Today's Ride

This was one of my earlier restorations and it's fair to say if I did it again now, I would do a lot differently. I also really didn't like the wheels I built for it - it rode like a dog.

I recently rebuilt the wheels and put them on another bike (and they feel much better) and slung these ones on it - mainly so I could store it easily.... but it was looking at me at the corner of the shed -asking for another chance.....

So, it got one this evening - what a flippin' difference!! I flies now! Was only supposed to be a ride around the block... but ended up being 12km.



Ended up on the dock overlooking the Thames at sunset. Was 18C - very little wind.

We are due another spell of warm weather apparently and then that's probably gonna be it... you can feel the season changing.

Nice couple of hours this morning.

FZRIP said:

Nice couple of hours this morning.

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So nice, I reckon next few years will see a rise in the early 2000s Splat graphic Konas. My first bike/project last year was kinda similar to yours; rigid fork, billy bonkers etc. Geometry looks pretty similar too though I think the year after yours is when they started to square out the tubes a bit. Ended up stripping it to build my Inbred but still kept the frame, half tempted by a black Blast I keep seeing on fb marketplace. Cheap as chips to pick up, no PITA standards and they make for a great all day ride.

Today's spin round the lanes of north Somerset, nothing special, but was a perfect day to eat up some miles!

Beautiful out on the Downs tonight. Getting colder in the evenings now. Not too cold for a pint afterwards though.

Bit further this morning, a hair over 20 miles and pretty much all on road which accounts for the higher than usual average speed - not bad for a steel mtb considering I've had similar paces doing a route not too dissimilar on a carbon roadie.

6am start, very quiet.



Went and checked out one of the legal graff walls a town or two over. Otick & Dmos.



Undisputed king of the north, if you know you know.







Gave the frame a bit of a t-cut and polish (not that it's massively evident from the pictures) but with the life it's had it's still very rough in places. Since none of it is really colour matched I'm very very tempted to go the powdercoat route in something like RAL 5021. a 46t narrow wide just got delivered and some 26er gravel kings should arrive later. Tempted to strip the decals off the wheels too. Indecisiveness.....

Being delegated to kitchen duties today by Mrs. oligali, I´ve been able to squeeze in a morning Gravel-quicky around the neighbourhood.
20 km in 1:20 hrs and roughly 650 m alt...

North Kent this morning





Coincidentally I did a similar route this time last year, 26th August 2024



What a difference a year makes. 23rd August 2025



(Edit: The pub is at the top of a moderate hill. Looking at the gear lever it looks like I used a lower gear this year than last. Hmm...)



About my normal stats now. With drink and biscuit stops I'm out for a couple of hours. I'd like to do more but 4 - 6 trips a week helps keep the years at bay.

Back on the Isle of Wight for a week, and I had a chance to go up this excellently named road. It's not actually that steep, but it does live up to the name. It's in Ventnor, which was near the beginning of a 35 mile there-and-back route along the southern coast of the island, which has some of the best coastal views.