MID LIFE CxRISIS

I've been talking about cyclocross for the last few months.Nostalgia trip. My mate Alan and I did a few races on our MTBs back at the end of the 80s.Last Saturday I sent him a link to an event near us.Not for any particular reason ,something to browse,y'know.

Anyway . On Sunday morning we went out MTBing.As we met he greeted me with " yea,signed up for that".

I'm like " what ? !"

So that's that . We've signed up for a cyclocross race. Feb 7th . 2 hrs + 1 lap.

I dont think any amount of training will make me much fitter than I already am ,but I went out on Christmas Eve for a local blast.Typical CX circuit . Mud ,lots of it ,and tight twisty tracks through the trees. I wont say I didnt enjoy it ,cos I did . But it was damned hard towards the end. I set my alarm to do 1 hr ,flat out .

I was fairly having a go . Time was ticking away . Slowly . I was convinced ,utterly ,that the alarm had gone off and I hadnt heard it ,or I hadnt set it properly . I stopped to check it.

55 mins.

So that's were I'm up to. I'll do some 'training' ,and see how it goes.

Bike selection . I'll keep you posted. I'm thinking of resurecting my dead Diamondback Axis.Singlespeed .Flat bars. The narrowest tyres I can get.

We'll see.That's a hole in the toptube right there.

SHADE

LEARN TO LOVE THE RUST.EMBRACE THE RUST.

Not much two wheeled action this week. My back's been bad since I was painting my mum's ceiling last weekend. It was really sore until the middle of this week ,but is a lot better now. The sub-zero conditions put me off going out.It should be settled down by next week.
It rained in the week. Rust changes colour depending on whether it is wet or dry.
Does anyone else have a colour changing bike?

OK.

THIS WEEKS STEALING

Only a few little 'stolen ' moments this week.

Nipped out on tuesday night for a quick tour d'locale.Just blowing off the cobwebs.It was very cold and a bit breezy ,but even wearing anti-cycling clothes ,just some monster gloves , it was OK .



On Friday I threw the bike in the car and hoofed the last little bit into work . Next to nothing really.



I bought 'Cycling plus' magazine.



I dug out all the bits to build up my super old Diamondback Axis into a singlespeed cyclocross type bike.

I went into my LBS ( Alans) to 'chase the threads' on the BB.I'm missing some ducktape for that hole under the toptube.



Clickbought some repro stickers for my old BMX . The one I bought in 84. ( * )Another fairly easy 'project ' there. Hmm. Ammaco freestyle Pro , by the way.



Thinking about bikes and bike-related stuff.



The

whole

bloody

time.



Constantly.


* 83 ? 84 ? Errrr. I was 14 . It was 83

STUNT

"FORWARDS"

This is me just hoofing about on 'steal'.

It's also up on 'youtube'.

Still the same old thing.Swapped the pedals for DXs(so no skids) and put on some flat bars.Bit easier on the wrists.

Camera and dialogue by Danny.

Post production and death defying stunts by me.

OK .

HISTORY REPEATING

The word is about that something's evolving.
It doesnt know if it's coming or going.

A few weeks ago in my haste to create "Steal-V1.1" from my brother's old racer I forgot to take a definitive 'before' pic.
In a classic 'turn up for the books' ,my father-in-law,Joe ,came round with his old racer ,dug out from in the garage.
It's only exactly * like 'steal' was before I accosted it with nitromors and a selection of abrasive power tools.

So , I say " Joe . If you want ,for exactly zero £££s initial outlay I could easily convert this perfectly good classic 12 spd into something resembling that rusty old thing over there.No problem ".

So ,he says ".....!...."

The revolution is here.

* Taller headtube+ alloys ,but .....

'Steal ' is rusting up just nice BTW.

OK . TIM

DANNY'S BSA FIXIE PROJECT

Danny has a mate who works in the local scrapyard.Obvious opportunity for a pun there.

Here's one for that's ripe for.....,wait for it,.....

RE - CYCLING

Fairly filthy.Right out of the skip.A good dousing with white spirit cuts through the grime.

Bit on the small side ,but ,hey,it's all there.

Well ,it was for about half an hour.

There's gold in them thar skips....

1st PROPER RIDE

Went out today on a proper fixed spin. The first one since Alan at work welded up the cassette body.Fixed it.

First impressions are good.The fun started straight off.2 mins from our house there's a fairly steep downhill called 'Soughers Lane'. I've suffered on it many a time,but never going down!

At the bottom is a busy 'A' road requiring a stop.So I'm bobbing along thinking-

"It's OK this fixed wheel malarkey"....

Well,I'm still here .So I made it. But let's just say it was a bit tasty.It was a good job I fitted a front brake anyway.

I'm heading up to Haigh Hall.A normally uneventful roadie spin I've done a million times on a million bikes. Nothing to report on the way up.Usual dance.Sunday morning roadworks ,everyone's half asleep. Luckily I'm wide awake.I'm not sure on the letter of the law but ,basically,if a bike was to 'keep left' you'd spend more time stopped.Maybe it's because the world and his granny all have big american style UPVs* but there is never enough room curbside.Cut down bars or not.Anyway . Rant over . I rode on the crown of the road past a stationary line of cars a good 1/4 mile long.I'm not sure if it was 'legal' or not ,but I'm here to tell the tale.A handshake of carbon monoxide ,and away.

BACK OF HAIGH HALL PLANTATION GATES.RAINING

From Wigan centre to Haigh Hall is uphill pretty much the whole way.The first drag is a steady slog that's over in a few minutes. The trouble is a steady slog doesnt lend itself to the fixie.So,a bit of a trackstand from the lights and I stand up and hammer.To my surprise it fairly flirts up. Nice one.

On the edge of the plantation I drop into Haigh Park. It's raining.It's autumnal. Leaves are on the floor . They are wet. Brill.Not exactly confidence inspiring after the last near death downhill.Maybe it's the 'fixed thing'but it felt OK.Soon the road kicks up sharply ,more hammering.Up up and away.Lively.

The road leads into the plantation.No cars allowed here.Just a mile or so from the hall now,and all uphill.Again,no time to slog.I'm kinda getting the hang of this.

I have a minute on the canal bridge chatting to a lad on a mountainbike.He cant beleive it.

MESSENGER BAG AND SKINNY LATTE OUT OF SHOT.

As we're chatting a group of 4 roadie club cyclists fly past,heading up.They have a couple of minutes lead on me but on my whippet of a bonkers bike they dont stand a chance.Haha.

Just as I'm rounding the corner of the hall,such a pretty house, theyre just climbing the short steep climb up to the stable cafe.Spurned on and feeling pleased that I've caught them I attack the hill,not really expecting to get up in one.But I do.How good is this stripped out piece of plain gauge high tensile with crappy bits and 10,000 mile wheels?It might be a different tale if I had 80miles in my legs,but up to now ,it's doing OK.

I have a brew in the cafe planning my route home.I'm not sure about dropping down through the woods.Wet leaves all over the place and dogs on rollerskates,kids chasing sticks,that sort of thing.

Ah ,but what the hell.I've just been telling the mountainbike lad how surprisingly grippy road tyres are.Besides.I can try some extended fixie skids on the wet ,downhill ,leaf strewn tarmac.

NEEEEEEEEEYOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW.

Up out of the woods theres a nice little push to the gates.More hammering .I think if it was a bit steeper or a bit longer i'd have got off. A bit wobbly at the top.And it's trying to rain again.

I decide to divert through the town and call into Alans bike shop.Now open Sundays. No rest for the wicked.The rest of Wigan is open.The capitalist wheel must also be fixed.I almost felt like a punk bike messenger weaving through the shoppers. I even went on the footpath . Cheeky monkey.

I dont hang about tooo long in Alans but when I come out it's now stopped raining but it's not half gone cold and it's blowing a gale up Wallgate.Right in my face.

Time for the TT tuck.I crank right past my mums and onto the dual carriageway.Uphill back home from here.

Past the motorway I have one last little downhill to build up some momentum for the last big hill .Which was the first big hill. My final fit ,my bellyache. Soughers lane.

Well ,I'm here .It cant really be avoided.The traffic just dropped nice for me turning in at the bottom . I got on top of the gear and powered up the whole way,cranking on the bar ends.Obviously I was blowing a bit at the top ,but it's in the bag.

As a 'tester' it was a good ride. I was nt too sure how the gearing would be ( 42x15). I thought it might be a bit tall. For any bigger hills ,or a longer spin it might be,so I'll see about a sprocket swap and take it a bit farther afield.The pedal swap was a good call too. SPDs are definitely better for 'proper ' cycling. All in all though ,a good spin . Enjoyed it.No alarms and no surprises.

HAIGH HALL PLANTATIONS

*Utterly Pointless Vehicles.