Tag: Cycling

October 11th – Still not feeling great, to be honest. Still sleepy and tired, I headed out at lunchtime to get something to eat, and do a little shopping. I needed to pop up to the Orbital in Cannock, so went via Pelsall, and up the Cannock Extension Canal.

It was a lovely autumn afternoon.

I particularly liked the boat with the unintentionally smiling face near the boatyard, and the golden hour as I returned through Pelsall was gorgeous.

If you’re out an about on a bike this weekend, do watch out for the twin hazards though: it’s hedge-flailing season and the roads are dotted with thorns, and following the inclement weather, many are coated in slippery mud. Beware, folks – both can wreck a good ride.

September 15th – I spent the afternoon in Droitwich. This piece of woeful, inexplicable cycling ‘infrastructure’ is precisely why we’ll never have nice things.

Do you think the designer gave any thought to cyclists going in the other direction?

(No, there isn’t a lane on the other side of the road; there isn’t even a pavement.)

August 25th – One thing that is good about a wet ride is that it speeds up the bedding in of new brake pads. Last week I changed the ones on the front, and although greatly improved, that hadn’t yet reached best efficacy. A ride in the wet – with some nice hard stops from speed – works wonders, and the rain on the disc mingles with the metal dust from the disc and pads, forming a grinding paste that wears everything together quickly.

On my return, I swill out the brake calliper and disc with a hose.

The brakes are loads better now than they were before. I’ve never seen this documented anywhere, but seems to work a treat. 

August 19th – I’m fussy about brakes. Very fussy indeed. Urban cycling – particularly in heavy traffic – demands the ability to control speed and stop with certainty and dependability in all conditions.

Since I discovered disc brakes a few years ago now, I’d never have a bike fitted with anything else. After using cable controlled versions – the excellent Avid BB7 – these days, I use hydraulic brakes by Avid (part of what used to be Sachs for old timers reading out there) and by Shimano.

They are both excellent kit. Being hydraulic, however, they absolutely devour pads.

Modern cycle disc brakes started on mountain bikes, where braking is usually short, or at relatively low speed. With similar units on commuting and road bikes, engineering questions of heat dissipation, wear and glaze on the pads are critical.

Discs and callipers get fearsomely hot very quickly. It’s not unusual to see my discs steaming on wet rides. Prolonged use can cause the surface of the brake pad to become shiny and lose grip, ‘glazing over’, and the wear is constant. 

There are two general types of brake pad; sintered metal and resin (AKA ‘organic’) – sintered last a long time, are great in the wet but can howl in use and wear discs heavily. Resin pads wear quickly, are silent, and generally offer softer control and better ‘modulation’.

I’ve been very, very pleased with the Shimano brakes, which have been on the bike for about 4-5 months now, but the resin pads they came with haven’t impressed me. The pads for these units come on a heatsinking vaned plate, and are very easy to change, which is a blessing as the rear set were never the same after I cleaned the bike using normal bike cleaner. The front ones glazed out a few days ago.

I went to sintered on the back when they became poor, and was shocked at the huge difference made, and the fact that so far they’ve been silent, so today, I popped some in the front, too. (The new sintered pad is on the left; the knackered resin on the right).

Braking harmony restored.

I must say, recent experience is leading me away from resin or organic pads.

August 14th – The day was mad. Starting with a great deal of nervous anticipation, the wheels of the day ground slowly at first, then became frenzied. I found myself via a convoluted route in Brum at rush hour, looking for food and a cup of tea. Crossing the Cathedral Square – Pigeon Park to locals – I spotted this bike rack. Using it were the spectrum of bike users; a modern roadie’s bike, an achingly hip single speed (set to freewheel side, not fixed as per usual), and finally, a wee folder. 

Nice to see so many bikes in Birmingham these days – and such a variety too.

August 6th – This is in response to a recent request by top bloke and Brum social media whizz John Hickman. This is a saddlebag vomit.

Don’t be alarmed, is a meme, or idea carried from something common elsewhere – handbag vomit/daily carry – where someone posts pictures of what they carry in their bag daily. 

Here, minus personal stuff like paperwork and work junk, is what I carry daily in my saddlebag. I regard these things as essential. I suspect some folk will find them surprising.

The items are, in roughly back to front order:

  • 1l flask of earl grey or chai, sugar and milk
  • Sharpie marker
  • Cheapo multitool thing
  • 2 spare tubes for different bikes
  • Apple mac network adaptor
  • clean paper towels and disposable gloves for mechanicals
  • Emergency sweets (milk gums) for bonks and sugar crashes
  • Pack of self-ahesive patches still in blister as case is crap and they pop open
  • Muji box with sheets/tubes of meds – Sudocrem, painkillers, hay fever pills etc.
  • Nasal decongestant for troublesome sinuses
  • Pedro’s tyre levers – the best I’ve found
  • Aquapac for keeping phone dry in the wet
  • 2 Rema conventional puncture kits
  • Spokey spoke wrench (again, the best there is)
  • Emergency work phone
  • Camera
  • Bahco mini socket, ratchet spanner and bit set. Brilliantly useful.
  • 15mm stubby spanner
  • Spare camera, GoPro and GPS batteries
  • Mini torch
  • Memory cards and sticks in waterproof box
  • Various everyday USB and charging leads on a keyring with thumb drive
  • Huawei 4g mobile WiFi router with selection of SIM cards for different networks
  • 7000mAH USB battery for charging phone etc.
  • Google tablet (interchangeable with iPad/macbook air depending on work requirements)
  • Not shown: cable ties, pager, security access cards, clean socks and about 100g of assorted detritus

The tools and survival items have evolved over years and changes of bike. Surprisingly, this lot doesn’t weigh much and leaves plenty of space for the junk of the day and shopping if necessary.

Is this the geekiest saddlebag out there? What do you lot carry?

July 11th – My return via Walsall for some shopping took me up through Yewtree, Delves, Highgate and over Church Hill. Rounding the corner on the cycleway, at the foot of the old, disused steps down to The Ditch (that’s the name of a place, honest), a fantastic display of flowers.

What a splendid ride for a Friday at the end of a very, very hard week.

July 6th – Sustrans, the cycling charity who created and ostensibly look after the National Cycle Network are really annoying me locally.

A few weeks ago, I pointed out the baffling signage south of Chasewater on the canal, which appeared to prohibit a good cycling route. Here I noticed similar confusion at the level crossing by Chasewater Heaths station. Face north, and the signage correctly leads you over the crossing, onto the cycleway past the Sportway. Come in the opposite direction, and it shows you’re on Route Five. Or you’re not. 

What the hell?

Get your act together, people; you’re supposed to be promoting cycling, not preventing it.

July 4th – Cycling in the rain presents its own hazards and challenges, but is especially hazardous in the rain following a dry, hot spell.

When roads are dry, the surface, which is gently abrasive, grinds residue from tyres and collects dust and detritus, plant matter and spilled oil, fuel and other gunk from vehicles. This is all mixed and blended by traffic action into a sort of instant-grease mix, just waiting for the atmosphere to add water.

When the rains come, the first surface waters and traffic action mingle with the powder to form a soapy, slippery fluid that actively foams and reduces traction. Cornering in this goop on narrow tires can be like cornering on ice, and wheel spin and braking skids are the signs that one needs to be careful.

Most car drivers would never notice it. But anyone on two wheels dreads the sight of the white froth on a road surface, just waiting to steel your wheels from under you.

Take care folks.

June 22nd – Riding (unusually for me, it’s a long story) up the A460 through Rugeley, I spotted this bit of arsehattery masquerading as cycling infrastructure. This is a ‘mandatory’ cycle lane, as indicated by the solid white line. Mandatory in this context means it doesn’t have to be used by the cyclist, but that traffic shouldn’t occupy it or park in it. 

So far so good.

So they run it close to an oblique parking bay, on the left. What could possibly go wrong? 

What’s wrong with this picture, kids?