootling round on the fixie but have never done any serious mileage on it. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the experience though and it has spurred me on to get my old Raleigh 10-speed built up into a decent fixed-gear road bike. It's lovely spinning along in almost silence without a thought for what gear you should be in. Between spinning, standing and heaving and judicious use of the (front and back) brakes on the downhills, I managed with one gear admirably.

Today I have my Dahon back and I am glad to be back on it. I do miss the fixie but I've done so many miles on my folder it all feels very natural.

I also fitted it with a few bits of bling too. Of which, more to follow...

By jove I've finally cracked it (part 2)

Another thing that's been bugging me since I started cycle commuting is damp feet.  I like to cycle in normal walking shoes so that:

• Walking when off the bike is a comfortable and convenient experience (I have wide feet and like wide shoes!)
• So that my pedals don't required special shoes every time I ride my bike

I know that a hybrid "SPD one side and flat pedal the other" option is available but they don't fold.  I definitely want folding pedals so that I'm not limiting the usefulness of my bike's key feature.

I have, however found it very hard to find overshoes that are a reasonable price, which fit over my regular shoes and are waterproof.  I don't find that it's the falling rain that's an issue in itself.  Rather, it is the spray from the front wheel on wet roads and through gutters and puddles which really give shoes a soaking.  Even with decent mudguards fitted. 

However, after a lengthy Google and a bit of "out of box" thinking, I found these in (of all places) the Demon Tweeks catalogue.  Well for about 15 quid posted, I thought they had to be worth a go.

Today is the first time I have tried them in anger and I have to say I'm delighted!  I ordered the larger size as my UK 9 (Eur 43) sat pretty much between the two sizes on offer.  They are quite large, maybe a little too large but are light and laughably easy to pull on over my shoes.  OK so they look a little daft but commuting by bike is not a style contest and loads of other people on the train this morning were sporting wellies of one sort or another.  Maybe the smaller size would be snugger and no more difficult to slip on?

They are fine to walk in and I didn't notice any appreciable lack of grip between shoe and pedal.  It's pretty poor in the wet anyway (more to follow on this soon, I hope) but wasn't any worse than usual.

So all looks well on the dry toasty feet front now - I'm a happy chap indeed!

It's dark out there

With just a month to go until Midwinter, it is very definitely dark out there and my commute in both directions now starts and finishes in pitch blackness.  I'm lucky enough to live in a small village which, although on a reasonable busy road, is a couple of miles out of the nearest town.  The upshot of that is though, that most of my usual and very lovely rural commuting route is completely unlit.

I discovered in short order on my first night ride that my front light, bright though it is, struggles to illuminate much beyond the first two yards of road ahead of my front wheel.  The road surface is not that great in parts either and so, with some regret, I looked for an alternative winter route.

I've found that by taking a different route to the station in the morning, it's only the first couple of miles out of the village that are in pitch darkness.  OK there's more traffic going that way, but a seriously bright, flashy rear light and a high viz jacket mean that I've done as much as I can to be seen.  No close calls yet either so it must be working! 

To be honest, commuting in the dark is not nearly as bad as I thought it might be.  As with riding in the wet (and to a degree, the wind) one's mind tends to make a bigger deal out of the situation than ever transpires to be the case.  Through a sleep-fogged, pre-coffee brain first thing in the morning, getting on the bike in the cold and dark is not often an appealing prospect.  However, after the first few pedal strikes, the world is a brighter place, figuratively if not literally!

To paraphrase something I read recently, it is not what you ride that counts but that you ride at all.  In any conditions, it is preferable to commuting by car.


In other news, I spent some of the weekend mucking about in the garage on the resurrection of my fixed-gear MTB.  It's an old bike that I used to commute on years ago which was converted to fixed-gear knock-around duty when I found this site.  An addiction to fixed gear (and other quirky bikes to be honest - folders being a case in point) was born that, even though I have other bikes, continues to this day.  I have raided it for parts over the years but decided to get it back together for reasons which escape me now.  It's not going to be pretty but will (I hope) be an absolute hoot for bombing around the local lanes and trails in the mucky winter weather.  Bring on a bit of snow is what I say!

This thing is gaining momentum!

Wow, there have been some huge spikes in daily readership recently.  

I suspect that this is in no small part to a link that was posted on bikeforums.net here.   I don’t use that forum or know anyone on it to thank them but a big “Cheers!” to whoever it was.  I started this blog as a means to amuse myself and close friends but if it’s reaching out and spreading the cycling word more widely then I’m a happy man indeed!

There’s a great comment on one of the bikeforums replies about the fact that I still, occasionally feel the pull of the car.  I have to confess that it is sometimes true and I’m glad that the option is no longer there.  It is now definitely more down to my inherent laziness than it is any inexperience now in cycle commuting though.  

The weather has taken a noticeable turn for the Autumnal now and my morning commute is often cold, dark and windy.  When I crank my eyelids open in the dark at silly-o’clock and hear the rain beating down or the wind howling, I do run a few “what options do I have than cycling” scenarios through my head.  However, I agree with what the poster on bikeforums says, in that once I’m out in it, whatever the weather, you wouldn’t get me back in a tin box for any money. 

Even if I had the money for a car of my own now, I’d spend it on another bike!

Autumn

We are having utterly awesome weather here at the moment! There's definitely a chill in the air each morning but the lung-boosting power of cold, crisp air and bright, golden sunshine more than make up for it. When I look back over my shoulder to see dawn breaking through the mist in the fields behind me, it feels great to be alive and part of that scene! It also takes much longer to warm up than at the peak of summer so although I get a sweat up, being the air-cooled creature that I am, I never feel overheated. It's lovely weather in which to cycle. :-)

Not a bad place to have to commute!  This is looking back from the top of the first hill of the morning.
At this point, my legs are usually feeling somewhat shocked and I am very definitely awake!

All of the schools are back in full swing now after their summer break which means much more traffic in the city. I did think this would be an issue but to be honest, as most of the cars are generally stationary, they don't pose much of a threat, ha ha! I travelled in to work about an hour later than usual today which meant I hit town at the peak of the rush. The queues of cars waiting at traffic lights were enormous. One of them must have been a full my long and I cruised past the whole thing, straight to the front in perfect time to hit the green light. Sweet!

I know it's going to get colder and darker before long but for now I'll take this autumn weather with thanks. The memories will keep me going through the short days until spring.

Happy travels all! :-)

Feeling hot, hot hot!

There's no doubt about it we've had a pretty wet early summer in the UK.  For several weeks, I got wet pretty much every day on the bike and while it's not really so bad, it did get a little wearing. 

However, things have really changed for the better!  Since last weekend we've had some absolutely scorching temperatures, sunny days and clear blue skies.  It has been a blissful week to be commuting by bike.

The slight downside is that it's only Wednesday and I feel pretty knackered!  I've been eating plenty, taking water with me and a week's rest from the bike last week gave my legs some nice recovery time.  However, the heat is really taking it out of me.  The journey into work is not too bad as even though it's been bright, the morning temperatures are nice and cool.  A shower and change at work followed by a mug of tea and a banana see me set up for the day and ready to go.

Coming home is something else though.  I have been arriving home a hot, sweaty mess fit for little but collapsing on the sofa with a cold drink before mustering up the energy to eat something!  I'm really not complaining as when it's dark and miserable in the winter, I'll be praying for a day like today. 

I cling to the hope that working out in this heat will shift even more spare tyre from my waist and give me a lovely T-shirt tan for the summer!

I also have another good cycling related book on the go.  It is "The Man Who Cycled the Americas" by Mark Beamont and documents the author's cycle journey from the top of Alaska to to Southern tip of South America.  As is that weren't enough of a challenge, Mr. Beamont also threw climbing the highest peaks in North and South America (Denali and Aconcagua respectively) as well!  It's an engaging easy read and like all good cycling books makes me want to fetch out the Dahon and go for a ride.

By far and away the best way to travel!

The scores so far (and other rambling)

We're having a bit of a wet spell round here at the moment and it really doesn't feel much like Summer.  Last Thursday, I took a look at the weather in the morning and judged the liklihood of rain to be minimal and so didn't bother looking around for my waterproof.  Wrong.  I got rained on most of the way there and all of the way back.  I've observed as much before but once you're out in it, rain isn't as bad as it looks to be from inside a house or car.  I think we've grown used to the fact that rain is something to avoid as we cower hastily from house or office to car. 
 In my martial arts days I read a book called the "Hagakure" which was penned centuries ago by some samurai or other.  It's intended as a bit of manual for samurai living and is full of nice little snippets of wisdom.  Some are not immediately useful, for instance the one about taking boys to the execution grounds to practice beheading condemned criminals, but others still stand true.  Once that I always remember on a wet day goes something like:

"When it's raining, you can either walk cowering from it or walk tall.  You'll get wet just the same and this thinking applies to all things." 

I paraphrase but it's true enough and that sense of relaxed acceptance of things you can't change does make for a less stressful life.  When I can remember to, that is!

In other news, I notice via Facebook and Twitter that the IG Markets London Nocturne race was won by a guy in a Dahon.  There's a link and photos here:

http://raleighuk.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/raleigh-gac-rider-wins-folding-bike-race-on-a-limed-edition-carbon-dahon/

And blimey - what a Dahon!  Just have a look at the photos.  I like that a lot and have almost started wanting one more than a Vector X27!  I noticed via a tweet from NYCE wheels in the US that theVector X27 is now available after quite a long wait.  Hopefully they'll be releasing it in the UK intime for my next cycle0scheme purchase.  I'm sure a bike like that would shave ages off my commuting time because obviously it's all down to the bike and not the guy riding it...

So the scores so far for my Dahon Vitesses D3HG and I are:

Week 12 – 18 miles

Total to date – 776.5 miles

A really short cycling week (bank holidays etc.) but rendered even shorter by the fact that I used the family car on Friday.  The weather was truly awful (howling gales) and my wife didn't need it.  She offered and, after a short internal battle, I sucumbed.  The thing is, I think that going most places by bike has affected my spacial awareness.  The phot below shows why I should not have driven on Friday and why I must take greater care parking next to small brick walls in future.

Ouch!!! :-(

Hot, hot, hot!

Well damn my hide it's been a beautiful day out there today! On Monday the day started quite cold and so when it warmed up later on I was still resplendent in black Ron Hill's and a long sleeved T shirt. I ended up with my trousers rolled up to mid-calf in order to avoid my legs melting but ended up resembling something from Pineapple Dance Studio as a result! Today I wore shorts from the off but was still hotter than hot on the way home. However, I'm not going to moan about it - I'll be lapping up this hot spell because I know that on all of those freezing, dark commutes in the winter, I'll be praying for days like today!

There were a lot of bikes out on the way home too. Some commuters I guess but loads just out enjoying the sun. I'm finding cyclists quite an unfriendly bunch on the whole though. Strange as there was lots of cameraderie between my colleagues and I on our weekend adventure. Whenever I pass another cyclist going either way, I smile and say hello although it's rare that my greeting is returned. There's no reason that two strangers should be best friends just because they choose the same mode of transport, of course. However a little friendly courtesy never hurt anyone.

Walkers are friendly, runners are friendly, bikers are friendly so why not cyclists? Car drivers all seem to hate each other though and that's no way to be.

Life's too short and the weather too good!

That's a lot better

I never realised how weather-obsessed this cycling lark would make me. I keep a general eye on the weather forecast but the most important portent of the day's cycling is the flagpole in the garden of one of my neighbour's. It's fluttering or lack thereof lets me know when I set off for the morning whether I'll have a headwind to cycle against on the way in to work. This morning I did. Not a big one but enough to make a difference!

However, come home-time the sun was out and this morning's headwind had become a slight tailwind. Not a big one but enough to make a difference. And what a difference!

I had one of the fastest, happiest rides of my cycle-commuting career. It was truly amazing - hills that have sometimes had to be crawled up in first gear were blasted up in third. I'm definitely getting stronger but the positive physical and psychological effect of the wind and fine weather played a big part too.

I was, but for tremendous hunger, almost disappointed to arrive home.

Sans folding bike for a bit

A confession:  I was not "bloke on a folding bike today" but rather "bloke on an ordinary bike.  Allow me to explain...

Last night I took the rear tyre off my Dahon and found the source of my woes.  The rim has worn through the sidewall down to the reinforcement in two places.  I don't know how it happened as I only rode about 100 yards with the puncture before re-inflating the tyre.  But happened it has and, while I'm not very happy about it, the sorting out is a story for another day.

However, once I'd seen daylight through the hole in the side wall, I didn't fancy trusting my neck to that tyre again.  Call me "Old Mr Overcautious" if you like.  Anyway, cutting to the chase, with the car not being a palatable option, I had to use my other bike.  It's a nice hybrid on 700c wheels that I bought from Halfords a few years back,  Nothing to write home about but a nice enough bike really.  Crucially however, it has not got mudguards.  And today the rain was little short of torrential.  End result, I got soaked!  At no point did I wish I was back int he car though.  There's still a certain air of smug superiority that one can exude when pedalling hard in wet traffic surrounded by company car idiots drivers in their BMW 520s and Audi A6s.

I was also pleasantly surprised at how fast the bike was.  It's much higher geared than the Dahon and the extra turn of speed really helped to make a wet commute a more fun commute.  Quite a convincing argument for up-gearing the folder so I'll look into it after next payday.  The closer spaced gears (21 in all) also made it easy to find a comfortable cadence instead of the spin/heave options available with only three.  I do love the simplicity of the 3 speed hub gear though so overall I think it wins.

I can't do anything about the Dahon's tyre until the weekend at least so Friday's commute will be back on the hybrid as well.  OK not a folder, but a bike none the less.

We'll weather the weather

I woke up this morning (incidentally I can never read or hear that phrase without starting to sing “The Blues”) to hear heavy rain outside.  No small surprise there as it had been doing its very best to drum through the top of the wheelie bin when I went to bed last night.  So I dressed appropriately – big gloves and most waterproof coat.

However, when I left the house the rain had stopped and it stayed stopped all the way to the railway station.  The whole of the train journey was rained on but by the time I started the “station to office” leg of my commute, it had stopped again.  I arrived at the office nice and dry if a little warm from the unnecessary use of my waterproof.  It seems someone was smiling on me this morning.

Out of idle curiosity this morning, I checked the Met Office website and found the following on the front page:

Note special mention of the East Midlands in the “Yellow Warning of severe weather”!  A bit more digging revealed the following:

Issued at: 1153 on Wed 18 Apr 2012

Valid from: 1100 on Thu 19 Apr 2012

Valid to: 2100 on Thu 19 Apr 2012

Slow-moving heavy showers are expected to develop across eastern parts of England through Thursday.  During the afternoon in particular some heavy downpours are likely, with a chance of hail and thunder. The public should be aware that localised surface water flooding may occur, leading to difficult driving conditions. The showers should gradually ease during the evening.

Translation:  You and your Dahon will get mightily pissed on all the way home.

Mind you, in an odd way, I’m quite looking forward to the prospect of riding through a thunder storm.  Although I ride the same journey most days, there’s never any shortage of variety. 

The rain it raineth every day*

I’ve had quite a few rain-lashed commutes now.  This morning was no exception so at least I was able to plan ahead and put on my “Really Good but Heaviest” waterproof (as opposed to packing my “Really Small but Barely” waterproof in the rucksack just in case).  To be honest, I doubt the difference between them is more than a handful of grams but like all good cyclists, I have become obsessive about weight.  I don’t bother with parachute-like waterproof trousers either, preferring quick-drying but slim-fitting Ron Hill Tracksters.  They are warm even when wet, as are my Berghaus fleece gloves so no problems there.  Prefering as I do to wear trainers when cycling, I’d like some waterproof socks too but at £35 for a pair of Sealskinz, that can wait for a wealthier day I feel.  OK so my legs and feet get a bit wet but I can shower and change into dry things at the office and have all day to dry out my cycling kit for the journey home.

On the plus side however, I had the benefit of a strong tailwind which more than offsets the inconvenience of a bit of damp.  That may yet turn out to be a headwind on the way home though which will be received with considerably less jollity.

Being outdoors in the rain, has taught me one or two things about the stuff that we don’t tend to experience being cossetted indoors or in the car:

1. It is rarely raining as heavily as it looks once you get outside.
2. The really heavy “big” rain is usually only a quick shower, no more than a few minutes long.  The residual stuff is actually not that bad.
3. Spray and splash from the road wet you much quicker and more thoroughly than actual rain.  Mudguards are a must.
4. Fog, although not actually rain, wets you more than you’d think.
5. A philosophical point:  Once you are wet, you don’t get any wetter.
6. A further philosophical point:  It’s only a bit of rain and you won’t dissolve so get out there and get on with it!

We shall see how stoical I manage to remain in the face of it this evening, especially if there’s that headwind…

*With apologies to W. Shakespeare