My first ride of the week was a bit of a workout. After a slow start I wanted the most bang for my buck so did some hill repeats. These are not everyone's cup of tea but weirdly for a fatty who can't climb, I like this!
My 2nd session of the week was my standard 17 mile circuit. I had a false start having set off off without my spares and pump! How could I forget something so important! Anyway this ride was what I needed on so many levels and set me up nicely for the day!
Saturday was my biggest ride of the week. Not a monster but a lovely lumpy spin to the west of Northants.
The first thing to say is that 17 of us met up. However we split up into groups of no more than 6 and stuck to that strictly.
At East Haddon we had a regroup where all 3 groups were together. By there our group had become 5 as Justin just needed to do his own thing. He'd also done the early birds and finished on way over 70 miles so I don't blame him for taking this approach!
Out of East Haddon we headed towards Brington but didn't get there. We turned right before Brington on a road I've never seen before. It was a lovely little track but Ian's words of warning were: "piddly little roads like this always lead somewhere horrendous!" He wasn't wrong it led to the biggest hill of the day!
Andy P had put the route together and I loved the section from this hill back to East Haddon, through Ravensthorpe and onto Guilsborough. A brief respite from the hills through Cottersbrooke and then full on again up Station Road into Brixworth. Andy's autoroute went a bit bizarre in Brixworth and we briefly lost Richard until he reappeared the other Brixworth on the road to Holcot! Having lost a rider last week there was great relief as we feared mocking from the other groups.
Andy P had put the route together and I loved the section from this hill back to East Haddon, through Ravensthorpe and onto Guilsborough. A brief respite from the hills through Cottersbrooke and then full on again up Station Road into Brixworth. Andy's autoroute went a bit bizarre in Brixworth and we briefly lost Richard until he reappeared the other Brixworth on the road to Holcot! Having lost a rider last week there was great relief as we feared mocking from the other groups.
The cafe stop was Manvell Farm fishery and tea room. This is a superb place to stop with plenty of outdoor social distancing space and room for about £30k of carbon fibre!
Great cake selection.
Top quality sausage, bacon and egg bap!
From the tea stop it was a short ride home. Amy and Marcus Bird joined me as far as Loddington. On the Mawsley Road we were exposed to road rage from a driver who clearly thinks two abreast is an affront to his right to drive unimpeded to his urgent destination. I do hope he was in time to collect his daily mail. The excessive beeping was unnecessary. I guess for some people, living in a bubble means something different!
Pleased with my ride I treated myself to some quality ales from Wine Time in Rothwell. That Kasteel Belgian blonde is divine!!!
On Sunday it was a short drive to Lord Pendred's magnificent country residence. Andy, Uncle Bob and I set off for a 36ish mile off road adventure.
At the point of this picture all was well. I was thinking we'd make good time and be back for lunch. Banter was flowing and we'd covered topics such as George the local bull, Bojo, Trump and the comeback that hoovers with bags are making! With the heavy overnight rain suddenly things got a bit muddy!
Going up a hill, Andy's Sram rear mech jammed and then snapped. Andy hates Sram and will replace with a preferred brand! With the usual unhelpful banter he converted to single speed and we made it another 100 metres. Then it went again!
Taunted by kites!
At this point I noticed my rear was going flat again. Oh no tubeless don't let me down again!!! I tried pumping up and sealant was leaking out of the valve hole. I tried tightening the valve but this made it worse! Also due to a recent repair there was a lot of fairy liquid involved. As Andy was knee deep in his 3rd repair attempt I decided to switch to a tube...at this point the problem became obvious...the valve had torn away from the rubber rim strip! Putting a tube in and then inflating led to an off road foam party!
Andy had to call international rescue and bring in the Lady Sue. He did invent the single speed scoot until we got to the designated meeting point. Bob and I rode back to Denford. Coffee and cake was provided by Andy's parents and I even had time to chuck a lure unsuccessfully in the river! Oh well somedays things go wrong! Andy very kindly hosed the bikes down too.
As soon as I got home my thoughts turned to ordering a new tubeless kit. However I realised the tube I'd fitted had a removable core. So I filled that with Stans sealant instead. This isn't as good as tubeless in terms of weight but just as effective in terms of puncture prevention. It seems silly to worry about a few grams of weight when I need to lose 10kg in lard!
That's all for now!
Happy Pedalling
No comments:
Post a Comment