Your Own Spell

A couple of pictures from last night's night ride. Nick rode the Whippet and I got chance to take a couple of pictures - soon to be seen on the On-One website...

Looking fast, even going up hill

Green Grass of Tunnel

Inspired by the ever entertaining John Romeo Alpha's post Umbrella Me With Otherness on his One Speed Go! blog, I offer you pictures of my bike in motion reflected in puddles!

I understand that this is potentially the most dull post you ever heard of and I can imagine the scramble for the 'unsubscribe' button, but here goes anyway...

      

 Get up. Go ride.

Leicester Critical Mass - The Leicester Fiesta

There's less than a week to go 'til March's Critical Mass! This month's ride will have a Brazilian theme and will end at a Brazilian party in the Crumblin' Cookie on High Street (just next to Dominoes).

It is sure to be our loudest and most colourful Critical Mass ride to date. This'll be the sixth time that the 'two-wheeled charm offensive' has hit the Leicester streets and shown to the world that cyclists are traffic too. 

It ISN'T a protest. It's a bunch of people having fun and making a peaceful point - that is that the streets are not just the domain of the car and truck and that they are spaces that should be enjoyed by everyone.

So wear a yellow shirt, find a whistle or a drum and join us in a celebration of cycling and freedom.

We've laid on ales, Brahma and caipirinhas (Brazil's national cocktail) and properly authentic cuisine like cozinhas (damn those things are more-ish) as well as meaty and vegan versions of the Brazilian national dish feijoada ...

The Crumblin' Cookie is family friendly and they're looking forward to our invasion. There'll be Brazilian music to keep the atmosphere on track so please join us for the AfterMass even if you can't ride with us! 

To show some solidarity with the riders injured in February's Porto Alegre Critical Mass and to encompass the spirit of Brazil, we're bringing a bit of their Carnaval spirit to Leicester...

So, get your whistles out, hit those drums and practice your samba beats for the best cycle party Leicester's ever seen! Don't forget your boa, your headdress, your spangles and your shimmer....just leave your inhibitions at home boys and girls - we're going BRAZILIAAAAAAN!!!

Pictures of previous rides are here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?

id=100001740378816&sk=photos

And the video of last month, just in case you missed it...

Meet Ze Monsta...

A weekend of beautiful weather and I've managed to ride a grand total of NO miles.
I did get to spend time with my daughters Ella

and Martha

and my Niece Mae

We had a walk in the sunshine yesterday

While today I finished building the bike for our trip.

I know the forks don't match (it's a prototype) and I hate that the front mudguard stays on the disc brake side are half the length of the other side.
I'm riding to Ely next weekend as a trial run for the first day of our ride to Poland. My bike, kit and legs are ready for it, but I have a feeling there's something I've forgotten...

Ghetto Man Skank.

In just 30 days time, Rob and I leave on a bicycle tour that will take us 1250km from Leicester to Sycow in Poland, home of my in-laws. Gosia will fly out and meet us there. We'll stay for a few days, ride the Wroclaw Critical Mass before flying back. I'll bring the bike back in the summer when I drive out there.
It'll be the first long-distance bike tour I've done. I have plenty of experience of lightweight camping, bivvying and have been known to ride a bike from time to time.

I've borrowed a trailer and have been carting that around as I've been racking up mileage in preparation. 2680km so far this year have got me to the point that I now feel ready to go. Fit enough for whatever the elements and the East German roads may have to throw at us.

The last few bits and pieces I needed have now arrived. A Topeak Tourguide barbag and a new, non-knobbly (so less draggy) tyre for the trailer, spare tubes etc. The next couple of weeks will be about stripping the kit list down to the bare minimum and a couple of overnight trips to get used to the whole idea.

I'll be using the TrackMyTour app and you'll be able to follow our progress as we make our way east. I'll post a link to our map before we leave.

I'm getting really excited now about the trip and seeing the family again...

Monkey and Bear.

I had to post this - all kinds of awesome!

Warehouse: Songs and Stories.

We are very lucky living where we do. 

Most of the houses in our village have their own Post Code. Our's is a little more modest, but it's all about 'location, location, location' apparently and we certainly have that. 

At the end of our street is Cropston Reservoir. On my bicycle commute I pass it at either end of the day. For a few days each spring and again in the autumn, my journey coincides with the sunrise and sunset.

Now is that time of year, although this morning's sunrise was a little below par...

This morning.

April 20th, 2011.

March 4th, 2011

January 21st, 2011

January 20th, 2011

July 16th, 2010

February 3rd, 2010

October 12th, 2009

September 23rd, 2009

March 20th, 2009

February 13th, 2009

September 18th, 2008

My Kind Of Bike Club.

The Tarik Saleh Bike Club sounds like my kind of club and I will be joining today.

He has now come up with rules of membership and I will try to adhere closely to them. They are duplicated in their entirety below:

1. Ride Bikes
2. Try not to be an ass

On-One Carbon 29er Race Review.

I... am a lucky fella*

As you may have noticed if you read this blog more than occasionally, I have a bit of a thing for On-One/Planet-X bikes. I now take pictures that sometimes they use on their website, but have been a customer for many years - appreciating their value for money approach and knowing that a bike designed an hour's drive from where I live is likely to suit my trails and conditions better than something from halfway round the world.
All I have to do is take the photos. If the bike is a bit shit then I could just keep quiet about it and send off the pictures. On-One would still be happy. But this bike really is a bit special and so I thought I'd say a bit about it. 
If you read my post about the Scandal 29er, you'll know that I'm no professional tester, just a bloke like you that reads around a bit before spending my hard-earned, but usually has to run the magazine and on-line reviews through a 'reality filter', knowing that the bloke doing the testing rides 10 different bikes a day...

It is an On-One Carbon 29er Race with a few tweaks to the spec. It is built around their super-lightweight (1100g) carbon frame, RockShox Reba RLT forks and XT bits and pieces. The wheels are On-One's own carbon rims with Schwalbe Little Alberts, FSA carbon bars, Thomson post and and On-One bignose saddle.

The bike is stunning. It looks like some kind of futuristic muscle car. It seems to bristle with attitude and aggression just standing in the shed. It's probably like the Lotus Elise Mark 5 will look when it comes out in 10 years time. The carbon bends and bulges all over the frame with subtle shoulders and angles. The gloss finish looks almost wet and the red metallic stripe around the inside of the front triangle (as seen previously on De Rosa road bikes) finishes it off a treat. Wherever I have taken this bike, people have stood and stared. People (riders and non-cyclists alike) all come for a look and comment. Even roadies like it. It could be all that carbon...
The line that really catches the eye is the arcing top-tube that continues smoothly into the seat stays. Just beautiful.

The idea of moving the makers name from the sides to the front of the down-tube works too. It means that the main frame remains un-cluttered, but also gives them more room for the logo.

Other features of the frame are the giant bottom bracket junction. A press fit BB92 makes for more rigidity and power transfer apparently. The head tube is equally massive with a tapering headset (bigger race at the bottom than the top), again adding stiffness. The chain stays are huge too, but still seem to have plenty of room around the 2.3" tyres.

There is a lump in the seat tube for the front mech to bolt directly to - no bands required and the back brake is where it should be - within the rear triangle.
It's a 31.8mm seat post fit too, so should be stiff but also allow use of those fancy dropper posts if you must.

All in all, it is a well thought out frame with all of my boxes suitably ticked - I really can't find fault with the finish, the paint, the graphics, anything.


And so to the ride. Well apparently, the geometry on this is based on the Scandal 29er that I'd ridden before. That may be true, but this bike rides so much better. The strange thing is that it doesn't feel like a 29er (and that's a good thing). Sure, you get the advantages of rolling over obstacles and carrying huge momentum along the trail, but it feels far more 'steerable'. 
Until I'd ridden this bike and after a lifetime of riding 'normal' 26" wheeled bikes, 29ers had sometimes felt a little unwieldy because of their wheel size. Never quite so rideable and engaging unless I was on on swooping, and not too technical trails. 

This bike re-addresses all of those reservations I had about larger wheels. A first foray onto the trails of my local woodland and I found that the light weight and responsiveness of the frame allow all the commitment and involvement that my faithful Inbred singlespeed has for years. But then add in the advantages of those big wheel and it is a very special recipe. Being light carbon rims, they spin up to speed just as easily as smaller wheels and so the major drawback of 29ers (the extra effort accelerating out of corners - something you do a lot of on tight, woodland trails) is gone.

With XT stopping power, RockShox to keep that front wheel where it should be and every ounce of energy you put in reaching the rear wheel, the ride is thrilling. The trails I am so familiar with are suddenly passing by much quicker. The stream crossing that I used to need to brake for to drop into is now tackled at speed as the extra diameter of the front wheel will handle that, just like it did the tree roots and kerb-sized trail lumps.
Climbing is a doddle with that power transfer and feather weight and I'm cornering and twisting through the trees with confidence and purpose with the bike feeling like and old friend already.

Home again and before I get the coffee on, before I take my helmet off, even before I shout 'hello' to the missus I've already got the bucket and sponge out to wash the mud off the bike. It'll be in standing in the kitchen again tonight so I can look at those curves for a little while longer...


*most of the time.

Lesta Fiesta

To show some solidarity with the riders injured in February's Porto Alegre Critical Mass and to encompass the spirit of Brazil, we're bringing a bit of their Carnaval spirit to Leicester...

So, get your whistles out, hit those drums and practice your samba beats for the best cycle party Leicester's ever seen! Don't forget your boa, your headdress, your spangles and your shimmer....just leave your inhibitions at home boys and girls - we're going BRAZILIAAAAAAN!!!

It is sure to be our loudest and most colourful Critical Mass ride to date. This'll be the sixth time that the 'two-wheeled charm offensive' has hit the Leicester streets and shown to the world that cyclists are traffic too. 

It ISN'T a protest. It's a bunch of people having fun and making a peaceful point - that is that the streets are not just the domain of the car and truck and that they are spaces that should be enjoyed by everyone.

So wear a yellow shirt, find a whistle or a drum and join us in a celebration of cycling and freedom.

Pictures of previous rides are here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?

id=100001740378816&sk=photos

And the video of last month, just in case you missed it...

Cheesecake.

My wife Malgorzata.

We decided today that we were well suited and I like the biscuity bit of a cheesecake and she likes the cheesy bit...

photo friday

you've got the moon...

The MASSquerade mask gets another outing...