On your Bike

[CitroJim]

Submit that to the cops Jim. I'm sure three points and £100 fine will put a smile on his face.

Minimum now in TVP-land is a driver awareness course for behaviour such as this. It used to be a naughty letter. Be sure he'll be reported

[CitroJim]

Yesterday Adam and I rode the Cambridgeshire Classic Sportive in very challenging weather - heavy continuous rain accompanied by a cold wind

We did it and enjoyed it despite the atrocious conditions... The amount of floods we rode through was significant

Here we are at the feed stop, looking quite well drenched The photo does not really do justice just how wet it was.

We went to Huntingdon Racecourse (the event HQ) in Adam's Mazda 6. We were dismayed to see parking was in a somewhat soggy, saturated grassy field rapidly turning into a quagmire, especially with drivers of German SUVs churning it up by spinning their wheels like crazy trying to find grip and having no clue.

You see the same silly sods trying to find traction in snow... More crap drivers of German crap maintaining the stereotype

Adam was worried during the ride about getting out of the field again but with care and taking a slightly different route out compared to most others, we were fine and soon enjoying the rather good climate control in the Mazda

Typically, by the time we got home it had dried up nicely and was sunny. So I went for a run...

[Rp0thejester]

Wow, I don't think I've seen you curse so much in a post!! I'm assuming your not a fan of German SUVs...

[CitroJim]

Wow, I don't think I've seen you curse so much in a post!! I'm assuming your not a fan of German SUVs...

Not a fan of any SUV Ryan, irrespective of country of origin. Not a fan of prattish driving either

The incident involving a certain white German SUV on Friday is now with the police.

[CitroJim]

Caught in action during the very wet, cold and windy Cambridgeshire Classic Sportive on Saturday

UKCE - Used with Permission

I look remarkably happy... I was actually...

[Skull]

Advice welcome

I’ve gone and bought another bike I now have 3.5 bikes but none are ideal yet …

Raleigh 39 Ibs

Old Raleigh Mountain bike (39 Ibs) that I got for free - upgraded the tyres as I got 3 punctures in one ride, drivetrain struggling so I bought a new chain but the Chainring was shot and doesn’t like the new chain…

MTB Chainring worn out

I’m going to swap some bits around if they’re compatible and make this a winter/rough and reliable hack that is comfortable to ride ….

So onto the advice: I've lost 18 Ibs overnight

Cannondale CAAD 4 R500 54cm 21 Ibs

Cannondale CAAD 4 R500 54cm I’m 5’ 7.5” on a good day, bought Wednesday from an old guys brother who’s never ridden the bike in the winter and looks in really good condition (guy was 78 years old but gave up riding a couple of years ago due to Alzeimers )

This is my first drop bar road bike for 40 years and after all the mountain bike styles is a real shock for me and my neck/back! Rides ok but it has clipless pedals fitted - I’m not sure I’m ready for that leap as well as getting used to the combined brake / gear shift levers I’m debating getting some flat pedals for it and see how I go OR
should I get some shoes/trainers that will accept the pedals fitted …

Unbranded clipless pedal

Rode today with normal ALDI trainers as I’m on a schedule for 200 miles this week and all the bikes had problems of one kind or another

Got some records today on this weeks route even though I’m going steady on the rough roads couple of pit stops for adjustments / mirror / numb feet and trying to get a grip of the gears so it has potential to be decent enough with no max efforts …

Strava

Strava

Final query:
I felt massive on the bike and allowing for the footwear / pedal problem am I too big for a 54cm frame ? I felt a little heavy wristed on the bars so they could do with raising a bit more to suit and also the back of my trainers were catching on the ‘dropouts’ occasionally.

Sizing ?

Feel free to or

Alternatively offer an opinion or some 8.5 / Eur 43 shoes to suit ?

[CitroJim]

It's late now Gary, I'll do a proper response tomorrow

The Cannondale is a great bike and enjoys a tremendous reputation - Well bought

[Skull]

Cheers Jim no rush ....

I've managed to borrow some flat pedals to try out tomorrow - they've got to be better than todays combo ....

[CitroJim]

How's the new Cannondale going Gary? Have you got used to the SPD pedals yet? They make a massive difference and now I can't ride a bike without them...

With the SPD pedals, you can get a variety that are SPD one side and flat on the other so you can ride in normal shoes if you want to. I found them the perfect reason to convert to SPD full-time.

SPD pedals are easy to clip into but beware of the cleats on your shoes coming loose. They can jam and then you'll be unable to unclip. I've se it happen and it's not pretty!

SPDs are primarily designed for MTBs as I understand it. I run single-sided SPD-SL pedals. They are lighter and depending on cleat colour offer degrees of lateral 'float'. They take a bit of getting used to and shoes fitted with SPD-SL cleats are very hard to walk in. You can find SPD shoes where the cleat is recessed and they are easier to walk in.

Today I had a puncture in my rear tubeless tyre... The first one I've had in eight years of riding on tubeless tyres and I was not even aware of it until I got home after 30 miles and saw the sealant had sprayed around the bottom bracket and seatpost.

The sealant did it's job perfectly and sealed so rapidly the loss of pressure was negligible

Tubeless is definitely the way to go...

It was a lovely day for a bike ride too. Warm and sunny

[Skull]

Jim the Cannondale is already minging your roads …..lk much nicer than mine

Bloody muddy tractors

I’m now on flat pedals which are better for me at the moment , the clipless ones it came with are double sided so no good for my ALDI trainers

I’ve managed 60 miles today but the majority of that is on the riser rather than in the drops, roads filthy I had to poke the fork bridge through twice as it just filled with mud and rubbed on the tyre had to turn around a couple of times as I think I’m on summer tyres
‘

Strava

I’m still not sure this is the bike for me the bars are on their highest (slightly dodgy as only one clamp bolt is doing anything really).

Super job on the tubeless

[CitroJim]

Gosh Gary, those roads are indeed minging! Excellent mileage under the conditions

I'm still recovering from Sunday... I currently have sore glutes although a 10K run and 30 miles on the bike today have helped enormously - active recovery

[Skull]

But I think my legs were worse than your mud run - shows how efficient you run Jim

Spray tan

Whilst I’m ranting this is what passes for a cycle / foot path besides the locally notorious A68

I rejoined the road ahead

Not much choice here I left my machetee at home

Mind the gap

[CitroJim]

But I think my legs were worse than your mud run - shows how efficient you run Jim

I see your legs Gary and raise you mine

Off-Topic? Never, it's all part of the FCF fun Just noticed that photo shows me wearing my timing chip and a GPS tracker (orange box on my left shoulder) - often used when running ultramarathons in case we conk-out miles from civilisation!

Those so-called bike paths are a joke We have similar near here. Never maintained, ignored and built so as to put a tick in some corporate box.

And motorists wonder why we ride on the roads rather than use the 'facilities' provided... Mind you, some of our roads are not much better...

[CitroJim]

Tubeless tyres on road bikes are good. I suffered a puncture the other day and was unaware until I got home and saw spilled sealant.

No pressure was lost. On a subsequent ride I saw some sealant was still leaking out but again no loss of pressure...

So yesterday I cracked out my tubeless tyre repair kit - containing a selection of plugs, (AKA 'worms'), tools and adhesive - and plugged the hole.

It seems to have been successful. A longer road test today will prove one way or the other

[CitroJim]

The tubeless plug repair worked although I only see it as a temporary repair. I'm replacing the tyre.