Planning a Sponsored Ride to the Olympic Site

My wife is planning a sponsored ride from her school in Hemel to the Olympic site for next month, so we drove the route yesterday to check directions etc. Then we went for a walk in the Lee Valley lakes area. The final leg of the journey is down cycle tracks along a canal from there to Stratford. The route on the road section is here:

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/85916077?fb_action_ids=362916243760299%2C362907497094507&fb_action_types=mapmyrideapp%3Amap&fb_source=other_multiline

Shiny Gears

I had quite a few odd jobs this weekend so didn't find time for a bike ride. I did however clean and lubricate the gears on both bikes. I also went for a walk and dug our allotment today, so had plenty exercise.

Easter in the New Forest

We had a family wedding to attend near Lymington on the Easter Saturday so rented a cottage/studio near Boldre from Friday till Weds. Nicky and I took our hybrid bikes on the roof rack and did a 10 mile ride to the coast and back on the Friday, then a longer 25 mile ride on coastal roads, in towards Lyndhurst over heathland, then through some forest tracks. There are over 100 miles of gravel forest tracks that are ok for hybrids and mountain bikes. I was hoping to cycle a bit more, but Easter Monday was a wash out - so we donned our waterproofs and had walks in the woods and a brief walk on Bournemouth beach (with our son and girlfriend).

On the way back Nicky dropped me near Theale (S of Reading) and I cycled the 41 miles home, via Pangbourne and the Chilterns. I was glad I was on my hybrid as the hill N of Pangbourne was long and steep, requiring my lowest 0.9 ratio gear. I then had to negotiate parts of the Chilterns I was unfamiliar with, without a map or phone signal for much of the way. But this added to the adventure and I eventually made it to Christmas Common, over the M40 and down to Chinnor and familiar territory.

Gear Ratios

I've been giving some thought to gear ratios lately, having had my son's Ricci road bike upgraded (see previous post). There are plenty of gear tables online, but they don't really give a good visual image of how much overlap there is between chainwheel gears to help decide when you should change chainwheel, or to compare different bikes and planned changes. So I've produced my own, based on a standard spreadsheet where ratio = chainwheel / cassette sprockets. (My wheel sizes are all the same, athough my hybrid has bigger tyres.)

Surprisingly my hybrid bike has higher as well as lower gears than my road bike, due to it's small 11 cog. On all bikes it makes sense to change chainwheel after 3rd gear - although on both bikes I tend to stay in my middle chainwheel most of  the time.

The Ricci Project

Our eldest son acquired an old steel frames Ricci road bike off my brother a few years ago. It's quite a nice lightweight bike - although the frame is a bit rusty and creaky. The bike is probably from the 1980s imported from a bike shop in Redruth, Cornwall by a friend of my brother. It has a Campagnolo C Record groupset, however the bolts connecting the 2 chainwheels had worked loose and my son cycled on it and bent one of the chainwheels. As he's working in Vietnam at the moment I thought I'd fix it for him. So I managed to find a new Campag Centaur chainset on the internet for £52. The C Record one was 51/39 (I think) whereas the new one is 53/39 - designed for 10 gears, rather than the Ricci's 6.

My local bike shop said they'd fit it for £20, but advised that a new chain would be a good idea as the existing one was worn and may not be big enough. Of course that meant that a new freewheel was a good idea and as 14-24 cog sets aren't made anymore they replaced it with a 6 speed 14-28 cog one. So the bike now is better both up and down hills with an improved range: 1.4 to 3.8 ratios* instead of 1.6 to 3.6. (But not as good as my road bike - 1.2 to 4.0). The gearing is spaced apart more, but only for the lower cogs, so it shouldn't make much difference to cadence.

I was hoping to take the bike for a decent ride today but I can't manage to lower the saddle as the stem has welded itself to the frame! I went for a quick spin on it last night though and it's pretty smooth. I might have another go at lowering it now I've lubricated the area, but don't want to break anything.
* Based on http://www.bikecalc.com/gear_ratios

Iain Rennie 75 mile Charity Ride

I met up with Ellen from Lejog to do the 75 mile ride for the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home charity yesterday, and raised £185. It was a great day - a little cool to start off with when we met at 8.15 am BST at Aylesbury, but it soon warmed up and by lunchtime it was t-shirt weather at around 20 deg C and sunny with little or no wind - perfect. We took our time - partly as Ellen was on antibiotics because of a throat infection, and partly as we're lazy (12.4 mph average). We set off out of Aylesbury heading south west towards Princes Risborough, but then found ourselves at a junction heading north with a sign for Aylesbury to the right. We'd missed a signpost and somehow done a complete u-turn! Anyway it only added an extra 3 miles.

The route was pretty hilly - a tour of the Chilterns roughly between Stokenchurch and Berkhamsted going across the N-S valleys. We had to walk up a couple of the hills, as did most others. We were back by about 4pm to recieve our medals at the rather deserted finishing post.

As I'd cycled every day to work last week, and did a short ride on Sat my total for the week was 165 miles. Today I'm having a day off cycling - just a lunchtime swim to loosen up, possibly. I've also brought my son's Ricci steel framed road bike in for repair so needed to drive in anyway.

Here's the route http://connect.garmin.com/activity/161754427#.T3BMUKr1MPM.email

Chiltern Spring Populaire 100 km Audax

I did this ride today in warm sunshine with the trees and hedgerows starting to blossom. The start was 9 am near Gt Missenden just a 15 min drive, then we cycled near to High Wycombe, nr Stoner Park, then to the Benson cafe on the Thames. From there we went via Thame to Waddesdon for another cafe stop, where I had lunch. Part of the route was through Waddendon Manor and Eythorpe Park (inc Eythorpe Lodge left) on roads closed to cars. I made it back to the start by 2:45. A great day. I started off in long overtrousers and three layers on top, but ended in shorts, t shirt and jersey.

Cycled 113 miles this week, inc 3 commutes.

What to wear?

I find it difficult to judge what to wear on a bike trip when the weather is neither really cold or hot. I either seem to sweat away in a waterproof or get chilled by wind blowing through me if I don't wear one. When I'm on my hybrid I can just pack things away in my pannier, but on my road bike I have to check the forecast and plan ahead. I've recently bought a packable Endura Photon waterproof breathable jacket (pictured), which is small, light but a bit sweaty. It can easily pack into a back pocket though. I've also got a warm cycling jersey, but wearing both would be too hot. My other alternative is a heavier softshell waterproof with underarm vents (belonging to my wife), which feels comfy most weathers. Then there's my rather rubbery waterproof, which is good in the cold.

I've also just invested in a pair of lighter weight gloves, as it's too warm now for my lined waterproof ones, and a bit too cold for fingerless. My feet seem ok without overshoes on now, unless it rains, although I've seen a few people wearing them this week. So just 2 pairs of socks do the trick, and I can always take a pair off. I feel like Goldilocks!

Box Hill ride from Twickenham

I'd arranged to meet up with Ellen from my LEJOG trip yesterday (Sunday) to cycle this famous ride on our newish road bikes. After a bacon sandwich and coffee at her house in Twickenham we set off at around 10.15 am in fine sunny weather and quite mild too. Ellen was in shorts, but I wasn't so brave and had long trousers and 2 pairs of socks on just in case. The ride inside the M25 was of course pretty urban and quite busy, but once we got to Cobham we got into some nice country and some minor roads. There were lots of other cyclists on the road, and quite a few 4x4s out for the day. We gradually climbed one hill then down to N of Dorking before doing the hill itself. Box Hill was quite an easy climb - just a long zig-zag up. We were planning on having some lunch at the cafe, but as there was a huge queue we managed with a hard boiled egg and mini Mars bar each. We had a bit of a break, but set off again before we got cold and stopped off at a van serving coffee and burgers (or tea and cake in my case) part way down the hill. Our route back was via Epsom, Surbiton and Kingston then along the busy Thames path. I don't really like cycling in cities much especially on a road bike. I'm ok with cycling in Aylesbury on a hybrid, but battling with unpredictable drivers in towns is not much fun. So in general I think I'll stick to my rural rides. I had thought of doing the London Revolution ride this year, but am meeting up with my brother for a ride in Exmoor the weekend before so will give it a miss.

Total distance 53 miles at a liesurely 11.5 mph. Route here from Ellen's Garmin http://connect.garmin.com/course/679834#.T0e67Cj3nBs.email

Back in the saddle after the freeze

I haven't cycled for the last 2 weeks because of the icy weather, but yesterday the temperatures were just above freezing (3C) and the roads seemed ok. So I did a 15 mile circuit on my hybrid, which I thought would handle any black ice better. I also wanted to check that 3 pairs of socks (silk, then wool, then cotton) plus my neoprene overshoes kept my feet warm enough, which they did. I needed my Endura scullcap under my helmet too to stop my ears from falling off.

I was planning on meeting up with LEJOG friends to do Box Hill in Surrey yesterday, but we've postponed that for 2 weeks. I plan to return to cycling to work tomorrow too, and will continue to commute by bike twice a week or more, as usual.