Road Cycling

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topgun06 said:
You're right. From what i remember, the other side of Mow Cop is pretty rough.

I'm just impressed by anyone who can do over 45 miles on their own. I'm so glad I have a group of folks who I cycle with for motivation over the longer distances.

105 miles planned for Sunday :)
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To be honest if I didn't listen to music (in me left ear only before anyone complains) I'd find it pretty boring to longer do solo rides unless I had a very specific goal in mind.

Sunday sounds good - what route are you doing? :) A friend of mine wants to do a 100 mile/9000 ft climbing ride tomorrow which sounds fun but I suspect my legs will really struggle given how knackered they were today, before I did 70 more miles.

One thing to be aware of is the weather is meant to be a bit crappy on Sunday compared to Saturday.

dodg3rman said:
Did 45.4 miles on my own today :p
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:D
 
Replacement wheels arrived early this week and got the chain whip and cassette tool today, so now for my first bike maintenance in swapping the tyres over....should be fun!
 
dodg3rman said:
Did 45.4 miles on my own today :p
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In which case, I am impressed!

FrenchTart said:
To be honest if I didn't listen to music (in me left ear only before anyone complains) I'd find it pretty boring to longer do solo rides unless I had a very specific goal in mind.

Sunday sounds good - what route are you doing? :) A friend of mine wants to do a 100 mile/9000 ft climbing ride tomorrow which sounds fun but I suspect my legs will really struggle given how knackered they were today, before I did 70 more miles.

One thing to be aware of is the weather is meant to be a bit crappy on Sunday compared to Saturday.



:D
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Yeah, It gets lonely and boring over long distances. Especially when you're suffering and have no one to share it with.

Sunday's ride will be this one: https://app.strava.com/activities/142671349

It is one we have done each of the last three years to Llangollen and back in support of Dougie Mac. Not as much climbing as your mate though, wow! Its a friendly, dare I say more leisurely, ride. It has a nice atmosphere to it anyway :)
 
topgun06 said:
Sunday's ride will be this one: https://app.strava.com/activities/142671349

It is one we have done each of the last three years to Llangollen and back in support of Dougie Mac. Not as much climbing as your mate though, wow! Its a friendly, dare I say more leisurely, ride. It has a nice atmosphere to it anyway :)
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So you go *all* that way and don't climb Horseshoe pass? Crazy! :p

Itchytrigg said:
Replacement wheels arrived early this week and got the chain whip and cassette tool today, so now for my first bike maintenance in swapping the tyres over....should be fun!
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Good luck! Watch some videos etc first and go from there, you'll be fine! Hardest bit I usually find is getting the cap off before removing the cassette as it's usually got grit/grime in it and jammed... I should probably not refit it as tight! ;)

Replacing Brake cables easy guys? I'm guessing http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-road-stainess-steel-inner-brake-cable/rp-prod130983 and some cutters (have some heavy duty ones for cutting shielded cable which will probably be ok without buying some specific cycling ones), then some crimp ends and a crimp tool?

Got a few jobs to do today but will be hitting my bike maintenance afterwards -
  1. sticky rear brake (hope it's just grime on the cable or in the caliper)
  2. clicks again (sounds like rear wheel again so will tighten the spokes further than I did last time, not spending too long on it as I have replacement nippes on their way... And a new wheelset!)
  3. changing pedals to a newer set I have (some creaks from right shoe/cleat I can't resolve, pedals have done 1500 miles/2 years so have some rust on them)
  4. Probably digging out the old Hybrid to see what I need to do to make it saleable, I'll be happy with £100 for it so nothing too major (aiming to hide/fix/replace the rusty bits, pads and cables maybe).
 
Thanks Roady, shall be bringing the wheel in the house shortly so I can have youtube and the internet at hand for when (not if) I get stuck/mess it up!
 
On Thursday I tackled the Bealach Na Ba.... both ways! :D:D

http://www.strava.com/activities/304626576

Absolutely amazing day. At the top of the Bealach it was 16 degree's, sunny and not a hint of wind. All I could hear when standing at the top was the ringing in my ears. Complete silence, bliss!

This was my first ride with power and new pedals as I have Garmin Vector now. So that was pretty cool and I am getting to grips with it all now although I prefered Shimano cleats to the Look Keo so far.

Strava is a bit weird, it classes the Tornapress>Applecross climb as CAT2 (it's the harder of the sides) but the Applecross upwards side as CAT1, the distance and avg grade are slight different but not much on paper.... I am cool with being 6th on a CAT1 climb but I think the category classification is wrong and I think the segment is screwy anyway as doesn't have many riders. But I'll take it! :D
 
xdcx said:
On Thursday I tackled the Bealach Na Ba.... both ways! :D:D

http://www.strava.com/activities/304626576

Absolutely amazing day. At the top of the Bealach it was 16 degree's, sunny and not a hint of wind. All I could hear when standing at the top was the ringing in my ears. Complete silence, bliss!

This was my first ride with power and new pedals as I have Garmin Vector now. So that was pretty cool and I am getting to grips with it all now although I prefered Shimano cleats to the Look Keo so far.

Strava is a bit weird, it classes the Tornapress>Applecross climb as CAT2 (it's the harder of the sides) but the Applecross upwards side as CAT1, the distance and avg grade are slight different but not much on paper.... I am cool with being 6th on a CAT1 climb but I think the category classification is wrong and I think the segment is screwy anyway as doesn't have many riders. But I'll take it! :D
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Nice one, it's an awesome climb.
Most people ride it in the Tornapress to Applecross direction because then you're climbing up the hairpins at the top and it feels more like an alpine climb. There's also a couple of sportifs which go over it in that direction, hence the big number of people doing it in one direction only.

Just looking at the categorisation, it's right on the line between Cat1 and Cat2. I guess the slightly shorter climb from the applecross side gives it a higher average gradient and just pushes it into Cat1. If they have the elevation and gradient correct then it's the only legit Cat1 climb in the country- well done!
I'v never ridden up that side of it :(
 
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Decent ride this morning, just under 80 miles. Did my best to almost stack it coming back round Richmond gate roundabout. Yet another puncture meant my front was really soft and almost went from under me, just managed to save it. My last Vittoria tub is now dead.
 
You're asking a bit much to do lots of training rides on them Tom.

My rear had no tread left and was squaring off after 1200km on our rough roads here!
 
Berger said:
You're asking a bit much to do lots of training rides on them Tom.

My rear had no tread left and was squaring off after 1200km on our rough roads here!
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Yeah I wouldn't usually, but after buckling my dura ace c24 rear, I need to get that trued again before I can ride them, would usually only race on tubs otherwise.
 
Good ride today but ended in total disaster for me.

I was about 5 - 10 m behind the group when going through Earlstown when all that rubbish got blown over the road. A black bin bag snagged in my rear derailleur ripping it straight off and locking the rear wheel. Before I had chance to shout they had all rounded the corner. Fortunately the hanger is perfectly intact, but the mech is totalled! One of the jockey wheels is shredded and the jockey wheel housing is snapped in numerous places.








:(

Managed to radio the team car to come and pick me up! Didn't have a spare bike for me to use on the roof rack so just had to retire! Hehe!

Probably another £100 for a near rear mech and cable everything else seems to be ok, including the frame, which is a relief. I could order a new hanger from Canyon but I'm hoping I can get the piece of derailleur out of the current one, though most of it has sheared clean off!
 
Vonhelmet said:
Noooooooo!

Dura Ace rear mech costs £106 at Wiggle...
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Yup.

Managed to remove everything now, including the bit of derailleur still suck in the hanger and I managed to do it without damaging so that's a bonus. Such a bummer as it was a really good ride, really enjoyed myself and was feeling strong at the end too. Should have been another 100 km ride, but that's life eh?
 
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