The Fretboard Cycling Club

littlegreenman

Met Adam Blyth at work today, nice guy, exactly as he comes across on TV. No-one else had a clue who he was and I was trying my best not to be a total fanboi!
Had a quick chat, he said commentating on Paris-Roubaix from the back of a motorbike was the scariest thing he'd ever done on 2 wheels!

Mellish

In times past riding "fixed" was popular. I wondered if it still is. We'd have a loop, maybe two... You know, one for a hard day, one for an easy day  

Logie

@Mellish ;

I did a ride last week that started out as a gentle, flat, leg spinner and ended up with me riding a fixie halfway around when the cable for my rear derraileur snapped. Stuck in the small cog and granny gear ring was surprisingly liberating and I can understand why people ride gearless bikes. Makes you use your legs. 

Mellish

Logie said:i

@Mellish ;

I did a ride last week that started out as a gentle, flat, leg spinner and ended up with me riding a fixie halfway around when the cable for my rear derraileur snapped. Stuck in the small cog and granny gear ring was surprisingly liberating and I can understand why people ride gearless bikes. Makes you use your legs. 

Riding fixed, it's important to get the right sprocket/ring combination because the changing ratios have been removed. But riding fixed is a different experience - and, if you forget to pedal, very different!  

Jaycee

Not been out much lately, did a 30 miler last week, picked up a puncture due to hedge cutting, and with the leaves falling not my kind of riding conditions.

Logie

My wife has just had a double knee replacement op so I've been getting as many rides in as I can before she comes home. Did a 50 miler on Saturday and I reckon I'll be next on the operating table by the pain I'm starting to get in my knees. The joy's of getting old

Mellish

Logie said:

My wife has just had a double knee replacement op so I've been getting as many rides in as I can before she comes home. Did a 50 miler on Saturday and I reckon I'll be next on the operating table by the pain I'm starting to get in my knees. The joy's of getting old

Firstly, my best to your wife and hope she's home soon . Cycling-wise, do you use carb drinks during your rides with an electro drink taken when you get back home? 

Logie

@Mellish ;;

Thank you. It looks like the ops went really well and she's possibly coming home tomorrow if the physio is happy with her progress today. She only had the ops on Friday!

 I have a carb loaded bottle and a bottle with electrolytes during the ride plus a couple of sachets if I think I need them. I usually have some porridge with a banana before a longish ride as well so it's not nutrition based problems. It's 60 year old knees after 45 years of football, squash, weight training, circuit training, skiing and rowing.

Mellish

I can't recall who but one pro used to eat 17 Mars bars before each Tour de France stage  

Logie

@Mellish ;
Was it fatty Mcboatface on the MaccyD team?

Mellish

Logie said:

@Mellish ;
Was it fatty Mcboatface on the MaccyD team?

The name won't come to me. I remember thinking at the time "That's a lot of Mars bars!". There's a bit more to the story that I won't go into, involving a team mate's cloth cap that teams wore back then  

jonnyburgo

They say "War is Hell" but I bet none of them have just spent a bastard hour trying to get a gatorskin tyre back on to a 700c rim. Fuckin thumbs! 

Mellish

jonnyburgo said:

They say "War is Hell" but I bet none of them have just spent a bastard hour trying to get a gatorskin tyre back on to a 700c rim. Fuckin thumbs! 

Yes, it can make you grin!  

Logie

@jonnyburgo ;
I did a tyre on a ride up in Windsor and had to get a replacent sharpish as I was only visiting. The only bike shop was in Bagshot and they only had one suitable tyre in stock. A Schwalbe One tubeless which they insisted was fine for tubed as well.
I beg to differ…
Two inner tubes, scuffed knuckles and most of an afternoon trying to get the twat on but I had to admit defeat and shelve the rest of the weekend.

Mellish

What I used to do was put a folder tyre and a couple of latex tubes in a bonk bag with maybe a chain tool and a mini pump and sling it on my back. Today you can get small air canisters but I'd stick with a pump. To my mind  it's more reliable  

Mellish

I'd throw a spoke key in the bag too and appropriate allen keys. This collection of bits weighs nothing in this musette but it means you don't need to depend on others for help you may not get  

drofluf

Unlocked the Tron bike on Zwift this morning

Mellish

@drofluf I assume that's a workout aid? Sorry, not up on new stuff. I was 60s to late 80s. Time trials, hillclimb events, that sort of thing  

drofluf

@Mellish put simply Zwift is an app for indoor cycling. It controls the resistance on my turbo trainer and provides a virtual landscape to ride in. As you go up a hill in the app it becomes harder to pedal. It also provides training plans, races and challenges. I “earned” the virtual bike by completing 50,000m of climbing. 

Mellish

Now I understand. The ingenuity of man! And congrats on your achievement my dear