It took a while to undo the hoods and the secondary brake levers, then remove the old bar. Putting them in the correct place on the new bar, I realised that I would need to put some new cables on, this again added to the job as a whole, but if its worth doing, then it's worth doing properly. So I set to and recabled my brakes.
August 2021 - Upgrade time
It took a while to undo the hoods and the secondary brake levers, then remove the old bar. Putting them in the correct place on the new bar, I realised that I would need to put some new cables on, this again added to the job as a whole, but if its worth doing, then it's worth doing properly. So I set to and recabled my brakes.
August 2021 - Bike TLC time.
I wondered how far the old one had gone and how far this new one would manage. I thought I really ought to make notes, then decided that was just way too geeky.
All sorted now.
June 2021 - My first cycle tour (Self propelled camp) Day 2
Fully satisfied and pleasantly warmed by our impromptu feast, we needed to make a move. We had to climb the Chiltons. We had travelled through a gap on the way there, but this time we were climbing up to the ridge - this was no easy ride -before dropping down to Weyhill, a town with a rich history of Gypsy conventions. Though it meant more to me in a slightly more modern era as the last village we drove through before my grandparents house. (This was a very welcome signpost when you were a carsick youth)
June 2021 - My first cycle tour (Self propelled camp)
Jo, a seasoned pro decided that this trip would be perfect to trial using Dora, her trusty Explorer Brompton. Babs who joined us too on her fairly new gravel bike Xena and me - the one with the white knuckles grabbing my, then unnamed, bike by its pink handlebars hoping that it wouldn’t spin out of control as we were photographed.
The bike was handling so much better than I expected. In fact, it was only on the hills that I could notice the weight behind me.
It wasn’t long before we reached Whitchurch. And the entrance to The Bombay Safire Gin distillery. Though I’m not a Gin drinker, I hear there is a lovely coffee stop here. We didn’t stop on this occasion - we had other plans.
But the glasshouses built for the aromatics looked stunning as we cycled past and reminded me that I should return another day.
“Stop! Stop! Stopping.” came the shout from in front as we all came to an abrupt halt. Initially I thought Jo had dropped her glove, but as it started to move, I took a closer look. There in front of us was a real live mole. I’ve never seen one before and yes it looked as velvety as I would imagine, but a quarter of the size.
It’s barely existent eyes were useless in the daylight and it’s relatively huge paws and claws were hampering it’s progress down the road.
We left it finding its way back into the hedgerow, hoping that it wouldn’t retrace its steps back into the path of a passing car/cyclist as we continued up the hill.
In this case, the view was as stunning as the down.
Time was marching on and I was getting hungry. But no fear, Jo had it all in hand. We turned from the main road into The Hungry Strawberry, originally a ‘pick your own’ farm, but now with the addition of shop and cafe, the perfect place for lunch.
We paused to mark the crossing of a boarder and again enjoyed the views of our surroundings.
We pedalled on, not stopping now until we reached the Kennet and Avon canal.
We stood for a while chatting to the owner - an inspirational 80 year old sailing her way back towards Bristol, raising money as she went. She was planning to run cruises once she reached home - again to raise money for her chosen charity - a home for girls in Ethiopia. All the time we were watched by her trusty four legged guardian who was never more than a few feet from his charge.
Tucked up in my sleeping back, listening to the rain gently taping on the tent, I soon settled to sleep at the end of day 1.
September 2024 - The one where things don’t quite go to plan
It was the second Friday in September, and I was heading out of the garden on my bike, nothing unusual there, but this Friday, my bike was ...
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Just when you think you have left plenty of time to get to the station, you get that sinking feeling that can only mean one thing - a punctu...
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So this week I led my 350th ride for Breeze, but instead of the celebration that it should have been, it was filled with sadness as it would...
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It is always challenging to motivate yourself to go out when it is cold and grey outside, but it's half term, and we had a milepost in o...