Weekend Baiku

[Augustus]

Sat: Cross baiku (snore - will i ever ride the mtb again?) :?:

Bloody knackered. Head off slowly and blusterily. Strong wind. Air is clean. Woods are empty. See Marin with puncture. Offer patches and realise I have none. Country roads are quiet. But windy. The South Downs reign beauty over our valley this morning. Sun is making the chalk warm like summer. See Stumpjumper with puncture. Offer help but not patches, as I remember I have none. Ride on. Head back. 2 miles from home hear the hiss, hiss, hiss of a rotating nightmare. Flint has sliced my fresh Houffalize's and is in the process of gutting them of their lifeblood...my air! Put in fresh tube and curse my ludicrously small carbon pimpy pumpy for not actually working. Discover a small hole in spare tube. Curse at not having any patches and apologise to pump. Walk miles back to the outdoor shop that is my haven at times like these. Have tea and bun and borrow a puncture repair kit they (for some reason) have in the office. Walk out of shop and find the akward shape digging into my chest from a pocket to be a patch set. :roll:

Home. Clean and tinker. Best ride of my life.

 

[mrkawasaki]

Rideout, rideon...

Rode to the National Velodrome on the gritty urban cycleways of East Manchester with Jo - realised this is a first joint ride of 2008! She was testing the merits of a womans' fit saddle and the FS Jamis she got for Christmas. She began to realise that fitness doesn't last for long and after 3 hours pedalling she was a tad weary. I was on my first proper ride in the Hakkalugi. Anyways, the velodrome was in subdued training mode today - BCF Juniors putting in the miles on the wood. We were able to walk freely into the centre of the track and realise how bloody steep those bankings are -more scary than most XC downhills I've done, for sure. I'd hoped to be able to choose some seats and purchase tickets for the upcoming World Champs - but they'd resigned those duties to Ticketmaster. Returning to a hot shower then out to buy groceries and retire to a dusky bar for a Chimay by tealight.

Mr K