Aren't Bicycles Great.

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  • brat
    brat Posts: 2,533 Forumite
    armyknife wrote: »
    Brat, did the motorcyclist copper recognise you as a collegue?

    Firthy, he's a good mate! ;)
    Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
  • The last few days it's been really nice weather to get out in the early evenings and catch a few rides before the clocks go back.
  • armyknife
    armyknife Posts: 596
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    armyknife wrote: »
    The last few days it's been really nice weather to get out in the early evenings and catch a few rides before the clocks go back.

    Bumping thread and just adding I managed to get out on Sunday and even with GMT returning, had a very nice evening ride; this weekend looks relatively dry, so here's hoping a bit of on-road/off-road is possible before mud establishes itself. :)
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409
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    I've been bracing myself for winter, but I've been amazed at how warm the last couple of evenings have been. I was riding in a thin summer jersey around 7pm today!

    Just bought a better front mud-guard, some base layers long-fingered gloves, so I'm really going to try to keep cycling for as long as possible through winter this year. I wonder how long that idea will last! :p
  • brat
    brat Posts: 2,533 Forumite
    I'm slowly getting back to it. My back and knee took a bit more of a pounding from my crash than I originally thought, so I haven't been able to do much on the bike since. I've had three family rides out, 12mph pootles of 15 to 20 miles each. I haven't dared to run yet, which is pi$$ing me off, especially as my favourite 10k trail run is only three weeks away.

    I need to recognise that the body takes longer to recover as you get a bit older. :(

    Still, gives me a little more time to look at some proper bike !!!!!!!! :j

    The question is...

    ...Aero or lightweight??

    Aero
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    Lightweight
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    Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
  • Johnmcl7
    Johnmcl7 Posts: 2,816
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    I'm really fancying a road or CX bike with hydraulic brakes, there's a couple of good options around £1000 now. I've retired my hybrid and been using the road bike (which I enjoy so much more now it has flats on it) but as we're coming into winter it's becoming a more challenging option. I think a CX bike is exactly what I need but trying to be more careful about buying bikes these days.

    I've been off my bike for a while as well as I've damaged my neck although nothing to do with the bike and no idea how it even happened in the first place. Each time I thought it was better it would come back again which was a particular concern given I have a 24 hour race next week. I've been very, very careful this month though and slowly building my miles back up mostly on the softer mountain bikes (my full suspension 29er has been my 'town' bike) and in the last week or so back on the road bike.

    It's quite alarming how quickly my fitness dropped and I started to feel a lot of stiffness in my muscles, particularly my legs. Also I needed to get some night riding done as it takes a bit of time getting used to just having a small pool of light to go by. I'll also admit it can be unsettling going through a pitch black forest on your own and hearing deer or something crashing through the forest over the rumble of the tyres or hearing a cow moo beside you that you never saw.

    On the plus though I find the cooler temperature easier to manage especially with waterproofs and it's quite a liberating feeling going through the darkness. I was out on Monday night under a clear sky and a bright moon, the wind had dipped and it was dry plus the moon was bright enough that I was riding for a good portion of the time with just my 'be seen' lights, I didn't need the main lights to light up the road for me as I could see enough from the moon.

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  • armyknife
    armyknife Posts: 596
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    Very nice weather for a little ride up the valley yesterday, pretty much t-shirt weather, though I did notice a lot of leaf and mud/gravel debris on the road surfaces, so as I had a puncture on the way back probably caused by sharp stones, I decided to put on some more winter like or at least thicker harder wearing tyres.

    Puncture wasn't an issue at all, in fact first one in over six months and a grassy verge on the edge of the New Forest isn't a bad place to have one, even in dusk twilight.
  • Johnmcl7
    Johnmcl7 Posts: 2,816
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    The weather this weekend was incredible, I was taking part in a 24 hour mtb race at Fort William and was dreading possible rain as a couple of years ago heavy showers came around 3am which really tore up an already badly damaged course and was just plain unpleasant to cycle through then of course get off the bike and back into it later.

    Although the course started weight there was no more rain and I did all my laps in shorts and t-shirt, it was a particularly weird feeling on a double stint between 2 and 4am going through a pitch black muddy forest under a clear starry sky and not needing any waterproofs or anything heavier on.
  • armyknife
    armyknife Posts: 596
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    Johnmcl7 wrote: »
    The weather this weekend was incredible, I was taking part in a 24 hour mtb race at Fort William and was dreading possible rain as a couple of years ago heavy showers came around 3am which really tore up an already badly damaged course and was just plain unpleasant to cycle through then of course get off the bike and back into it later.

    Although the course started weight there was no more rain and I did all my laps in shorts and t-shirt, it was a particularly weird feeling on a double stint between 2 and 4am going through a pitch black muddy forest under a clear starry sky and not needing any waterproofs or anything heavier on.

    Nice life affirming experience, bet you won't forget it for a long while. :)
  • brat
    brat Posts: 2,533 Forumite
    That's a great effort John! Fort William is glorious when the weather is kind. Unfortunately that doesn't happen so often!

    It's beautiful here today. My back's improving a bit so I took the chance to do a leisurely 35 miler. Kept the average at 17.5, so steady away.

    Reached the dreaded fog after 16 miles...

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    ...so turned and headed back to god's country! :D

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    Fantastic!
    Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
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