Show us what you did today, thread
- Thread starter clockworkgazz
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Yesterday Brian and I attended the Pedal On Parliament (POP) ride in Inverness.
While this has been happening in Glasgow, Edinburgh and even the last couple of years in Aberdeen, it was a new and untried event for Inverness. While there is a good cycling scene in Inverness it was an unknown as far as how many people would show up. There was also the Great Glen Sportive in town for Sundays ride and it was again an unknown as to whether this would be an influence, positive or otherwise on the day. In the end it made no difference but it was a bit disappointing that there was zero support from any of the riders.
I was also without my co pilot as Caleb had a council beach clean at Dunnet Beach that he was very looking forward to.
I drove down in the morning and met up with Brian at Tiso, where we parked the cars and unloaded. Brian on his Ti On One and myself on the Big Dummy.
We weren't sure what to expect numbers wise, like the organisers as we later found out, but were pleasantly surprised by the amount of people at the meeting place. There was a great mix of riders from every style of riding, covering all ages from tiny babies in trailers through to some at a more advanced number of years to everything inbetween. It was a very sociable, short ride across to the council chambers/offices for a few speeches etc. It was good to go to show support and to show the council/government that they need to follow through on the promises they made, especially if they want people to vote for them again.
One cue, right at the end the heavens finally opened and it came to a close. We made a dash across town to Velocity café for some lunch and to dry out. Thankfully by the end the sky had brightened a bit and seeing as it was still early we would have a cruise ride down through the islands and down the canal to Dores and then back up the other side and back up past the marina. The weather held out and we had a nice relaxed ride and then back through the city to finish off at Tiso café for a final coffee and custard tart about 5.30 or so. Then it was unload/unpack the Dummy and squeeze it into the car and head home.
A different but enjoyable relaxed day. It was good to be a part of it and show support for the people who have influence over the policies effecting where and how I ride.
Jamie
18057171_162231650971601_8633110679613966594_n by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3727 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3730 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3731 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3736 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3741 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3743 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3744 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3748 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3751 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3754 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
While this has been happening in Glasgow, Edinburgh and even the last couple of years in Aberdeen, it was a new and untried event for Inverness. While there is a good cycling scene in Inverness it was an unknown as far as how many people would show up. There was also the Great Glen Sportive in town for Sundays ride and it was again an unknown as to whether this would be an influence, positive or otherwise on the day. In the end it made no difference but it was a bit disappointing that there was zero support from any of the riders.
I was also without my co pilot as Caleb had a council beach clean at Dunnet Beach that he was very looking forward to.
I drove down in the morning and met up with Brian at Tiso, where we parked the cars and unloaded. Brian on his Ti On One and myself on the Big Dummy.
We weren't sure what to expect numbers wise, like the organisers as we later found out, but were pleasantly surprised by the amount of people at the meeting place. There was a great mix of riders from every style of riding, covering all ages from tiny babies in trailers through to some at a more advanced number of years to everything inbetween. It was a very sociable, short ride across to the council chambers/offices for a few speeches etc. It was good to go to show support and to show the council/government that they need to follow through on the promises they made, especially if they want people to vote for them again.
One cue, right at the end the heavens finally opened and it came to a close. We made a dash across town to Velocity café for some lunch and to dry out. Thankfully by the end the sky had brightened a bit and seeing as it was still early we would have a cruise ride down through the islands and down the canal to Dores and then back up the other side and back up past the marina. The weather held out and we had a nice relaxed ride and then back through the city to finish off at Tiso café for a final coffee and custard tart about 5.30 or so. Then it was unload/unpack the Dummy and squeeze it into the car and head home.
A different but enjoyable relaxed day. It was good to be a part of it and show support for the people who have influence over the policies effecting where and how I ride.
Jamie
18057171_162231650971601_8633110679613966594_n by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3727 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3730 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3731 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3736 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3741 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3743 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3744 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3748 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3751 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
DSCN3754 by Jamie Dyer, on FlickrRe:
Yesterday I took part in the Dirty Reiver, a 200km Gravel event down in Kielder Forest.
I arrived on Friday to register and spent the night at a B&B in Hawick, it was late when i got there so I settled for a chip butty as my pre-ride dinner (preferred food of the amateur cyclist
).
I was up at sparrows fart Saturday morning and got to Kielder castle by 6am. The place was buzzing with sleepy eyed cyclists on all kinds of bikes, from your usual gravel/adventure bikes to cx bikes, mountain bikes, and even a few singlespeeders! Carbon, steel, Titanium, aluminium, front suspension, full-suspension, you name it, it was there (even one guy on a retro mtb!).
There was around 800 folk registered, so we were set off in waves, I departed just after 7am.
And shortly after that my water bottles departed from my bike :facepalm: the first few miles were mayhem and carnage, there were some fast, rough downhill sections through the forest and that's where my bottles must have bounced out of their cages, as I saw plenty of other people's bottles scattered down the trail too. Literally every 50yards I passed someone fixing a puncture, probably from pinch flats on the rocky downhills.
Things then settled down and the route wound it's way along forest fire roads and tracks and out across open areas of moorland.
Although it had been frosty at the start I'd opted for shorts, Jersey and arm warmers, which proved to be ideal as the sun made fleeting appearances as the day went on and thankfully it stayed dry and quite mild throughout.
Feed station 1 came at around 30 miles and I stocked up on energy gels and bars, and filled my one remaining water bottle.
From there it was more of the same, some long grinding climbs, followed by fast fire road descents which made me glad I'd double wrapped my handlebars with bar tape.
The dry conditions meant there was loose gravel on the surface which made for some sketchy cornering on the downhills!
I think feed station 2 came around 65 miles or so, again I stocked up with food. Got talking to one chap who'd forgotten to bring his cycling shoes
so was doing the 200k wearing his trainers on his spd pedals :shock:
Shortly after leaving the feed station I reached down for a drink only to find the bottle had ejected itself at some point, so that'll be no more water for me then! There followed a period of deep depression and self doubt, the sun was shining, I was tired, thirsty, I had no water, I was now at a distance equalling my longest ever ride previously, I was heading into the unknown basically.
My mood was raised when I stopped to help an American guy who'd punctured, he was ready to walk for miles back to feed station 2 to get another tube, the madman, so I gave him one of my tubes (thankfully my tubeless tyres were impervious to puncture throughout the event
), in return I got a drink of his water, so it was win win
Feed station 3 arrived at some distance or other, I've no actual idea. But I did have a few cups of tea and flapjacks and sat around staring into the campfire they had going. The only water carrying vessel I had left was my tool bottle, so the tools were stuffed into pockets and the bottle filled with water :mrgreen:
There was one monster climb after the last feed station, where I caught up.with a guy on his singlespeed bike, running 38:18 gearing no less :shock: no wonder he was suffering on the climbs...
We then dropped down and the route took us around Kielder water, it was about with about 15k to go that my energy levels took a nosedive, every slight incline had me switching to my easiest gear and grinding way way upwards. Fortunately I got talking to a guy on an On One Inbred 29er and between us we struggled on. The last mile or so seemed to go on forever.
Before I knew it we were turning in towards the castle again and the very welcome finish line!
All in all it was 12hours 10minutes, 123miles, just short of 12,000ft of ascent, but it was the beating you took from the terrain that really made it tiring.
The event itself was very well organised, the signage on course was excellent, feed stations well stocked, and volunteers cheery and helpful.
I rode my GT Grade which is designed for this sort of event, running 35c Kenda Happy Medium tyres (tubeless), I added a Fuel Pod and two Stem Cell bags from Alpkit (which were good), and a Profile double bottle holder behind the saddle (which worked ok when I tested it, but wasn't up to the rough trails of Kielder, or maybe I should have tempered my speed downhill, who knows).
Would I do it again? I think so. I know I could do it quicker, and make a few changes to make things better equipment wise.
For now though, I'm drinking beer and having a day off from riding bikes
Yesterday I took part in the Dirty Reiver, a 200km Gravel event down in Kielder Forest.
I arrived on Friday to register and spent the night at a B&B in Hawick, it was late when i got there so I settled for a chip butty as my pre-ride dinner (preferred food of the amateur cyclist
).I was up at sparrows fart Saturday morning and got to Kielder castle by 6am. The place was buzzing with sleepy eyed cyclists on all kinds of bikes, from your usual gravel/adventure bikes to cx bikes, mountain bikes, and even a few singlespeeders! Carbon, steel, Titanium, aluminium, front suspension, full-suspension, you name it, it was there (even one guy on a retro mtb!).
There was around 800 folk registered, so we were set off in waves, I departed just after 7am.
And shortly after that my water bottles departed from my bike :facepalm: the first few miles were mayhem and carnage, there were some fast, rough downhill sections through the forest and that's where my bottles must have bounced out of their cages, as I saw plenty of other people's bottles scattered down the trail too. Literally every 50yards I passed someone fixing a puncture, probably from pinch flats on the rocky downhills.
Things then settled down and the route wound it's way along forest fire roads and tracks and out across open areas of moorland.
Although it had been frosty at the start I'd opted for shorts, Jersey and arm warmers, which proved to be ideal as the sun made fleeting appearances as the day went on and thankfully it stayed dry and quite mild throughout.
Feed station 1 came at around 30 miles and I stocked up on energy gels and bars, and filled my one remaining water bottle.
From there it was more of the same, some long grinding climbs, followed by fast fire road descents which made me glad I'd double wrapped my handlebars with bar tape.
The dry conditions meant there was loose gravel on the surface which made for some sketchy cornering on the downhills!
I think feed station 2 came around 65 miles or so, again I stocked up with food. Got talking to one chap who'd forgotten to bring his cycling shoes
so was doing the 200k wearing his trainers on his spd pedals :shock: Shortly after leaving the feed station I reached down for a drink only to find the bottle had ejected itself at some point, so that'll be no more water for me then! There followed a period of deep depression and self doubt, the sun was shining, I was tired, thirsty, I had no water, I was now at a distance equalling my longest ever ride previously, I was heading into the unknown basically.
My mood was raised when I stopped to help an American guy who'd punctured, he was ready to walk for miles back to feed station 2 to get another tube, the madman, so I gave him one of my tubes (thankfully my tubeless tyres were impervious to puncture throughout the event
), in return I got a drink of his water, so it was win win Feed station 3 arrived at some distance or other, I've no actual idea. But I did have a few cups of tea and flapjacks and sat around staring into the campfire they had going. The only water carrying vessel I had left was my tool bottle, so the tools were stuffed into pockets and the bottle filled with water :mrgreen:
There was one monster climb after the last feed station, where I caught up.with a guy on his singlespeed bike, running 38:18 gearing no less :shock: no wonder he was suffering on the climbs...
We then dropped down and the route took us around Kielder water, it was about with about 15k to go that my energy levels took a nosedive, every slight incline had me switching to my easiest gear and grinding way way upwards. Fortunately I got talking to a guy on an On One Inbred 29er and between us we struggled on. The last mile or so seemed to go on forever.
Before I knew it we were turning in towards the castle again and the very welcome finish line!
All in all it was 12hours 10minutes, 123miles, just short of 12,000ft of ascent, but it was the beating you took from the terrain that really made it tiring.
The event itself was very well organised, the signage on course was excellent, feed stations well stocked, and volunteers cheery and helpful.
I rode my GT Grade which is designed for this sort of event, running 35c Kenda Happy Medium tyres (tubeless), I added a Fuel Pod and two Stem Cell bags from Alpkit (which were good), and a Profile double bottle holder behind the saddle (which worked ok when I tested it, but wasn't up to the rough trails of Kielder, or maybe I should have tempered my speed downhill, who knows).
Would I do it again? I think so. I know I could do it quicker, and make a few changes to make things better equipment wise.
For now though, I'm drinking beer and having a day off from riding bikes
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Well done, especially for carrying on without bottles! :shock:
Think the mechanic at the lbs did that event. I'll meet up with him in the week.
For me, following an early bike ride and watching a race, I started tinkering in the garage.
Mending my Obsys55 forks, changing both sets of seals, so they work without leaking. I hope!
IMG_1077 by Mike Murray, on Flickr
Knackered black seal, replaced by the pink one, along with main fork seals.
So now, I have a very comfy 55mm of travel for these forks, to replace the 40mm from the ones currently on my Sunn.
Also cleaned up the wheel I saw next to a bin, in the middle of Brighton! :shock:
IMG_1079 by Mike Murray, on Flickr
Mike
Well done, especially for carrying on without bottles! :shock:
Think the mechanic at the lbs did that event. I'll meet up with him in the week.
For me, following an early bike ride and watching a race, I started tinkering in the garage.
Mending my Obsys55 forks, changing both sets of seals, so they work without leaking. I hope!
IMG_1077 by Mike Murray, on FlickrKnackered black seal, replaced by the pink one, along with main fork seals.
So now, I have a very comfy 55mm of travel for these forks, to replace the 40mm from the ones currently on my Sunn.
Also cleaned up the wheel I saw next to a bin, in the middle of Brighton! :shock:
IMG_1079 by Mike Murray, on FlickrMike
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