Cycling Thread - All Peddlers and Pedallers welcome.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Have started a new thread as the other one is very nearly full.

We have one too Puffy - it was here when we got here though, DH and the dog use it primarily .

You mtb lot are braver than I am that is for sure.

I drove 250 miles round trip today to collect DD's new bike, the sized down tourer I found on eBay.

I didn't think it would fit until next year but worryingly it will be fine right now. Large side of fine though so I think we will store it until the spring as her current bike has a few months of room.

I only had two bikes as a kid - they were both massive when I got them and much too small when they left me. After the second one I had a full sized bike! Bit different from the bike every 12-15 months we have here.

All quiet on the cycling thread!

The sorry saga of the tandem is that it was returned due to a longer than we wanted wait for parts and DH finding something wrong with the rear disc brake when he got back.

Then an e-mail to our local CTC came up with a smashing used Thorn tandem, much better bike, really fab and we have used it two nights running since collecting it on Tuesday.

Not much real cycling going on here, I am feeling a bit rough, B12 injection tomorrow so I hope to feel better next week. Have done a couple of rides with DH but nothing more than 1 1/4 hours. Had to have a snooze after today's ride. Bring on the B12!

Well, at least the tandem saga has a happy ending.

I am still suffering after a duathlon on Sunday, but off to the NEC cycle show on Saturday, then trying the c club ride on Sunday with ds (while dh swans off with the b1 ride) as its going in the right direction for us to cut it short if necessary.

New (old) one is fab CMOT, the old couple selling it gave me all the original paperwork, a 10 yr old £4k bike for £300! Really well looked after too.

It is going to Bob Jackson for a re spray when the weather changes. Reckon we will sell it for more than we paid/have spent on it when we have finished with it.

I wanted a steel framed older one initially, couldn't have done any better, only 10 miles from home too.

You sound busy CMOT, fantastic weather/time of year for it.

I have a new bike!!

It is soooo lurvely! Just taken it out for a very quick spin, 13 miles locally and it goes like a dream. :)

Very swish looking bike Chops , says old Lavender with a family of steel tourers.

We have acquired three bikes this week including DH's new steel audax. He is kicking himself for having it built - it was a big birthday gift from me and I thought it would be nice to have it made for him. He wishes he had done it himself as he is very pernickety and said he could have done better. The shop knicked his enamelled frame when putting the chain rings on .... and daubed a bit of navy touch up paint on it in an ungainly way, the bike is Oxford Blue - shame.

We went into Evans today for some plastic toe clips for DD's rear pedals on the tandem - think they might help her. They had two sets listed as in stock but couldn't find them when we got there. So the manager just found a pair off a mtb they sold that they took off because they were unwanted and gave them to us, foc! Amazing.

Nice bike chopstheduck!

Yay to a fab ending to the tandem saga, lavender. Boo to the nicking of bike frame though.

No bikey news here, didn't manage to get out for my girlie bike ride this week due to work :( my friends set some great times on strava though.

My 8 year old and his dad went up to Lee Quarry today, looks like a fab place to visit. Apparently ds1 (8-did I say 8!) was flying through the air styling out some absolutely massive jumps, and dh has been told (by some sponsored downhiller he met there) that ds1 needs to start downhill racing, as he's that good. I'm now googling private healthcare and some serious body armour!

Deggie next weekend for us, yippee! Not so sure about the camping element though

Wow puffy, brave pants all round.

Thought you might like to see DH's bday pressie from me, 3 months in the making. He went out for a couple of hours on it today.

Very nice Lavendersun! I have an old steel road bike in my trailer that I keep meaning to restore. It's too small for me, but dt2 has his eye on it.

Took the cannondale out for a proper spin today. Was going lovely until about 38 miles then a knocking noise got louder and louder :( It's when I pedal under pressure and every time the crank passes 12oclock. It's almost like it is catching on something, but it's not. I suspect bottom bracket issues :( Nothing appears loose, but I'm going to check the chainrings, cassette etc, tomo and then if I can't find anything I'll take it in.

Such a shame when you buy something that isn't right Chops, I hope you get it sorted.

DH had the same sort of thing, within 200 yards his handlebars dropped as far as they could because they hadn't been tightened (I would have fallen off), then at 12 miles he disappeared thought I was winning . His back wheel had not been tightened properly and it got harder and harder for him to pedal. Rubbed all the lovely enamel off his frame, on the inside of the chain stay thankfully.

He was more than fed up, he didn't check it because it had come from a professional bike shop, really well regarded, went through them because his frame maker doesn't do custom frames, but they do for this shop. Not sure what is up with them atm because my new wheels aren't true either.

Am in the process of restoring my bike - is proving very expensive!

Don't get my dp started on bottom brackets lol....it's an ongoing saga in this house!

We've had bottom bracket issues too. But today ds decided to swap his own wheels over while I was upstairs (and he'd been told not to) and has managed to twist his chain somehow.

If I had BB issues I would sack DH my mechanic .

Twisted chains seem to defy all logic, but you just have to slide the twist along the chain until it magically disappears.

Bike went in. Mechanics adamant it can't possibly be bb on a brand new bike. So they fine tuned the gears, checked all the things I'd already checked then took it for a test ride. Realised it was making a 'horrible' noise, admitted defeat and disassembled, regreased and reassembled the bb. It is now FIXED!

I think they slowly realised I knew what I was talking about, I'm never quite sure if it a girl thing, or if men get treated the same! Was annoying waiting half hour while they fiddled with gears and chainrings and the cassette but the gears are better tuned now too.

Just hope it isn't going to be a reoccurring issue. :(

Wow Chops, glad it is fixed - awful attitude though.

Now, I am not remotely interested in the mechanics and maintaining my bike, because DH is, and I would never do it to his specification. But, a frame maker spoke to me like I was an even bigger numpty than I am on two occasions recently when I was talking about placing an order .... oddly I changed my mind, just couldn't deal with his attitude.

DH has just bought a new BB for my bike post respray, said it didn't need one, just bearings, but I wanted a shiny one.

DH and I have been out again today (two days running which wasn't the plan). He is at home for two weeks and I am taking the sunny mornings off (work from home) and catching up later.

We are working our way through the cafes on this blog , 30 miles round trip to a lovely little cafe this morning for an expresso and a toasted tea cake.

Back to work reality for the afternoon!

norfolkcafecycle.blogspot.co.uk

That sounds lovely Lavender

We have sold 4 bikes and given the tag along away in the last week or so, very determined to make room here! Just one more to go, DH's winter commuter that he no longer needs.

DD is doing cycling proficiency or whatever it is called these days at the minute. Once she has done we are going to move her onto the little touring bike (hasn't had drop bars or more than 8 gears before and we want her to get used to it with us) - then we can sell her current bike.

We will be down to DH 2, DD 1, tandem and me 1 (plus one on order so 2).

Amazingly I can now get to the steel cupboard at the back of the barn.

Lovely weather still but I can't ignore work again until next week , DH went out without me yesterday, said he would be two hours, I started to worry when he was 15 mins late, he took a wrong turn, did 40 miles and came home and ate a whole chocolate cake .... oh for his metabolism.

It's Bikeability. Best of luck to her! I'm sure she will achieve level 2.

I had my post course assessment this week, and passed so I'm now fully qualified as a cycling instructor, plus got offered admin work in addition, so all going great here! Still busy with work though, day off tomo but working again Sunday.

I'll be taking the cannondale out again on Monday, hopefully it will behave this time!

It is through her school Chops - is that what you do? As in work with schools?

She plays her cards very close to her chest - would never tell anyone that she spends a lot of her down time on her bike with us .

Really pleased for you that everything is going well.

Yep, that's it! I do schools during the week and then private courses after schools and weekends. Most of the private work is teaching people to actually ride bikes rather than bikeability though. The instructors will def notice your dd is a regular rider, we can spot them a mile off!

Wow Chops, you must have patience by the bucketload .

She told us off for not telling her to get on from the side opposite the chain .

Made us laugh, we always sandwich her in between us or keep her on the inside if we are two abreast. She has been cycling in Cambridge for years .... and now our instructions aren't good enough!!

We are loving the Lavender tandem here - set off for a cafe 6 miles away for breakfast in the sunshine this morning and it was so much fun we added another 12 miles - 24 miles in total which is fab and would never have happened with DD in tow pre-tandem.

Of course DH now has his sights set on LEJOG and keeps telling DD how the Thorn blurb tells of how many people do that on their tandems .

aw, Lavender - it sounds like such fun! Wish my dh was that much into cycling.

LOL at the wrong side. We tell them always to stand on the clean side (i.e. the left, away from the chain) because they are then taught to look right then place their bike into the road, whilst staying on the pavement. They then mount the bike from the pavement.

I thought it all sounded a bit silly when my dts came home telling me about it, as they are also keen cyclists, but it does make sense when you see it in practice.

3 brand new cyclists up and riding this morning! I am worn out though and looking forward to riding my own bike tomorrow.

He is like an overexcited puppy Chops. Cycling has always been his thing, the thought of us all doing it together is his dream.

They get quite a move on on the tandem, 14mph at times I reckon as that is my max speed and I was struggling to catch them in a couple of places. DH said it is really well engineered, rides better than his Kilmeston but not as nicely as his new bike.

Yes, DD keeps making us laugh when she comes home from her course and tells us how it should be , really funny thing is that we live so rurally there are no pavements!

There are many H&S violations on the tandem, too many to list, no hands, stopping half in a bush to eat blackberries, lots of singing, etc., etc.

It is fantastic though, not something we would have ever considered without the people at the CTC who have all been there and done it.