Tell us about your new improved government regulations compliant cycle part II

07Lapierre wrote: »

Ignored my own advice and i started re-using old tubes as spares (I normally only carry new tubes). So this morning i got a puncture about 9k into my 25k commute. No problem i thought. I removed the tube, checked the tyre and fitted my spare tube. I then used my one and only (note to self..carry at least TWO) CO canister. I got a further 2k down the road and tyre was flat again! I removed the tube to find that the tube was leaking from the patch that i put on to fix a previous puncture! Luckily, i also carry a mini-puncture repair kit (some sand paper and self adhesive patches) and a mini-pump, so i repaired the first tube and refitted it while refitting a very stubborn tyre all accompanied by a lot of cursing and frustration! Grrrrrr! The Joys of cycling!

Nightmare. I was always afraid of the C02 canisters, I knew I'd forget to bring spares at some point! It sounds like you were well prepared anyway!

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Nightmare. I was always afraid of the C02 canisters, I knew I'd forget to bring spares at some point! It sounds like you were well prepared anyway!

Get a CO2/pump hybrid. That way if you run out of C02 you can revert to pumping (albeit really slowly - especially on the MTB).

CO canisters are great for getting tires up to a descent pressure but I would never leave the house without a mini-pump! When I replace a tube I always inflate it with a pump, then I deflate it and pump it again. I do this to ensure the tube is seated correctly. Only then do I use CO to get it up to a high pressure. Nothing worse than using your one and only CO canister to blow up your last tube!

Just shy of 65km yesterday with the club. Was feeling good at the point where were planing to turn back for Home. Convinced the others to go another 5km up the road loop around a roundabout and back. They weren’t happy when we turned and headed back into the wind that had picked up and didn’t realize.

First proper spin since start of Dec(not including pottering around when on holiday) much more fun than the Turbo

60km yesterday for my first non-commuting spin of the year, it was due to include more of a venture into the mountains but that had to be abandoned due to the strength of the wind. descending down bohernabreena with a strong crosswind from the left was horrendous

That was waaaay too wet n windy last night, on another note, joined a club last night and signed up for a 62k cycle Sunday morning. Oh dear....

Yep, was very chilly, took about 5k before fingers started to warm up. Little breeze but nothing like the last.... Month. On my own, so stretched the legs a bit. Felt good:-) That's it until Sunday now, rest recuperate, and eat:-)

neris wrote: »

had my 1st of the year last night quick 12km out to howth and back. flew out but nearly got blown backwards once i made the turn at the pier for home. think ill be out again tonight and tomorrow, when your off the bike for ages and living an unhealthy lifestyle you forget how good it is and beats walking the dog

Some wind descending the head into the village side last night, if I'd have stopped pedalling I'd say the bike would have stopped on the hill

Dcully wrote: »

What club? our sportive group spin Sunday is 62k :P

Ballinasloe Cycle club. They're doing a quick stop half way so I hope I should be ok:-D

It seems like the first time on the bike in yonks and it was a cold one! 6.5k to work. 23.5k at lunch and 6.5k home. Felt tough probably because I’ve become a lazy ass lately.

First time out in nearly 3 weeks. 37km around NCD. Windchill had it at -2c when I was leaving and it certainly felt like it. Got to the crossroads at Boroimhe and decided to put the heavier gloves on. It was a good decision.

Feckin Baltic and windy to boot. 105 down to Wicklow and back via Ashford an d roundwood. A lot more demanding than I expected...I hope it was just the low temperatures. Tho defo a bit dehydrated too...you don't think you're thirsty until you warm up....

Fattled my way through the Kingsmountain 200 on my singlespeed yesterday.

Preamble: Normally I do 2 or 3 fasted pre-work spins per week often on the Singlespeed (usually the Coast Road to Bray or up Howth Head) and I've done both the Great Dublin Bike Ride 100km on it and a solo 150km spin around Meath/Kildare, plus climbed up to Enniskerry from Bray various times, so I was reasonably confident when I came up the idea of Audaxing on it.

However my routine has been severely disrupted, by weather events having to work late at night and work stress culminating in getting a short prescription of sleeping pills after a much worse than usual run in with insomnia (also suffering muscle spasms in my leg so my experiments with dry needling [delightful] ruled out a few other potential preparatory spins).

Slept soundly on Friday night, with everything well prepared because I'd actually gotten everything ready once before (i.e. I'd mistakenly thought the ride was last Saturday). Got up at 05:30 for a relaxing breakfast and started off sore but soon felt much better for having been on the bike and rocked up to Whitehall church, where myself and a fellow Novice Audaxer stood around in the wrong carpark for a good 15 minutes before heading over to the start in the most Audax Appropriate of all possible office spaces. A bus shelter.

Met CDaly and a couple of other lads (including my fellow carpark-errer) and rode with them out of the city, as Singlescottie only has stop and go as options I found myself getting ahead of them from time to time but after a navigational diversion reuniting with them.

By the time I hit the first control at Collinstown I'd emptied the legs playing Bad News Boreen Bingo (only a Sulkie Race short of a full card - including a chase from a with hindsight probably friendly Alsatian ) on a surface rougher than Nigel Farage's soul, had a probably horrible but good at the time chicken fillet roll and a coffee to refuel and took off again with Cdaly and Co when they caught up with me.

It was all going fairly well (apart from frozen feet any time I stopped turning the cranks) until we passed the final control at around 150km (160ish for me at this point) and started hitting the few hills and drags on the route, got about 70% of the way up the one steep climb before I put the foot down and then had a 5-10m hopscotch of shame until I could clip in again and get a full turn of the cranks to finish the remainder of the climb.

The long drags after that though killed me, and I got separated from Cdaly & co. twice, once by a hay bailer after which I managed to chase them down and a second time when I dropped a bidon and had to back for it.

This was the last time I had any company and after that I was freewheeling and suffering for a while before I managed to take in enough water and calories and take a bathroom break (The small luxuries count!) and got that "I was dead but I got better feeling".

The last part through Kentstown(I think, I was just following the route on my Garmin) and Ballymun (Oh Hai IKEA!) was fine until I passed the turn for the finish at Whitehall church and spent about half a struggling hour working my way back around using my phone for directions.

By the time I got back, there was nobody left in the carpark and my wife called me to say she was on her way home with takeaway so I grumped my way home thinking I was a DNF - finding out later that my message to the event organiser was sufficient proof to fill my brevet card.

As with my previous Audax experience it was a good day with some really great people but the bonk was abject misery and I might save future singlespeeding adventures for routes that feature fewer disintegrating bog roads and rough boreens!

That cold wind was evil though!