Previous Posts

  • A Tidy Cockpit August 7, 2019Teocalli3377

    I really hate a messy cockpit with GPS, lights etc spread over the handlebars.  I like to have things aligned and centred if at all possible.

    My latest incarnation on #1 comes after swapping out my old Garmin for a Wahoo.

    K Edge mount for Integrated Bars

     

     

    Fitting a K-Edge mount means I have a mount with interchangeable puck.

     

     

     

     

    K-Edge mount with Go Pro mount

     

     

    That means that I can hang a Go Pro mount underneath.

     

     

     

     

    Headlight with Go Pro style mount

     

     

    So with a Headlight with a Go Pro style mount from the helmet fitting kit (and a bit of filing).

     

     

     

     

    Wahoo with Headlight underneath.

     

     

    I can then hang the Headlight under the Wahoo.

     

     

     

     

    Which I just realised gives me a bit of a Starship Enterprise look.  Give me all you’ve got Scottie………….

    Starship Enterprise

     

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  • Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian July 29, 2019Teocalli3349

    Photo – Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian

    Well the La Grande Boucle is over and what an event it turned out to be vs the pre season expectation of the usual Tour fare.

    Anyway, the OTRL season rolls on with the 39th Classic Ciclista San Sebastian.  How much will the GT riders be on parade and how much will they still be going for it?  How much will some of the GT contestants have hit the Burgers and Beer in the week after the Tour (and regret it on the first hill)?

    With a hilly parlours it’s certainly going to stretch the legs of anyone over imbibing post Tour.

    Classic Ciclista San Sebastian

     

    Time to make your choices.  Teams and riders here or here.

    Top 5 from 2018:

    1.  Alaphilippe
    2. Mollema
    3. Roux
    4. van Avermaet
    5. Simon
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  • Round Isle of Wight July 17, 2019Teocalli3321

    Any UK folk fancy joining us on a round IoW ride Sept 7th (or 8th).  Weather dependent on precise day.  Option to meet in Portsmouth or ride down from Haslemere and train back from Portsmouth with possible option of a lift back to Haslemere depending on numbers.

    Ride will be approx 56 Km / 35 miles to Portsmouth.  Coffee and snack in Portsmouth before fast ferry to Ryde.  Loop the island clockwise via the marked tourist route.  Recovery Ale and Fish and Chips at Wooton before catching a late afternoon ferry back to Portsmouth for Imperial Ton for the day.

    Pace will be leisurely!

    Oh – and we will be going via the Cowes Chain Ferry not as above.

     

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  • La Course July 17, 2019Teocalli3314

    Well, until ASO/UCI get round to (re)instating La Grande Boucle Feminin we have La Course.

    It’s tempting for On The Rivet to boycott the event until it is a stage race but I’m not sure yet that we are a major player on the horizon of ASO.  Maybe we will be by next year………

    Anyway, sorry for the short notice – my excuse is that I’ve been away on 3 holiday/riding trips with only a day between each so had kinda lost track of events.  Thanks to DanCollins for the prompt.

    Rider and route details can be found here.  As the major players are pretty much all present it will hopefully be a cracker.

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  • Rob’s Ar1 July 9, 2019RobSandy3292

    I had a hankering to take my race bike out for a spin last week. I haven’t raced this year due to work, life and health issues so I’d missed it. When I was prepping it I thought it looked good, so I took a quick snap.

    What a beast, eh?

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  • Columbia, South Carolina, USA July 4, 2019Cycling Monk3290

    My ride from last week.

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  • Grand Depart 2019 (ish) June 30, 2019Teocalli3272

    Just back from Brussels after riding a charity ride Prostate Cancer UK Grand Depart.  Really well organised event with all sorts of abilities taking part.  It was somewhat warm (British understatement there!).

    Interesting to near follow the route but there are loads of road sections still being resurfaced.  Makes you wonder why they leave such work so late, surely the riders would prefer not to be riding on fresh tarmac.  Especially if it is likely to be hot and melting.  The thought of a crash and road rash from fresh tarmac hardly bears thinking about.

    Coming back into Brussels on the TdF route was a bit of a mare on a busy Saturday afternoon!

    Oh and we cleared the Muur and Bosberg.

    Rather “interesting” in exploring my current limits of endurance.  I’m presuming it’s related to my ongoing treatment but the march of Father Time could also be contributing.  That bugger seems to walk Hand in Hand with The Man with The Hammer…..

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  • Puncture Repair – A Lost Art? June 27, 2019Teocalli3252

    Call me ecological, old fashioned or plain tight fisted but I still repair my punctures.  Is it just me, as I don’t seem to know anyone else who does?  Some other folk must, otherwise shops would not sell repair kits.

    Of the few folk I know who have tried, most seem to claim they can’t get a reliable patch running high pressures around 100 psi.

    Here are my steps for a good patch.

    Repair Kit

    1. Thoroughly check the tyre for embedded flint/stone chips.  If the tube will hold some air I find this it best done before removing the tube with some air in the tyre.  On removing the tube also check inside the tyre for any projecting objects that would re-puncture the tube.
    2. Find the puncture, either by putting air in the tube and slowly rotating close to your ear/cheek.  You will likely hear or feel the air from the puncture.  If that does not work use a bowl of water.  Make sure there is not more than one hole.  Check back to the tyre at the puncture point and make sure the offending object is not still in the tyre.
    3. Clean the tube.  Nothing excessive and if you need to use a bowl of water to find the puncture then drying the tyre will suffice.  I use talc when I replace my tubes so that needs to be washed off the tube before patching.
    4. Ensure the tube is thoroughly dry and then scuff the area around the hole with the provided sandpaper of abrasive pad.  This is key to getting a reliable patch.
    5. Apply adhesive in an area larger than the patch to be applied.  Just needs to be a thin layer evenly spread.
    6. Allow adhesive to dry till it is on the dry side of tacky.
    7. Apply patch and press firmly.
    8. Remove film from patch.  Fold the tyre across the patch and the film should split.  This allows the film to be removed from the centre and avoids pulling up the edge of the patch.
    9. Apply talc around the excessive adhesive.  I still have the little John Bull French Chalk puffer I used as a kid.

      Vintage French Chalk Puffer

    10. Preferably allow to dry thoroughly before refitting.
    11. I like to put some talc in the tyre and rotate the wheel to coat the inside of the tyre prior to replacing a tube.  This helps prevent the tube sticking to the inside of the tyre.

    Incidentally, I have heard folk say you can’t repair latex tubes.  I run latex on #1 and have had no issues successfully repairing them, see lead photo, that patch has done many miles.  Note – if you run Tubs and send them for repair these will be Latex (if of a decent make) and so will be patched by the repairer.

    I usually draw the limit at 6 repairs in a tube before ditching.  In this day and age of manufactured waste and redundancy it does irk me when I can’t repair something.  It might take a while but surely, sometimes, that’s the whole point of doing something properly.

    As for ‘cyclists’ who abandon their punctured tubes by the roadside I just wonder what planet they are from.

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  • Celebrated the big 6-0 today! June 25, 2019chuckp3250

    70 miles and 3,800 feet https://www.strava.com/activities/2480177307

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  • On Massage June 20, 2019Teocalli3234

    This article could go dreadfully wrong……….

    The benefits of massage are, I assume, well accepted.  For myself, I’ve had loads of physio over the years, mainly courtesy of a legacy of back injuries playing Rugby catching up with me in my older years.  However, I’ve not often had the good fortune to  avail myself of a massage by a Physio after a lengthy ride.  So I have to resort to DIY massage.

    A number of years ago I bought a Remington cordless massage machine as shown.  I have to say it is remarkably effective.  I use it after a long ride and often before a ride too and the result truly is invigorating.

    Remington Massage Controls

    Remington Massage Side

    This particular model has a hot/cold option with 2 speeds of vibration.  The head rotates so that you can have a general massage from the flat face (hot/cold/neutral) or twist it around for a magnetic pressure point massage.

    The general approach with massage is to always massage away from your extremities towards your core to help blood to flush from your muscles towards your core (Liver etc) to remove ‘undesirables’.  I find this works best if I lie on my back with legs raised and relaxed with my heels on a chair.  Start working from my calf, then quads and hamstrings.

    I seem to remember that the instructions (long lost) state not to massage a muscle for more than 5 mins at a time.  I work each group for about a minute and cycle through 2 or 3 times.  The affect is quite amazing and after a hard ride it can take my old muscles from creaking up/down the stairs to walking (more or less) normally up/down them.

    In general DIY massage has a lot to recommend it.

    PS – Best not used in a public space at it can be misinterpreted as to what is going on, particularly when working on the upper hamstrings……….

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