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How was your cycle commute?

I was half thinking of cycling to the railway path's bridge over the A4174 to see this thing go by :-

largeload.jpg


Apparently it's too heavy for the M32 slip-road and they've had to reinforce bridges and culverts on the A420.

Google Earth suggests it's arrived at Bridgeyate near Warmley.
 
I think my very recent worsening of the pain in my lower back may be caused by my riding position, as yesterday I had very little pain and I did not ride my bike. It was in agony all week, while I was riding it to work, and now nothing....
 
Orang Utan said:
I think my very recent worsening of the pain in my lower back may be caused by my riding position, as yesterday I had very little pain and I did not ride my bike. It was in agony all week, while I was riding it to work, and now nothing....
Click to expand...
Maybe something's shifted on the bike ?
Though the saddle tends to get you in the legs...
Maybe it's extra stuff you're carrying on your back ?
 
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I've not changed anything recently. Gonna see a new GP next week as my last one didn't do anything to help me beyond prescribing pain killers
 
That voltarol is very effective, but clearly it's no solution for fixing what's wrong with the bike or some other part of your lifestyle.

I get bouts of low back pain, but I have a rather muscular riding style and have a bad habit of steering with my lower back.

Have you been lifting things at work recently ?
 
Orang Utan said:
I've not changed anything recently.
Click to expand...
Except you did have some work done on the bike not that long ago. One of my bikes (the one without pitlocks on everything :D) always comes back from a service with a slightly lower saddle - it gets put down for the test ride I think. Maybe something's changed your riding position -saddle tilt?
 
First properly cold ride is forecasted for Tuesday morning, so I'm desperately trying to break in my new winter gloves so that the tightness doesn't offset the extra insulation - I should have started much earlier.
What I probably ought to do at some point is rig up a rubber glove with a tyre valve so I can stretch new gloves...

EDIT :-

glovepump.jpg

It isn't tackling the fingers, but it's a start. :)
 
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gentlegreen said:
I was half thinking of cycling to the railway path's bridge over the A4174 to see this thing go by :-


Apparently it's too heavy for the M32 slip-road and they've had to reinforce bridges and culverts on the A420.

Google Earth suggests it's arrived at Bridgeyate near Warmley.
Click to expand...

What is it? Looks like a containment for aliens.
 
Managed 260 miles over the weekend riding to York and back unscathed. However the my pride and joy Pashley didn't fare quite so well.

In Melton Mowbray (about 25 miles from the end) I stopped at a petrol station where a woman forgot to apply her car's handbrake. So it rolled forward and into my bike... :mad:

Fortunately the damage appears light but it's buggered the panniers. I'm trying to console myself by saying it was better for her car hit my bike rather than a person.
 
Big shard of glass through the back tyre this morning at about two miles in to the 8.5 commute. Had to get the train then walk up to the office from the station, about an hour late. It was near the side of the tyre, about 1cm long, thin and curving. First time the Marathons have succumbed to glass, and second puncture in a week for me (last week was actually just a split in the inner tube where the valve joins, so technically not a puncture, but still massively annoying).
 
No bike for me today as I had to take my work clothes in.
I'm off to a conference in West London tomorrow and will have to turn up in smelly cycling gear :mad:
#firstworldproblems
 
Well, I need a hire car for some site work tomorrow, so rather than get it delivered to home early tomorrow and come up to the office in the morning to pick up all the kit, I'm having it delivered to the office tonight so I can load up then (and throw in the bike) and fix my wheel up at home. Fortune shines, sort of.

After a weekend where I've been lying about recovering from a bit of a sniffle I felt like having a bit of a fast run in this morning, could feel the strength in my legs again that was absent last week so kind of buzzing for a decent go at some of the climbs, so frustrated to be denied this. I'll be back on for Wednesday for what looks like a good wind in the morning and a cool start.
 
An unusually speedy ride home - combination of newly-smooth pedals, new back wheel with a new tyre, and the wet roads - and no wind to speak of and near-optimal temperature.

And hardly any cyclists annoyed me very much - and the one time I was overtaken by another cyclist, it was competently done.

Also the mizzle on both journeys was light enough to not warrant the dreaded rubber trousers.

The one annoyance was my rear camera somehow shifting skywards so I missed a good record of the daily grind of tailgatings and dodgy overtake attempts.

Said wet roads and above-average leaf-fall kept me focussed.

The one fly in the ointment is still the tendency for my chain to miss the granny - so I'll order a shorter bottom bracket and fit that when I fit new big and little cogs ...
The one I took out is healthy enough, but I don't feel inclined to re-fit old components.
 
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Lots of police at junctions last night in London. Saw 3 cyclists stopped for not having lights. I can't understand why anyone would not spend a few quid to be seen - I feel vulnerable enough with my high-vis clothing and 3 lights.

The police are also stopping HGVs etc. in an attempt to be even-handed - see post here. I hope the police at junctions also pull over the drivers on their mobiles/jumping light/breaching ASLs.
 
Only once in my very earliest days of cycling did I find myself light-less on my bike at night - when my bodged-up torch packed up on me.
I try not to think of the years when all I had was a 1 watt never-ready front and back.

The mind boggles at anyone taking to busy London streets without lights.
 
Crispy said:
I was considering building something similar, but I'm not sure how much more useful they'd be than hi-viz gloves (which I already own)
Click to expand...

I did think about you (i.e. maybe you had built something like it) when I found it... But with hi-vis glove a light has to be shinning on it, whereas with this... Might ask for it as a Christmas gift from someone in the family.

Ideally, would be cool to have a light embedded on a glove, better than having to put two things on!
 
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Awful ride into town today.

It was properly cold and I didn't wear gloves and my hands were getting fairly numb, which was bad enough, but then the rear derailleur just snapped off. Luckily I was only a few minutes from the job centre so didn't miss my appointment. Had to push it home though which took a long time. And the derailleur kept swinging into the spokes so I had to go slower or stop.

Extremely annoying, especially as I'm skint as fuck so paying for new parts is going to be difficult.

:mad:
 
On a daily basis I have a wrist strap.
The one occasion on my homeward commute where I need to make a clear right turn signal, I have to watch out for oncoming vehicles - as well as the ones behind who'll drive past anyway.

I've got an actual indicator set I need to fit - four crappy little lights, but I'm planning to fit a much brighter one back right.
 
Fez909 said:
Awful ride into town today.

It was properly cold and I didn't wear gloves and my hands were getting fairly numb, which was bad enough, but then the rear derailleur just snapped off....
Extremely annoying, especially as I'm skint as fuck so paying for new parts is going to be difficult.
Click to expand...

I suppose you could just take it off all together, remove a section of chain and leave it in a single gear :-/
 
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