I cleaned the bike this lunchtime - it needed it after two outings this week - there was an inch of mud stuck to the bottom of the frame! I also fitted the Neoguard that turned up in this morning's post. It'll stop water and mud from spraying me in the face when zooming along. I couldn't resist going for the evil eyes one :) You can also see my Cateye Tora head-lamp - it is excellent in the forests at night!
Apple announced the new iPod Nano 4g yesterday - the one I have been waiting for. I have ordered a 16GB in black to match the new car. Also downloaded iTunes 8.
I don't know what it is with iTunes - but even this new version killed my machine after the install and required 2 reboots to fix. Seems ok now though??
I have sorted bike insurance with ETA (link in title). This has proven difficult. The bike is kept in my locked shed, but as it is of wooden construction many insurers would only insure it if the bike was attached to an immovable object via an approved lock. The lock was not a problem but the object was - most stipulated it must be rooted in either concrete or stone and not un-doable. This rules out any attachment I can bolt into the wooden shed. ETA came to the rescue. As long as the bike is out of sight and behind a locked (any lock) door then it is insured as theft would involve forced entry. When away from home the lock (an Abus Granit Steel-o-flex 1000 - came today) is all that is needed. Awesome...
PS - it also comes with free cycle-breakdown cover to get me home in the event of a mechanical failure :) AHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Am fed up with spray in my eyes on the bike - so have ordered a Neoguard (link in title). It is apparently very good. I went for the evil eyes limited edition one :)
I have decided that this TrackMe software is excellent - as such you can always see my last route by clicking this link - I have also added it to section on the right. TrackMe Link
The only downside is that I have had to order the extended life battery for my phone to get over the max 3 hour limit :)
It's starting to get a bit cold in the evening and shorts are perhaps not the best thing for these longer rides. So, I found a 3/4 version of the shorts I have. This is good as they have the same excellent pockets and share the inner padded shorts (so I can swap and change as and when).
Went out for a short run tonight (8ish miles) around the back of Knebworth Estate. Good fun but wet and muddy after the rain.
Will have to plan a better route next time as there were too many anti-cycle gates that we had to negotiate. A did well - right up until we stopped at the pub and he fell off in front of everyone on some flat tarmac!
Have just come back from the Doctor's - you know that silly accident I had on the first day out with my bike - pulled the wheelie, over the back, landed on my bum still clipped in? Well, the pain in my back has not gone away from it so I thought I should get it looked at. At the best case it is a torn muscle, at the worst a fractured bone (one of the little ones off the side of my spine)! Sounds worse than it is though - *luckily* it is in the top of my spine which is much better than if it had been in the lower part. Either way there is nothing I can do for it other than wait for it to heal - maybe another 2 to 3 weeks. Also good is that I should not have to refrain from cycling or doing anything else - it's just going to be uncomfortable for a bit longer...
It's all booked and confirmed. J and I will be travelling with BA, business class, to Stuttgart. From there we pick a taxi to Rastatt for an overnight in a local hotel. The next morning we get the factory tour and pick up the new car. From there we head North to the Hockenheim F1 circuit. Form there North-West to the Nurburgring where we plan to do a sightseeing lap. After that we are staying at one of the most famous Ring hotels (the one you can see on every console game of the ring - see picture). We'll drink beer and watch the public lapping the ring from the balcony until 19:45 when it closes for the night. The next morning we scoot through Belgium and then France to catch the Eurotunnel back. A great weekend trip!
Another good night ride yesterday. I trialled a new bit of software - TrackMe - that sits on my phone. Every 30s it uploads my GPS fix to a website. This allows me to track the route (see below) but also for someone to see me moving in real-time :) K watched me ride to the woods on her Mac until she got bored. Only problem is that with phone, GPS and GPRS all on the battery life is not great - it managed about 2 hours off a full charge. So, I think I'll try the offline mode which saves the data upload until you are home.
In order to test the new clothes J and I went for a 16 mile jaunt around Herts this evening. We left at 20:15 and got back by 22:30 - not too bad considering it was mostly off road. The woods were the darkest I have ridden in tonight (clouds and no moon) - it was certainly a bit spooky, roots looked massive and dips were just black holes. Still, didn't fall off once :)
J and I went shopping tonight to Evans. I wanted a set of full-finger gloves and maybe a new top. In the end I got both and a gortex jacket.
The gloves - Specialzed BG Ridge - are very light and breathable and have a pad on your wrist which is perfectly positioned for where you rest your hands on the handlebar. They have a suede palms and nice grippy fingers.
The fox jersey is AWESOME! It has an inner shell which is tight and sucks the sweat from you. The outer shell is breathable and keeps you cool. Inside there are pockets and a special iPod port with cable routing. This is the best bit of clothing I have bought - kept me warm when we stopped and cool when we rode - simply brilliant - and on sale at the moment in Evans!
The Gore Wear jacket is a simple black gortex jacket - it folds up small and is totally wind and rain proof. Its breathability allows you to wear it on a long ride without having to stop and take it off/put it on all the time. Also on sale at the moment :)
I woke up this morning to drizzle and a light fog in the air - perfect for some morning exercise. Hopped on the bike to find the rear wheel deflated. Actually it had punctured the evening before but it turns out the patches I have are more like 'get you home' gear than a permanent fix. So, I replaced the inner tube (noting that the factory supplied one was a 1.5-1.75" tube in my 2.2" tyres????). Half an hour later I took this shot whilst I rested. I think I have the shoe clips sorted now - today was the first day I have not fallen off at all :)
It was a bitter pill to swallow but I had no choice but to order my new car without built in GPS. I have gotten so used to it in the MINI and it will be sorely missed. However, it does mean I have had the excuse to go and buy the latest TomTom - a 730T. It's fairly slim, has a 4.3" screen and covers all of Europe. Best thing is its ability to take traffic flow into account when planning a route - it knows the M25 on Friday afternoon is busier than Tue morning for example. It's first outing will be to get me back home from the factory in Germany!
Mercedes called - my car is ready! Much earlier than expected. I have managed to organise the time from work, applied for the flights/etc and convinced (didn't take much) J to come along too. We leave on Thu 18th and will have the car back by Sat 20th. Should be awesome!
The garage gave me a HUGE list of number plates to chose from. None of them were any good or made sense and all started LT58. In the end I went for NEJ to remind K of the answer should she want to borrow my nice new car :)
Now it is not only the cats that are micro chipped - my bike it too. As part of Marin's Platinum Care I was sent this by post. The device goes into one of the frame's tubes and can be scanned by Police if the bike ever gets stolen. I also get a lovely sticker to put on the bike...
Another night run this evening - the two light setup is working well allowing me to focus one closer than the other so I can see far away enough for faster runs and close enough for slow tricky bits. New glasses also good with clear lenses but steam up a bit when I stop.
Yip, I'm installing it to play with... Looking forward to the 'standards' mode.
It broke everything - so I discovered you might have to put *all* websites in compatibility view mode to get stuff to work again :)
The last piece of the jigsaw - a watch with a compass built in. Spotted this on a website a few days ago (link in title) and some more research shows it to be ideal. It offers compass, thermometer, barometer, altimeter along with logging features, storm alarm and even a user changeable battery. Should be with me in a few days...
What is better than a super-bright dual beam LED light for your bike? TWO super-bright dual beam LED lights :) My second light turned up this morning (fitted within 5 mins). Just in time for a night ride tonight. Also got a spare set of Crank Bros clips in case one breaks on a ride.
I got my custom OS map through the post today - link in title. £16.99 gets a map centred wherever you like with your own title :) You can also chose an image if you do not want the area overview like I have. Took 48hrs to get to me from time of order.
Went on my first night-ride this evening. S, R and I set off around 20:15 and by the time we got to the woods it was pretty dark. My Cateye EL520 worked pretty well but I think I need another to give me a better spread. Everything is different riding in the dark - roots appear from nowhere and you get no warning of dips in the trail - great fun though. For the first time this weekend I didn't fall off either - the clips are starting to wear in at last.
So, after 3 days of Marin ownership I am pretty happy. The bike is perfect. We did the big ride on Sat (details in post below), a smaller one on Sun just to loosen sore muscles (I fell off on this one again) and then the night-ride this evening - total distance around 25 miles or so. Only injuries are a very bruised back, a twisted ankle, two sprained wrists, several small bruises on my arms and legs and multiple nettle stings :)
I also managed to eBay my old bike which was collected this morning leaving me some room in the shed where I have installed a fairly large lock to anchor the bike for insurance reasons.
OK - so I did. Marin Mount Vision 2008 - along with some Oakley SPD shoes. I picked up my new bike on Fri afternoon in time for its first run on Sat morning. I got some lights and a computer in the post in the morning ready to be fitted before the outing. We did about 16 miles, mainly off-road and it was great. The bike is fantastic. Only problem was me being an idiot - I tried to pop a wheelie and (used to my old bike's weight) I went straight over the back. I panicked trying to unclip my shoes and forgot to tap the rear brake. So, I landed (still clipped in) on my back, on the road. It hurts! A did better later on though - he mistimed a jump and landed on his head!!! We thought he was properly hurt but he rubbed it off and seemed fine. I have since ordered a first aid kit to go in my bag :)
Marin Mount Vision full suspension with all the nice bits you'd expect...
K needed new tyres on both rears on the Roadster. Merc cost £490 with Goodyears! After some internet searching and thanks to a tip on a forum I found a place up North that would ship two Falken tyres, we can get them fitted locally. Total cost £145 - a little bit better I am sure you'll agree :)
