Craven's Bike Site

CiCLE Classic 2026 Womens

Unknown — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For how the race actually went, go see The British Continental's coverage here</a>

For last years mens and womens look here</a>

And if you want pictures of the race, look around online for other peoples coverage. I was almost always stood next to a photographer or someone with a proper fancy video camera clearly making content, so there's no need for me to take crap photos. I just cheered on the riders.

The Plan</h2>
This year I stressed a lot about my plan, and decided to try and see as much on the Sommerberg as possible, constantly chasing the race and moving. Eventually I worked out that if I set off earlier, didn't see the race come through the feedzone on the first lap, but instead got to Owston for the first passage, that I could see the first passage, then see the second (after they came through the feed downhill that I'd usually start at) and that would make the first lap effectively a bonus. After that the plan was to go the opposite way to the race and stand on top of the Sommerberg, then chase the race back to Owston, watch a sector there, back to the Sommerberg where I'd see the race for the final time as it left to the finish loop. It'd possibly be tight in some places, but chasing the race, or trying to beat it, is always fun!
The Stuff</h2>
This needed a subtitle somehow</h6>
I stressed about pretty much all morning, knowing at some point I had to go, then at about 12:40 I started getting ready, and by 12:42 I'd got all my kit on and was downstairs... I needed to leave at 13:00 at the earliest really. Owston should take about 50 minutes for me to get to, the race started at 14:00, and it'd take 20 minutes to get to us. I ended up pressing go on my GPS at 12:54, and getting to Owston when barely anyone was there at 13:37 (nice). There were a few marshalls dotted around, and the first chap I saw was a lovely gentleman who was to marshall the Green Lane corner. He was sweeping the road of gravel to give the riders a bit of a chance to not crash there having seen a few stack it in the Junior race that morning (which next year I might try to plan to get to, it's just what to do with the 2 hours between that race finishing and the womens starting, and I probably wouldn't be able to get to Melton to see the Jrs finish, so more like 3 or more hours)
I toddled off from that corner to wait at the village hall where there was a small gathering, and the race would be passing on the first lap. Small shoutout to the marshall with the pride flag coffee mug. I was too scared to say that I like you mug, but if you somehow see this, cool mug, thanks for showing me which way the race was going.
Passing 1</h3>
I hung around there for a bit, listening to the music, enjoying the vibe, waving at dogs going past, and just waiting until the race arrived. Looking over the hills at about 14:10 we could see the cavalcade arriving :3 I jogged and rolled down the hill to get to the steep part of the aproach to Owston. It's always better to stand on an uphill as the riders will go slower there, and it's cooler to stand in those parts than downhills. That's where I was to take the photo at the top of this page. One car managed to scrape itself on the raised centre of the road on this part. Worrying for that car that it's scraping on the tarmac road sections of the race. It might have struggled on the chaotic off roads, and numerous potholes that litter the route.
Passing 2</h3>
After that race had gone through I rolled down the hill to take a spot on the Manor Farm sector. I ended up slightly on the downhill post crest exit. It's not the best place to spectate from, but it's great to watch the more skilled riders overtake those that are more cautious here. Of course any of them would wipe the floor with me, even on my cyclocross bike.
It wasn't that long until they were back, the race had split slightly at this point. There was a solo leader about 4 seconds off the front, then a strung out main pack, followed by dregs of riders. For riders off the back at this point it was going to be really tough to get back on.
This part of the Manor Farm sector is a great memory for me, as close to 20 years ago my Dad and I stood just around the corner for an early edition of the mens race and a rider had a puncture right in front of us. No punctures that I saw today just yet, but some of the riders stuck in the cars had suspiciously clean single wheels.
Passing 3</h3>
After seeing that lap I rushed off to the Sommerberg. I followed a pair of riders from the Hope team who were out to watch the race. It's always fun to follow riders like that. I was riding pretty hard, and they were just chilling. It's really fun to see the contrast in skill and ability. I think I'm pretty good, but anyone I've ridden with at a group ride has got nothing on these guys.
I neededn't have rushed, because it was a long time before the race came though. I got chatting to some of the photographers and one showed me an amazing photo of a Jr rider crashing on the Manor sector through the corner I was stood on (though going the other way). The rider, arse over tit, bike in the air, sliding on their side, and another rider looking back, while a third looks to be sliding a two wheel drift! All riders involved were okay, so it's fine to giggle at the chaos of the race.
This lap had the riders heading in the Southern direction (a direction I haven't ridden this lap in so often, though I have descended the other side of it to get back to Owston many times more than I've climbed the other side, proven later by me getting a PB despite stopping to watch the race). As the race came past it was split up a lot more, though it was still mostly big groups. There weren't many spectators at this point, so me applauding and trying to cheer words of encouragement felt a bit akward. Some spectators knew specific riders (the two Hope lads were near me) so that was good.
One puncture over the top, and an unfortunate call to the helper who rushed in with a rear wheel when it was the front that had gone flat. He had to run back to grab another wheel. It's always tricky to tell what's going on.
The cars were well behind the front of the pack here, the narrow lanes do enough to spread the pack, then you hit the Sommerberg from the potholiest direction. A tight turn in, straight through a gate, and a gentle left hand turn 1% uphill for I guess 800m. Big potholes, nearly impossible to avoid on your own, let alone in a pack. There's a chance to gain some extra speed after this with a small drop down, still full of potholes, then the climb happens. Brutally steep, over 10%, it's been freshly gravelled for the race last year but it kicks up a lot of dust and can be really slippery in the wet! Just past this, right at the top of the hill was where I stood. The riders can see the top, but now have to pick left or right as the centre of the road becomes a raised patch of mud. You're almost locked into this choice the whole way down. The descent I can hardly describe. Heavily steep, some long turns, and potholes that are hard to avoid. Filled with large gravel for sure, but that becomes loose quickly as the riders pelt over it.
This is where the race got long, the broom wagon was well behind the cars with a large groupetto style pack. They'd stay together for the rest of the race, with splinters of riders between them and the cars. There's some tight time limits on the route because of the lap system, but it was to be a long day at the back for some of these riders. Finishing races at a National A level for a lot of riders, especially juniors (there's no Jr Womens race), is a big thing, so they were going to fight to continue.
After the broomie went past I quickly went to chase it down, there was a chance for an extra viewing at Owston if I could cut them off. They were to go the long way through the village.
I followed the Hope lads down the hill. They were on road bikes, not racing, but I still was going faster than I usually would to keep up with them down this sector, again showing the difference in skill between pros and amateurs. I count myself as a great bike handler, especially off road, this terrain is my liveblood, and I could easily have been dropped. Unfortunately they found someone they knew, and stopped there, so I didn't get a chance to follow them down the hill the whole way.
Passing 3.5</h3>
At the bottom I followed the broom wagon, and a small trailing of press cars, back to Owston. I was absolutely flat out following it. The rider the broomie was following was barely hanging on, and ultimately wouldn't finish the race. Again, the difference here is incredible, and this is a national race, it comes with no UCI points, most of the riders are semi-pros, the prize money, while great to have, isn't going to fund a broken pair of wheels these days. Everyone here is doing it for the love of it, and a lot for the hope to improve and get a top level pro contract. The list of winners here is great, especially the Jr Mens race. Barely a name on there that hasn't gone on to do more.
I managed to cut through to the exit of Manor Farm onto Green Lane and watch a few groups pass there. A van had decided to cut out of there and nearly blocked some riders because it hesitated to come out. If the road is closed for a bike race, please just stop. It's safer for everyone!
Unfortunately here there was a crash from a rider. She went down fairly hard on the gravel. In herself she was fine, but her bike was messed up, and she was already so far towards the back that she decided to call it a day. Fair enough, can't blame her after that. It's a brutal race. One of the marshalls offered to call the team car or whoever was around to pick her up. She did actually know the phone number, which was impressive (if you're racing and don't carry your phone, stick the team car number somewhere, or someone to pick you up just in case!). At the end of the race, over an hour later, I got back to those same marshalls and found the crashed rider still hanging around. The team car was too full to pick her up, and they hadn't managed to get a hold of her husband. I hope she managed to get back okay without having to cycle to Melton the long way. Not a great day for her unfortunately.
Passing 4</h3>
The next passing I wasn't 100% sure where it was coming through. I stood with the older chap from the beginning, who again swept the road dilligently, and chatted with the others at the corner. I was at the other end of Green Lane than I'd seen them in passing 3.5.
As we waited for the race a few more people joined to watch with us, including some of the riders from the earlier Junior race. One showed me a video of his mate crashing on the exit to Manor Farm. His front wheel tucks into some deeper gravel and he goes right over the bars! Ouch. They'd added extra thick crushed tarmac to fill potholes on Green Lane. Unfortunately it was getting broken up instead of settling. Even the cars were disturbing it. This direction for green lane is surprisingly steeply downhill. Those brave enough to let off the brakes were able to get a small gap, and one rider attacked off the front here!
The corner was great to watch from. The first group came around, a really big group, bigger than I've seen it before at this point (though the Junior race that day had a big bunch sprint finish). Then the cars, and groups fighting between the cars. Not a great point to be between cars. The run from Owston to Newbold is super narrow, it feels almost claustrophobic in places when riding on your own. I imagine it's impossible to pass a car there. The cars on the exit were going well wide, crashing into an outside pothole.
The large pack near the Broom Wagon was still there, fighting hard. It was getting smaller, though I think some may have gone off the front and gained time. The list of DNFs is usually about 50% for this race though.
Passing 5</h3>
After this passing I thanked the marshalls in case I didn't see them again, and rode off at a reasonable nick towards the Sommerberg. This time I took the route around into Sommerby first since I had some time and did the Sommerberg in the direction I don't usually do it (that's where the description from earlier came in).
The direction for the riders is a tough one. A sharp 90* corner onto the gravel, and then straight up the hill. The middle of the road is mostly useable, allowing some left and right swapping, though in a group you're likely stuck in line. As the riders go through the gate into the field over the top there was a lot of words from riders trying to overtake as this is a good launchpad, but even if you only want to ride your own line and keep your speed up to save energy it can be tough in a group. The top of the hill is a long way away, though it's less steep in the field. You keep grinding, usually in a big gear to try not to slip grip, head over the top and onto that descent. The smoother gravel of the first two corners is nice, but the high speed you gain is terrifying as you hit those potholes on the flat. Some riders will have taken this as a point to attack, or try to put their group into difficulty, especially the bigger stronger riders, as there's some explosive hills after this sector.
There were huge gaps now. One rider stuck well behind the last team cars had a puncture and I hope she made it to the other side of the sector where a lot of teams had helpers with spare wheels. If not she'd have had to just wait for neutral service, which wasn't far enough in front of the broom wagon to replace a wheel before getting caught and being out of the race.
Muddy, dusty faces and legs, bikes covered in Leicestershire's finest dust, tired eyes looked onwards, sure they were headed to the final loop, but there was still some more gravel to come, and the finish isn't easy. The final group came though, still together, a long long way behind the leaders, and huge gaps between groups.
And that was it, the last time I'd see the race that edition. Onwards to Melton they went, and best of luck to the winners.
Homeward Bound</h3>
I dropped back down the way opposite to the riders and rode with a huge smile on my face back to Owston. I could take the long way through and hit an extra few bits of gravel on my way back.
I stopped in the village to ask a marshall who was doing the teardown, to see if I could be cheeky and grab a sign from the race, if they were only going in the bin. It seems nobody was sure whether they went in the bin or not, so I left empty handed (for now). I might ping an email to the organisers and see if I can blag a sign from the mens race.
This is where I found out the lady who'd crashed before was still stuck in Owston. The town was barren now though, even though the race had only passed 20 minutes before everyone had either left to go home, or raced to the finish.
I hopped back on my bike, rode into the Manor Farm sector, down Green Lane, and smiled thinking about the race history I've seen of this event as I went down through Newbold back to the feed zone. Bottle nabbing time.
Cleanup Crew</h3>
The teams in these races are massively underfunded, usually riders are using the bottles they do in training, they're often unbranded, or nabbed from other races. In the World Tour they throw bottles away as a form of advertising, with all the sponsors on the side. There's no budget for that here.
That said, some bottles are left behind in the feed zone, usually broken, but sometimes good, especially if you look in hedges and ditches. I've had many pulls of bottles before, and even a musette one year!
This year I found 3 bottles at the bottom of the hill before the feed zone, one from the pau team who I'd spoken to at Green Lane in Passing 4. One was smashed up, but there was a Rapha crew there with a rubbish bin who took that from me kindly. I always make sure if I pick up a bottle to take it, even if it's broken. If my bag gets full I can drop it by the signs at the litter zone so it'll get collected when they get those signs in and litter pick that zone.
One thing I annoyingly didn't notice was that one good bottle had a broken lid, possibly the one I threw had a good lid, but oh well. I found a good enough replacement from a bottle that broke in the dishwasher last year (being already very thin, shouldn't have gone in the dishwasher).
After that great haul I rode down to the litter zone. This is where riders are allowed (and only here) to throw away trash from their pockets. Usually bottles don't end up here since they want to be discarded in the feedzone and a new one grabbed, but there's often some there, and I even nabbed an unused energy gel last year! (it's still unused, I don't use them, I think it's out of date now...). In the litter zone there were 2 bottles, one broken from Arkea BnB (a now defunt world tour team), and a lovely Elite 750ml bottle. Great haul there! I left the Arkea bottle up at the litter zone marker so it'd definitely not get missed, and went back down to my gravel ride home.
Ash Lane</h3>
I think it's called ash lane, I'm not sure, anyway, there's a sector of gravel that can't be used for the event because at the bottom is a ford crossing that's uncontrollable whether it's passable, and you can't send a bike race across a foot bridge (unless it's cross country marathon, or gravel racing). Last year I got a low top 10 time on the sector despite being slowed on the downhill by some horses. This year I went for it.
Fast into the descent, really testing my new wheels here, there's a lot of ruts and pump track skills come in handy. I almost commited to going through the ford at the bottom, but pussied out and cyclocross dismounted, climbed the bank, and remounted on the bridge. The drop off the bridge gets steeper every time, then a narrow pass under a tree branch, and onto a loose rutted section for about 20m, steeply up hill. After that it opens up, back to the gravel the race is ridden on, and it's a max effort hard climb to the top. 3rd place on that sector, I think maybe I can take the record if I go for it, without the backpack on (excuses), in weather I can cross the ford in. I didn't go for it any time last year though so maybe I won't, but I'll give it another bash after the mens race in April at least.
Long Way Home</h3>
So I forgot to eat the food I'd brought with me... I had one pack of crisps, and wasn't generally hungry while watching the race, and I felt great, but the ride home is longer than I give it credit for. Due to the extra gravel it becomes about 45 minutes from after the gravel to home, which is fine, but the last 10km was a bit rough as I bonked.
Once I was home I found my lovely sibling had made snickerdoodles (nice puffy crunchy biscuits) and she let me have one, and I had my sammich, which was good. About 55km ride all around, 2h25m riding time, 4h30m out of the house. I think I spent 45 minutes at least watching the race come past, so that's not too bad of a ratio.
Go Watch Local Racing</h1>
Check this link to the British Racing Calendar</a> and try to get out to a race, please? It's a great day out, local races are way better than big point to point events because you can see the riders come past many times. Also check with your local clubs if there's smaller races going on, possibly even criteriums (circuit races, you see way more action on these since it's short laps, and many categories constantly racing), mountain bike races, or cyclocross in the winter. People showing up to watch these races are what keeps them alive, and what keeps the sport alive. We need it, especially with some bad news about cancellations due to low rider numbers this year, and the Tour de France no longer being free to air.
Go out, watch bike racing, and ride your bike! It's a great time!

A Freehub, and Parts Availability Moaning

Unknown — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I never seem to have written a post about it, but at some point in mid 2023 I upgraded the wheels on my cross bike to a nice set of Vision Team 30 Discs. These were a great deal, 120 for the pair, shiny silver spokes, nicely deep, and much better than the stock wheels which were heavy, and the rear hub was dying (I did many posts trying to fix that shit.)

Queue the end of 2024, where I find my rear hub bearings to be wearing out. So in Jan 2025 I got them replaced. That was a fairly painless thing, I couldn't do it myself because of a few tools needed and it not being worth buying those, so I took it to a shop</a>. It didn't cost much, and I had some fabulously smooth bearings with great sealing from the elements.

Nearly bang on a year later, and the freehub has started to make some complaints. I resolved to try and take it off and grease it, but before I got around to that it gave out on me entirely. From the first skipped pedal rev at the start of the ride, less than 30km later and I was getting pushed along by the group I was with to the cafe (fortunately it packed in at the top of a hill and near the cafe we were going to!). I managed to get a PB on the segment down there too, cheers Lou and Carl!

The next day was the Sunday I picked to fix all my punctures</a>
The Monday was when I went to watch A Sunday in Hell</a>
The Tuesday after it was "pls dad take me to the bike shop", so we dropped it off at Pedal Power (after calling another shop who said they didn't have a supplier to get the part) and they said they'd look into it and get back to me.

Before dropping it off I'd managed to clean the hub body and get most of a code, but not enough to web crawler it and bring up the correct part. Realistically it was going to a shop anyway, because I believe I need a tool to get the freehub off, and one mistake in buying the wrong part costs more than the labour cost (~30-40 quid for the part, where the service will be ~30)

Bad news and a rant</h2>
A few hours later I get the call with the bad news, the supplier has none of the freehubs, and nobody makes them anymore... A 2018(ish) wheel from a major brand... What's the point of buying these good quality parts and products when they're unsupported and you can't find parts when they wear out (a freehub is a wearing part of a bike) a few years later? The whole argument about not buying from quasi no-name Chinese brands is that the support isn't there, but I've seen people able to get freehubs from Aliexpress wheels many years later. Nobody puts any info out there for how long you'll be able to find parts for their products for. I take good care of my bikes, and it fucking sucks to have a 60-70 quid repair turn into possibly upwards of 200 quid for a wheel now, and there's a lump of maybe recyclable aluminium paperweight sitting around (because at almost all price ranges below 1000 quid for a pair the rims aren't worth enough to have a wheel rebuilt. The cost of a hub, spokes, and labour is more than an equal quality prebuilt wheel)
Well, onwards I guess. The shop showed me a few options in the ~80 quid price point, some needing me to get centrelock rotors (more on that later). I ended up saying I'd think about it, but since they were only ordering offline I was pretty sure I'd go second hand since I'd seen a few good options. It sucks too because I'd like to have given money to the local bike shop to fix my bike, but I couldn't (they wouldn't have made anything on the parts)
In the end the choice was between Mavic Aksium Discs, or Shimano RX010s. The Shimanos are gravel wheels, a little wider, a little more heavily built, but with loose bearings (which as an all weather rider scare me, though I've never had good quality loose ball hubs). Their advantage in the mindset I was in was that I could buy the pair or just the rear from SJS, brand new, will work, and the freehubs Shimano uses are pretty well available for a very long time.
The other option, the Aksium Discs, were an ebay find. Originally I found a rear wheel only, with QR adater (finding a QR set of wheels is hard, and since it was the rear I needed, where thru axle is 142mm wide, and QR 135mm wide, you need manufacturer supported adpaters. Front wheel adapters can be bought pretty easily). Then I found a good deal for the pair, at £230, and then somehow, with some extra looking, £140 for the pair, brand new, with both adapters... Absolutely incredible, so much so I had to get my Dad to do a sanity check. A great thanks to my late Aunt Lena who left some money to my Dad, which he shared some with me to buy these wheels and get me back out without thought for trying to find the cheapest option that works. He gave the same to my sister, and she got an ereader she's had her eyes on for a while.
Once the wheels arrived I had the lovely task of swapping the hub ends over. This would probably be one sentence, but funny things happened! The front wheel was easy, just drop the pegs in, ezpz done. They felt like they might fall out, but with a skewer they're not going to drop out if you take the wheel out the bike, and now they've sat in for a few rides they're solidly in there (can easily be poked out with the skewer, but that's fine).

On the rear there's two end caps you have to pull off to reduce the width from 142mm to 135mm wide. Neither felt like they were coming off easiy, so I popped onto YouTube to find the answers. Of course there's someone saying "it's way easy, just boop and off it comes" from an official Mavic guide. Now, that's all well and good if this is the 5th time these have come off for the video, but for me, they're pretty well had on. I did find a bit of advice somewhere that said (and I'm going to bold this)
To remove the endcap on the freehub side, pull on the freehub</h3>
That should make it easier to find when I come back to this post in a years time trying to get the cap off and remove the freehub for re-greasing.
Anyway, that advice worked well, and somehow the non-drive side (which I found no guides on) fell off in the box when I pulled the wheel out again, so all's well that ends well.

Hot Centrelock Opinions</h4>
When I first realised I was gonna need a centrelock wheel, and either an adapter or new discs it was kinda annoying. What's wrong with 6 bolts? It's fine, it holds them, it uses a tool that fits on my multi tool in case they come loose while out and about. Well, the main reason is for bike shops and pro mechanics that it's 6 bolts (duh) vs just the one. Setting a bottom bracket tool to 40nm is a lot easier than 6x 5nm bolts, especially when torx tools never quite lock in properly. They also allow for more options of cooling fins and the fancy sort of things. Overall, now I've used it, I like centrelock, but I'm glad I can get an adapter and keep buying really cheap CNC brake rotors off Noah and Theo</a>
So, on to setting up the adapter and the chaos that was.
Problem number 1, Dad can't count and only ordered 1 rotor adapter... This isn't the first time this happened, though last time he had the (really not good) excuse that he thought "pair" of brake pads meant front and rear, not left and right... (the single brake disc in that order wasn't great, but I sent him the wrong code for the pads so all in a terrible move from everyone)
When the rotor adapter came I popped over to nab the tools from Dads. A bottom bracket tool, and the smallest Torx bit we have. This is where the problems start. The way the adapter works is effectively you attach the 6 bolt to the adapter as you would normally to a wheel, but with much smaller flat headed bolts (flat as in machined flat tops, not flat head as in uranium bolt). Then a thick shim goes over of the same thickness as the heads, and you clamp that down with a regular lockring. Other than the shim the rotor, adapter, and bolts become one centrelock rotor.
Now, what went wrong? Well, the smallest tool we had was actually a T20. The bolts are T15. T20 fits almost into a T15 slot, due to the oversized entry by a tiny bit, but as soon as the bolts hit the locktite there was no grip. I was pretty sure it was the tool that was the issue, but I didn't know if it was the wrong size, if it was slightly broken, or maybe even if the bolts were wrong. I didn't have another bolt of the same size, or tool to test against. I tried sanding the burrs off the edge of the tool, because that's how close it felt, but nothing. That was pretty shit, since it meant I wasn't getting out for a little longer.
In a stroke of cleverness rarely seen with me, I checked on Screwfix if they had torx sets (after looking on regular delivery sites) and they did! Not in stock at my local that day, but it was ~13:30 on a Sunday so that was fine. Delivered to my local store next day was more than quick enough. It was cheaper than getting them off ebay, and delivered earlier (plus a bike ride). Got the text that it was in store about mid day, rode over, picked it up, ezpz. The final mile is a real difficulty for delivery of stuff, but I think the "just don't do it" of collection from store or postal lockers is the best option (of course with the exception for people who can't get it themselves, or for extra large items)
With the new tools in hand I got everything together pretty quick sharp. Flashy new wheels need clean cassettes and brakes of course. I didn't have proper brake cleaning stuff, so I avoided touching the braking surface and just cleaned the centre before bolting it on. Apparently I only took one picture of all of this, but all in it was pretty easy.


So all up, what's the big difference? Well, the weight is barely down (I measured the front wheel to 50g less, but that was without the centrelock adapter on the new wheel, so probably 0 difference there). The back wheel feels somewhat lighter, but it might be placebo. I can't feel the difference in aero, but I know it's there. There just simply were no options above 24mm deep. The difference 6mm makes is a lot. Looking at this pic with the old front wheel and new rear is wild.

The Aksiums do look good though...

From my Nana for my birthday around the same time I got a pair of King Cage Iris bottle cages. Absolutely lovely and they hold the bottles perfectly. Need a little testing on the real rough sstuff, but I love the way they have a gentle snap into the bottom. There's no visible bottle lip section sticking out, but it's the arms. The bottle slides in like a wonderful hug. It's great, and the noise on a half full steel bottle is beautiful!
Conclusion</h2>
All in, it sucks that the wheel broke, and it sucks that it wasn't fixable (fucking capitalism) but I do now have a great pair of wheels on the bike, even if they're probably less aero, and I do miss the silver spokes. The hub engagement feels amazing, and I very much like how they look with this bike. The tiny yellow section goes really well on this bike particularly, and I think the scalloping on the hubs is really nice (though I found it really hard to clean today, the first proper clean with the new wheels on after ~120km ridden in the nice weather we've finally had)
Here's to many happy miles on these wheels, and that I'll be able to find spare parts for them for many years to come. They're even futureproofed to go on a future bike since they're thru axle!

Oh The Punctures I've Had

Unknown — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Punctures suck. Towards the end of last year I had a super slow puncture on my Gary Fisher full squish MTB, that was annoying, and the fact it never seemed to seal with tube glue was even more annoying.
A few days before Christmas I went to practice riding that bike at the downhill tracks near me, in preparation for the visit to my Uncle and rocking it down Llandegla Forest</a>. The pucture there seemed to have sealed. I think I was out about 4 hours, with a ride to the tracks, and then quite a bit of time spent at the Rothley jumps on the way back (since people were there).
This is the first time riding a full squish that's my own at degla, I first rode it on my uncles Cannondale, then on my dirt jump bike (where the brakes went half way down), then a few more times on my jump bike, and once more last summer on his other Cannondale. A 27.5 fully, my 26" hard tail, and the trigger I locked the rear suspension because I couldn't figure it out. Riding the Gary Fisher was the best bike possible, fitting it badly into the car was a great choice! A bike I knew, and could whip around, with the advantages of proper grippy tyres, and full squish!
On the first decent my rear tyre started to go a little squishy, it wasn't terrible, and had taken a while to go down, so I just pumped it up a bit and we headed on. We then got to the fork in the road, a technical stairs rocks, and jumps section, or a flowey trail. I took the tech, my Uncle went down the flow. Half way down that, during the jumps and turns, I realised my rear tyre was going flat again... Terrible! Clearly it wasn't sealing itself.
Riding on to the join I decided to swap it while waiting for Uncle (his route was longer, as it exited further down the climb back to this connection). I quickly managed to get the tube out, swap it for one in my bag, and get under way. I checked carefullyish for thorns still in the tyre (my first thought of why it was going flat still was that there was something in there opening the gap again and again) and couldn't find anything.
The puncture was fixed it seemed and all fine. I rode on towards the finish, but on the 2nd to last descent it was going flat again. A quick pump up, and it did the final track beautifully (that final stretch is hell on a hard tail. It's got a strava segment marker, and is part of every trail, so many people rip it up going too hard to the first jump that there's braking bumps on the takeoff and you have to prejump scrub for speed. So much better on the fully)
The next day the tyre was fully flat...
Fast forward a week and it's the 31st, and I decide to end the year riding my XC MTB, the GT. I head out, with one tube still in my pack (all my MTBs share the same toolkit). I'm going for an hour, it'll be fine! I get about half way round, having done 2/3 of the off road sectors and my rear is going flat... Oh well bugger. I pull over, pump it up, hope it's a slow flat that I can pump up here, do the final offroad, then pump up once or twice on the road home. A minute later and it's clear it's gone too far, so I pull over to replace it.
There's a huge goats head in the tyre, so clearly I'd hit something I shouldn't have! I pulled that out, checked for other things, and fixed the problem nice and quick (helped by how easy it is to remove 90s tyres from 90s rims!) Back on the bike, and off down the final off road sector to home.
Not 100m later, after being let through a gate by a kind walker, I heard a terrible psssh noise... I hoped to fuck it was just the guys coat as he closed the gate, but no, front flat. A weird sense of relief came over me as I realised I hadn't fucked up and failed to fix my puncture! But I did have no spare tube to fix the flat... And now I had to walk 6km home.
An hour later, made easier by listening to The Cyclocross Social Podcast</a> (almost useful really, as I needed to catch up over the Kirstperiod) I made it home. Just as I came through the final little gravel footpath behind my house I felt the rear going flat, and sure as shit after I'd hosed down the bike it was flat too.
So 3 punctures in 1 ride, and 2 the ride before... Not a good time. I gave up, and left those bikes unfixed, a pile of tubes in the corner, and 3 tubes in bikes flat. My motivation was completely gone through January and Feb (see this post for vague info on that</a>)
At the tail end of Feb I was going to see a bike film A Sunday in Hell, at the cinemas (blog post link)</a> and the day before I decided that rainy day to fix all the tubes. My road bike was now also dead, from a freehub failure (more about that later, about 2 hours before writing this post I dropped the wheel off at the shop to be fixed, so yeah, I'll forget to update this post so go find it yourself)
I brought the tubes into the house, whipped wheels off the bikes, and started fixing.
First tube up, big hole, easy to find, but annoyingly on an edge so it was a touch hard to glue.
Second tube was harder to find, so I had to get the bucket of water out. I even took care to put some old tea towels down! I'm learning! Once I found it, it was fine.
The third tube was harder, it was the one with sealant in it. I had to end up leaving it, as I couldn't find any hole in it at all. I'd eventually find it the next day after the sealant left a nice big pink dot on the side (I left it pumped up hanging over the handlebars) and I've now patched it up.
The fourth was a really tough one. One bubble a second in the water. This was the rear wheel puncture walking home from the 3 on the GT. I'm not actually sure if this one is fixed, since it was so small I had to guess where to put the patch after gluing it! I think the glue sealed it first anyway.
The final one was an easy one, I think it was the goats thorn. Patched and fixed.
I left these on the sofa overnight because I didn't want to find they didn't dry properly as I've had issues with before. Many times I've fixed tubes, put them back in, and had them leak or go bang... I'm slowly learning to fix punctures well. I'm used to by the side of the road patching with glueless and hoping it works. I still hate fixing road tubes, anything smaller than a 30-40mm wide tube size is horrible (and it's hard to find that small size of patches, mine are 20mm)
None of the bikes still have their tyres back on at this point, but at the very least I can throw a tube or two into the saddle bag and ride the one bike that didn't get punctures (this time) my dirt jump bike. When the weather clears, hopefully for my Birthday this weekend, I'll be getting back out on that to play in the dirt again.
I didn't have time to write a short post, so I wrote a long one instead.

A Sunday in Hell, in Danish, Because of a Book

Unknown — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I do not condone piracy, so you shouldn't click this link to a HD upscaled Dutch with English subtitles</a>
And you shouldn't click this link for English, but with lower quality (VHS, maybe DVD, it's 4:3, this is the one I mostly watch, on legally aquired DVD of course). I now realise it's worse due to missing translations/subtitles for conversations that the original Danish has)</a>

A Sunday in Hell is one of my most fond memories. I might watch the film most years before Paris-Roubaix, and I might have watched it countless times as a kid, but I can never remember what happened the next time. All I know is that every time I wash my bike, cleaning the chain with a degreaser covered brush, I think back to that mechanic at the start of the film washing the bike.
This year it was on at the cinema, on the big screen, and my Dad offered to take me for my birthday, which was nice :3
What I didn't know was that it was due to this guy William Fotheringham, who in 2018 wrote the book "Sunday in Hell, behind the lens of the greatest cycling film of all time" (a copy of which I now own, signed by the author :3 )

I feel like I should talk about what the film is and what it's about, but that's what the book does and I've only read the first bit, and I barely remember the film so I'd rather tell you why I think you should watch it yourself.
This isn't a film about bike racing, or cycling, or sport, this is a film about people and stories and places. It just happens to be following a bike race. The race doesn't matter in the end. We follow certain riders in their preparations, we follow certain other riders through the race, and in the end none of them end up winning (apparently much to the annoyance of Jorgen Leth, the director, who wanted one of the larger than life characters like Merckx or Moser to win)
I love this film because it shows off all the bits of cycling that I do, rather than the racing that I never made it to. It makes me want to ride, and enjoy cycling as a sport. The cobblestones are beatiful, as they hammer the riders to jelly, the pave longstanding as my favourite surface to ride. It's smoother than bridletracks, to the point where I'll seek out the roughest lines on the pave just to feel something.
The dust clouds, the spectators, the race, the cafes, being asked to watch this film and think about it, instead of just sitting back and enjoying the world, it was nice, but next time I watch I'll just enjoy the world again. It's the world of my childhood where the only thing that mattered was the bicycle.
This film brings me into a time where my Dad was barely lucid, it really does take you to a dusty Sunday in April in northern France, between a town just outside Paris, and a velodrome just outside Roubaix.
So now I should do the reason I wrote this post, to write down the things that happened at the showing that weren't in the film, the questions asked.
One was from me, about bikes of the time vs bikes of now. Now you can buy the top spec bike, and it all comes from a mould, so the top riders have the same as their helpers (minus preferential treatment on small details, and mechanics working on their bikes daily instead of a domestique maybe getting a full rebuild every 3 days of the Tour). I asked how big the difference in bikes between a top rider on a team like Merckx would be to his teammates. Riders in the 70s got their bikes hand made by certain frame builders like Colnago (now a company owned by Saudi, so they're shit compared to their heritage same as Campagnolo, the gears all riders would have ran in 76). Lower tier riders got off the peg kit, the kind plebs like us could buy. Now a top tier rider gets the same as everyone, everything is out the mould, if only a better layup for the pros compared to us.
William Fotheringham answered that it's much different now, that bikes back then were much the same because the custom built frames weren't so much better than the top of the line off the peg (I guess because it's the same tubing, just craftsmanship and the sizing being specific) and other than custom frames, and maybe a specialist tyre for the cobbles (that Moser had, mentioned in the film, to protect against punctures) the kit was otherwise the same. Within teams it may now be more equal, but between teams it's vastly different.
Another question was about the music, which Fotheringham replied that it was very experimental. Most of the people coming in to do this movie weren't cycling based, they were artsy film people, and it shows, yet they captured cycling so perfectly that cyclists love it. There's a section where the musical director had a set of 8 or so singers from the Danish choir sing "Pave", "Roubaix", and "Paris" (Paris being "Paree") and then layered it over and over and over again until it sounded like thousands.
A lot of the music was also folley, there's definite sections where all you can hear are chains and cogs, but you're in a car, or on a motorbike. Apparently only a few of the cameras had soundmen with them (in the cafe, at the feedzone, at the end), and the rest had no sound.
There's themes, which I never noticed until it was brought up. There's a Merckx theme, a Moser theme, a De Vlaminck theme, and a "going fast" theme which is a wobbleboard and timpany.
Fotheringham has been to many bike races and covered cycling for years and years as a reporter, and he said his favourite race was Paris Roubaix because of the access the press have to the riders in the showers at the end, and that they were always happy to talk, no matter how bad they did. It's a strange thing, reporting from a showers, naked cyclists trying to clean French mud out their eye sockets, but that's how it was. In fact winning riders get their names on the shower cubicles.
One of the biggest changes Fotheringham has seen in cycling is riders no longer using those, and just heading to busses since the late 90s. Some riders will use the showers, just to say they did it, but these usually aren't winning riders.
Another of the biggest changes in the sport for Fortheringham was the start of the 1992 Tour de France, as this is where we see Big Mig Indurain start the process of "Winning at the tour means missing the classics" and the modern bredth of cycling only being about the Tour, or specialists who don't race both. It's still only a rare few who race the classics and the grand tours, and even fewer who can win both (and unfortunately the guy who wins them both now is on a shitty team).
This combined with the on bike nutrition - (which to Fotheringham is more important than the out of race nutrition which starts near the beginning of the film with "a bloody steak is the best breakfast for a racing cyclist" while now we're on rice, rice, more rice, and pudding rice for when you're bored of rice and pasta = faster) - is the biggest change in the last 50 years. In 76 there was 2 feed zones, and the water was just water, and the food was a jam or ham sandwich.
3 riders in fact were to race Roubaix on 3 pasties from a local shop as the JOBO team car had its tyres slashed by protesters (who were protesting the race organiser, L'Equipe, and its owners, from laying off many of the printing press workers. La Parisien Libere, the runners of the race and owners of L'Equipe funded the film, which I think is amazing because it's great art and great for unions). The film mentions that it's an "unexpected" stoppage for a protest, though it would become more and more common through the 80s, especially in the Tour de France and with farmers.
Food now is gels and sugar and perfection, though it's perfectly normal for recreational cyclists to use the old methods and do well. Gels are great, but sometimes nothing beats some sugar lumps. You can put isotonic mix in your bottles, but I'll run squash and sugar and a pinch of salt, and the old boy on a CAADX with cantis will eat a marmite sandwich, have plain water in his bottle, and lap you at the local CX.
The vibe I got from the event was a bunch of people who love cycling, watching a film about cycling, with other people who love cycling, and asking questions of a man who lives cycling. I've finished the first prologue chapter of the book as I'm writing this, and it's great.
Maybe this will be the third book I've read in my life, and maybe I'll read those other cycling books I've got (if I can get into reading I'd really like to, as there's so many great cycling stories told on paper, and Ned Boulting deserves some money for a book)
Watching this film made me want to get back on my bike though, plus a little sun that's coming soon I should be happily back out again soon enough, once my rear wheel is fixed (hopefully that doesn't cost me an arm and a leg)
Enjoy this makeshift bookmark. 

Failing the Audax 2026

Unknown — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Last year I rode the Rutland and Beyond</a> Audax. It was cold but went really well. This year was different.
Since the start of the year, and a tiny bit of last year I haven't really had the motivation going for rides, especially road rides. The weather has been completely shite but it's more than just that. I signed up for the audax anyway, since it gives me a good reason to go and ride. I thought it might help, and it probably did.
I rode somewhat regularly in January, I did ~400km which isn't bad for thinking I did nothing. In the lead up to the event on the 15th Feb I did a 60km ride as my furthest, and a few 45-50km rides here and there. Nothing was making me enjoy riding for more than an hour, and usually that was just riding fast enough I wasn't thinking (that was definitely the case for the 100 km as fast as I can</a> ride.)
The day before was a cold, but nice day. I went out for about an hour and a half, and was feeling okay, but well before this ride I'd decided I wasn't going to finish the day after. The weather for the first time I did the audax was wet, but warm. The year after cold, but dry. This year it was cold (-3) and raining, sleeting, snowing, all sorts of bad weather. I knew I was going to pull out early because I couldn't be arsed to push through that, especially with no backup plan once I got past Borrough Hill at 20km in. Both my parents were away so couldn't pick me up from a cafe if I had enough.
The good side to this is that I decided I was going to go, and that's kinda what this post is about, reminding myself that it's okay to fail, and it's okay to not complete things. In the end, I went out, so I did more than I would have done on a day like that.
I got up, rode out to the start only a little wet at the time. I had a biscuit and a malt loaf mini, and a chat with Phil who would be at the second cafe stop to give stamps out.
The start came a bit late, as always, as nobody wants to be the first to leave. I rode with the fastest at the front, giving some turns, as I knew I could do that for the shorter distance. I was sort of between groups in a few places, and it was climbing through the rolling hills at 10km that I knew I wasn't completing this for sure, absolutely. I still had a tiny thought in the back of my mind that maybe happiness would strike and I'd pull through to the end (I made sure to pack as if I was going to complete the event). I had great fun following the wheels and going a bit fast, chatting to people, but as soon as groups split and I was on my own I knew it wasn't happening.

I got to the first stop to answer the question "What time is the collection on Saturdays" to my card. Some just took a picture, most just remembered it. I lost enough places, but was happy to write it physically on my card as well as take a picture. I plugged on further here, originally this was where I was going to turn around and head home, but I was feeling okay enough so I decided to plug on up Burrough Hill and see. Half way up the hill, as I was just spinning away the hail and sleet came down, and I realised my feet were soaked. My legs were wet, and the wind was freezing my legs. I got to the sports rehab centre, phoned in my exit, and carried on to the village to turn around there, taking the scenic way home.

It was cold, and there was one point the sun came out for about 30 seconds where I thought I might have made the wrong choice, but honestly it was a nice weight off me knowing I was just heading home.
When I got home I'd done ~48km, which is between the distance from the start to the first stop, and from my home to the first stop. Definitely glad I didn't continue. From the first proper stop at Rutland Water you're better off completing the route than going backwards. It's nearly 50% of the way through (45km/103km) but there's nothing between the start and Rutland Water, where finishing puts you to the second cafe stop at East Carlton and there's plenty of riders around just in case (you don't see them until you stop).

All in, I'm glad I signed up, I'm glad I went, and I'm glad I called it a day. Hopefully with some riding and some offroading and a bit of luck and sunshine I'll be loving the sport again soon. I've loved watching the cyclocross all winter, that's for sure.
So I'll sign up again for this next year, and I'll give it another go.

Let yourself fail things, it's okay. Sometimes you need that so you can complete something else tomorrow.

100km in Under 4 Hours

Unknown — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 23:40:30 +0000

I might have written about this in the Loros recap</a> but I intended to do a 100km ride at over 25kmh average speed shortly after the big Loros ride. Well, one thing led to another and I ended up not doing that very quickly. After the Loros ride I ended up getting a mild injury on the back of my leg (from bending down to play pool on my new-at-the-time 5ft table :3 ) and then I got ill, then went to Scotland, and then stuff happened and it was winter now.
So I set the goal to do it on Winter Solstice, sort of like I did my first ever 100 mile ride on Winter Solstice 2021</a>. I didn't do much training for this, but I have started riding faster again after 2 years of fully zone 2 on the road. It's definitely sparked more love for the road again. I like pushing on for sure, rather than using the road as a recovery ride from MTB and such.
The goal was set, the practice runs were done, about 2 weeks before I averaged 26kmh or so around a 25km loop, and that's when I decided to do the 100 because that felt fairly easy. The Monday before the attempt on the Sunday I did 2 laps to check that the route worked and gave me the right distance, which is did (more on that later) and I averaged 27.1kmh which I really didn't expect to break this new 50km record on the day.
The Friday comes and it's been raining all week, I head out for a short loop (one lap of the Sunday track) and it's flooded. One way there's a bridge, but it makes my lap speed go from easily 26kmh down to 24.4kmh... Not good, I am worried. I'd have to do more distance here too, since I definitely couldn't go the other way around as that has no bridge (though I have been sent a video of someone riding through it, much braver than I am... And a lot wetter). I just decided I needed to do it, and hope for the best. At the very least it really should be a new PB in the 100km, as that was still from the original 100 mile ride (I've never since done 100km on my own and without significant stops for cafes)
The loop for those who know it is the A group first week of TDQ, for those that don't it's almost a figure 8 loop, heading out down the main road to the end village, sliding off to a side road, turning around at the train tracks, heading back the straight way, rejoining the main road home, then sticking out again past the golf club. The golf club route was the part that was impossibly flooded, so I had to take two laps down the main road part.
The saving grace of the route was that there's a ringroad around the town that starts the ride proper. I ride down from my house, then over a roundabout that I'd rather not cover 4 times, so doing a lap of the ringroad was always going to happen on laps 1 and 3, then home for a bottle refill, piss, and snack on lap 2, and finish on 4. The new plan was to do as many laps of the ringroad as it took to bring it up to 25km on the first lap, head home on the second and not worry too much that the distance would be 48km or so, make sure I'm on 75km before leaving the ringroad on lap 3, and then finish it all off on lap 4 with the ringroad before heading home.
The night before I ate a shitty pasta and sauce because pasta = fasta.
On the day I set off at just before dawn, having had shreddies for breakfast, and a marmalade sammich and spicy bottle (30g sugar, 3g salt, 750ml squash) on the side waiting for my return on lap 2. I headed out down to the loop at a decent pace, but trying to keep it cool. Going out at zone 4 would be killer by the time I got to lap 4, so I needed to keep it feeling easy, but it was hard. I was nervous and it was incredibly misty out.
The first lap went well, 26.3kmh. It was still foggy as fuck when I finished this lap, which I was hoping wouldn't be the case, but I took my coat off anyway as I was getting hot and I damn well knew it was a big aero drag.
The second lap was faster for the same heartrate. Some of that was now being warmed up on the bike, some of it was having taken the coat off, but it was a LOT faster. 26.8kmh doesn't do it justice, there was a stop on this lap as the mid ride piss and bottle swap happened before the 50km mark (manually lapping at 25km intervals).
Lap 3 now, I've got a fresh bottle but opted not to take the sammich. My gummy sweets in my pouch were serving me well, and it was cold enough my jaw hurt, so I didn't want to have to chew on a sandwich here. Lap 3 was a flyer though, I could feel myself getting better and knew what I could hold so ended up with 27.6kmh which surprised the hell out of me! The fog was still here, but onto lap 4 I went.
I probably started increasing the speed a bit early into lap 4, but I felt I could hold it. I'd seen the 27.6kmh for lap 3 and knew I could beat that 27.1kmh average speed for the 50km that I did in testing (I didn't hit out on that run and aimed it to be just for practice of the first two laps and keeping it normal). I got to the top of the steep hill near the half way point absolutely shattered. Legs finally screaming at this point, I pushed on down the hill and through the rollers. The 10km back to the loop was painful but what was to come was worse.
I got into the ringroad at about 95km, meaning roughly 3 laps of the ringroad. Each lap with a stiff headwind, and loving tailwind. I really ramped it up here, this was the end. My heartrate never went past zone 4.5, I was just shattered and had no sprint left in me, but that was a good thing to feel, knowing if I squoze out this last few minutes it'd be a damn impressive time.
I pushed across the 100km line at 3h40m56s
Grid of distance, time, speed, heartrate, and elevation difference for a bike ride.
The important one: 100km, 3h40m56s, 27.2km/h, 161bpm
Distance Time Speed Heart Rate Elev 5 mile 16:27 29.3 km/h 158 bpm -27m 10K 20:31 29.2 km/h 158 bpm -33m 10 mile 33:43 28.6 km/h 164 bpm -30m 20K 42:42 28.1 km/h 160 bpm 1m 154 30K 1:04:04 28.1 km/h 163 bpm -1em N+ 40K 1:26:04 27.8 km/h 163 bpm -25 m i+ 50K 1:47:53 27.8 km/h 162 bpm -6m DB 80K 2:54:51 27.5 km/h 161 bpm -15m +4 50 mile 2:55:43 27.5 km/h 161 bpm -16m N+ 90K 3:16:57 27.4 kn/h 161 bpm -30m b+ 100K, 3:40:56 27.2 km/h 161 bpm 7m
Lap Distance Elev Tine Speed Power HR 1 25.00 km 7a 57:00 26.3 kmh 156W 160 bpm 2 24.99 km 3m 55:54 26.8 kmh 181W 160 bpm 3 25.04 km 6m 54:29 27.6 kmh 176W 159 bpm 4 24.96 km 2m 53:35 28.0 kmh 177w 165 bpm 5 3.89 km 4m 10:24 22.5 kmh 120w 144 bpm
An absolutely amazing time! I celebrated, looped to the end of the ringroad and crawled home. 27.2kmh the final count
Now it's getting very late as I type this, so I'm gonna wrap up, but that was the best I've ever ridden my bike, and the hardest thing I've done in my life in a physical sense.
But here's the main takeaway from this... Stopping for 2 minutes and 38 seconds total on this ride (for the mid ride swap, at a junction, and for a second piss on lap 3) brought down the total from 27.3kmh to 27.2kmh, after nearly 4 hours, and 100km, AND that 27.3kmh includes the "lap 5" of the crawl back up the hill home, my legs aching, and I averaged 22.5kmh. With my first lap I ended it at 57 minutes flat for 26.3kmh. If you stop for 15 minutes you need to ride around 1kmh faster for 5 hours to make up that time.
This PSA is aimed directly at the people I cycle with who insist on riding harder, complaining cycling is hard, and then stopping for bloody ages at cafe stops even when we could be getting on. Making the timecut is easy if you stop less.
Anyway, I'm very proud of myself for this ride, and mildly proud of myself for actually writing this post. Hopefully more to come as in the next few days I should be out on the new (to me) Gary Fisher in the forrests of Wales hitting it on the proper downhill tracks on a full squish I can set up properly.
See you all in the dirt!

TrackMania Linux Setup Tricks

Unknown — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I install Trackmania United Forever through Steam, though most of this works via Wine with the correct Wine Prefix stuff set (can't remember how I did that, might update later)
I use Proton 9, though the latest has been working best since Proton 7.
The launch parameters are PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 WINEDLLOVERRIDES="dinput8.dll=n,b" %command%</code>
Standalone update</h1>Before all the stuff I install the standalone version of the game into the Steam install folder (if you already install the standalone don't worry about this). Install Steam normally, run it once (will need the launch paramater PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1</code> else it won't launch, or might be upside down) and then grab the standalone installer from here TMUF</a> or here for TMNF</a>. Install that with regular Wine, and have the install directory be the Steam install dir (SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/TrackMania United/</code>). This should just follow the regular install. If you intend to use Steam do not tick the desktop, start menu, or tmtp link options at the end (we'll fix those later). If you're using standalone through Wine then these options might be useful for you. You may need to put in a CD key at the end of this install, or the next time you launch. The first launch after installing standalone should be with the Trackmania Launcher (TmForeverLauncher.exe</code> or Steam -> Properties -> General -> Selected Launch Option -> Ask When Starting Game -> Trackmania United Forever Settings. On second launch once you know it's good you can set it to not ask again, and just have it as Play Trackmania United Forever) Modloader Install</h1> After setting the game up normally I install the Trackmania Competitive Patch through ModLoader</a>. You can try to use the proper modloader via Wine (the regular download, or the zip version) but I have the best luck with the "prepackaged zip"</a>. It is harder to use and set up, but it works for me. I have in the past updated versions of the coremod and comppatch dll files with the zip version, by extracting it and copying the dlls over the old ones. (versioning is very hard with this setup as the Windows based zips don't have creation dates). The prepackaged zip gets updated from time to time, but not super regularly. If this has worked properly then the title of the window should be "Trackmania Modded Forever" To enable and disable mods you can add them to the ModLoader.ini</code> file. Follow the instructions in that file. ; to comment, and the name of the mod doesn't matter (only the file name, case sensitive, needs the bit after the dot(.)) (if you have any tricks for making the regular modloader work on Linux, let me know and I'll update what's what here, a lot of people report that it just works) Twinkie install</h1> Twinkie 2.0 self extractor/installer doesn't work, so use 7z x Twinkie.exe</code> (replace twinkie.exe with whatever that file is called fully) That'll extract folders to the folder you're in, you want database/TmForever/products/Twinkie/$_2_/</code> and to copy all the dlls in there to the same place you put the dlls for CoreMod, CompPatch, Unlimiter, whatever Take the $DOCUMENTS/Twinkie</code> folder and put it in SteamLibrary/steamapps/compatdata/7200/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/</code> (if you didn't know already, that's where the TrackMania folder is that saves and maps go into. There seems to be some bug where installing it causes the game to always launch in launcher mode for me, that seems to be fixed by re-extracting the Modloader pack. It always launches with TMInterface, which if you have CompPatch will crash instantly (can't have both) so you'll need to delete the TMInterface.dll, or move it to a different folder somewhere else so it can't be ran. Updating other mods</h1> You can download the other mods directly from somewhere, ask a friend to extract the DLL, or probably get the modloader exe, install it, and grab the dlls from there. Then overwrite the ones in the main TMUF directory, and if needed add them to the ModLoader.ini</code> To update mods I got the proper modloader installed and opened it, then navigated to /home/$user/.wine/drive_c/users/$user/Local Settings/Application Data/TMLoader/database/TmForever</code> and then database/TmForever/products</code> where all the mods are. You'll have to download newer versions from within the program (if you can't do this, ask friends to send it to you). Copy all the dlls from the version you want and put them in the place with the rest of the mod dlls. You may need to check the description.yaml</code> file for any dependancies of the mod. Your millage will vary for how well this works. For me replacing CoreMod with CoreMod it broke, so make a backup before you try. Making the play button work on TMX for Steam</h1> If you use Steam then the play button on TMX doesn't always work when linked directly to the game. It'll work if you run the game through Wine outside of Steam, but for half these tricks to work Steam makes things a lot easier. I run a script to make things work. It requires the xclip</code> package to work. If you're on wayland replace this with wl-copy</code> and install that package. tmtp-getter.sh #!/bin/bash echo $1 | xclip -selection clipboard </code></pre> (if the above shows as a white box and you're using the dark theme on this site, either try selecting the text in the box blindly, or swapping to the light theme. If it works fine, I've fixed it somehow) I put this file into my Documents (or wherever you want to put it that might be cleaner for you), then on Firefox I run the info from this mozilla article</a> for adding a custom URL handler (doing it the proper way via the about:config doesn't seem to always work, but this does) data:text/html,%3Ca href="tmtp%3Atest.com"%3E%26lt;tmtp:test.com%26gt;%3C/a%3E</code> Then set the file to run to the tmtp-getter.sh (make sure it's executable with chmod +x tmtp-getter.sh</code>) From there you should be able to click the "play track" button on TMX and have it copy the manialink to the clipboard. Other little things</h1> If you too are a multi monitor user and are annoyed that the game minimises when you unfocus it, and that it doesn't respect the SDL_VIDEO_MINIMIZE_ON_FOCUS_LOSS=0</code> command (because it doesn't really use SDL) then installing the ModLoader exe is great. If you launch it fullscreen, then shrink to windowed, and maximise it back to full screen then it stops minimising when you click away :D Symlinking the user data folder to a more easily found place. I run this command from my ~/Documents</code> folder to create a TrackMania symlink there. You want the folder in documents to be the symlink so Steam still controls the actual data. Replace the first section with my /mnt/Storage3/...</code> with wherever your Steam Library is. ln -s /mnt/Storage3/SteamLibrary/steamapps/compatdata/7200/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/TrackMania TrackMania</code> Using triggers in game</h1> TMUF/NF doesn't allow analogue triggers at all, so I use Steam Input to rebind them to number keys letting me use them as camera binds (you can rebind them to anything you want). I also rebind the Dpad buttons to the arrow keys so I can have digital turning if wanted. There have been times where Steam Input doesn't recognise the controller at all, so if that happens just turn it off. Anything else</h1> If you know of any other tricks or tips then let me know so I can add them to here at some point
Week 25: Thrussington Unknown — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The final ride of the year! It's over so soon. A Group:</h3> 21.8km / 13.5mi / 120m Elevation For the final time this year, turn right out the village hall and go straight over the roundabout to Rearsby. Turn left at Bearsly's onto Brookside, then follow that around to the right before turning left up Station Lane. Follow that through into Thrussington. Turn right up Hoby Road and regroup. Follow Hoby Road and turn right onto Mill Lane to Brooksby. Turn right at the bottom of Mill Lane and over the train tracks, then left before the top of the hill onto Main Street to Rotherby (over the cattle grids). Regroup at the end of the lane in Rotherby. Turn left onto Rotherby Lane and follow that around to the right and into Frisby. Turn left at the memorial in Frisby onto Water Lane, then cross the traintracks. Regroup at the end of Washstones Lane. Turn left onto Asfordby Road towards Hoby and follow the valley road all the way through Hoby and back into Thrussington. Turn left, then right in Thrussington towards Ratcliffe on the Wreake. At the top of Ratcliffe on the Wreake regroup at the triangle. Turn left onto Broome Lane and follow that back into East Goscote, then turn right onto Melton Road and carry that back straight across the roundabout into Queniborough. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> A Route RideWithGPS</a> B Group:</h3> 15.8km / 9.8mi / 80m Elevation For the final time this year, turn right out the village hall and go straight over the roundabout to Rearsby. Turn left at Bearsly's onto Brookside, then follow that around to the right before turning left up Station Lane. Follow that through into Thrussington. Turn right up Hoby Road and regroup. Follow Hoby Road and turn right onto Mill Lane. Turn left at the bottom of Mill Lane up into Hoby, and then left at the top to drop down back onto Thrussington Road into Thrussington. Regroup entering Thrussington. Turn right, then left, in Thrussington towards Ratcliffe on the Wreake. At the top of Ratcliffe on the Wreake regroup at the triangle. Turn left onto Broome Lane and follow that back into East Goscote, then turn right onto Melton Road and carry that back straight across the roundabout into Queniborough. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> B Route RideWithGPS</a> C Group:</h3> 15.8km / 9.8mi / 80m Elevation For the final time this year, turn right out the village hall and go straight over the roundabout to Rearsby. Turn left at Bearsly's onto Brookside, then follow that around to the right before turning left up Station Lane. Follow that through into Thrussington. Turn right up Hoby Road and regroup. Follow Hoby Road and turn right onto Mill Lane. Turn left at the bottom of Mill Lane up into Hoby, and then left at the top to drop down back onto Thrussington Road into Thrussington. Regroup entering Thrussington. Turn right, then left, in Thrussington towards Ratcliffe on the Wreake. At the top of Ratcliffe on the Wreake regroup at the triangle. Turn left onto Broome Lane and follow that back into East Goscote, then turn right onto Melton Road and carry that back straight across the roundabout into Queniborough. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> C Route RideWithGPS</a> D Group:</h3> 9.8km / 6.1mi / 50m Elevation For the final time this year head right out of the village hall and straight across the roundabout to East Goscote. Regroup at the bus stop if needed. Continue straight on to Rearsby, and turn left at Bearslys cafe onto Brookside. Follow that around to the right, then turn left up Station Lane. Head over the train tracks and regroup in Thrussington. Turn left before the pub in Thrussington onto Ratcliffe Road towards Ratcliffe on the Wreake. Follow this all the way into Ratcliffe and regroup at the triangle at the top of Ratcliffe. Turn left at the triangle and drop down onto Broome Lane, follow this all the way back to East Goscote. Regroup at the road and turn right onto Main Street towards Queniborough. Go straight over the roundabout and back to Queniborough. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> And I Would Ride 161km, and I would ride 40km more! Unknown — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Just to be the enby who rode 200km just for the shits and giggles of it! So I did this last year, but never wrote about it, and enjoyed it so much I decided to do it again this year. Each year Loros</a> organises the Leicestershire Round Cycle Ride</a>, which is a 100mile semi supported event that cycles either around Leicester, or Leicestershire, depending on your definition of "around". From where I live it's 20km to get there, plus 160km for the 100 miles, and 20km to get back, bing bang bosh, that's 200km. Last year I did it because a few people from the group I ride with wanted to back up their first 100miler with another a few months later. Only one of them ended up actually doing it (that's a theme) but it was a great ride with Simon that I much enjoyed at a good pace. So what about this year? Well, this year I wanted to do it again because Dharms had missed it due to injury last year, and he'd been struggling on longer rides. My Dad also wanted to do it, along with Simon and a few others. My prep going into this year was almost entirely off road dirt jumps and a bit of XC, but that's generally made me the fastest I've ever been (taking the CR on an off road segment I love, after setting a huge PB up a local well known climb). I do honestly think just riding shit loads at the bike track has been the best training for all forms of cycling for me. I did end up riding a lot of zone 2 chillers for a couple of weeks before the event just to get back into the feeling of constant effort and riding steady, as I knew I'd be stuck on the front for most of the ride. Riding more definitely always helps. A few weeks before the event, and I'm stressing as usual, massively overtraining and overpreparing, and people start dropping out who'd said maybe. The week before the event I clear some of the biggest full gap jumps on a trail bike for the first time, ride a scooter for the first time in over a decade, and start aiming for chilled rides for the days before the big day. The day before I go for an early hour of chilled riding, wash my bike, get set up for the next day, and get an early bed time. The crew going is now just me, my Dad, and Dharms. I wake up at 04:00, get up a bit later, and confuse the shit out of the dog who had probably only just gone to sleep. He didn't get breakfast that morning because for some reason he didn't cry wolf in front of his bowl, so my sister assumed he'd been fed when I hadn't done it... Muppet. The fuelling plan was simple: Two bottles with 30g of sugar in them to start me off, drink most of one of those in the hour ride to the start and refill it (because eating sugary sweets and drinking sugar water sucks), and then I had flapjack (lightly burnt, which ended up not being too bad after I panicked when I forgot about it in the oven while making it. The burnt meant it was slightly less sweet, making it better for eating alongside all the sugary shite you have to eat to get through big rides). Other than that I knew the stops were well spaced (50km, 80km, 125km, finish) and they had snacks available. Cruising out into the darkness, which was a lot better than last year, I went out at 05:00 towards the start. It wasn't cold, but it was colder than I thought it'd be. Ended up having to throw my gillet on by the end of the driveway. Last year I remembered being hot, but it wasn't until much later that I got hot as it turns out, and that heat was short lived before dropping downwards. Anyway, that's in the future. The first part of the ride in the dark is fine, I've commuted it many many times, the second part is also fine. There's enough farm houses, and I know it well from many rides in the area. After about 8km it gets a bit less known, and after 10km there's not much to reflect off your lights. Last year I got lost in that part, thinking I was about 4km past where I was, until I saw a sign and went "shit, that wasn't the hill I thought it was". This time the sky was just grey enough for it to feel more open, and less oppresive. Being able to see the trees and know vaguely where you are on the road, instead of only being able to see the tiny spotlight, makes a huge difference. It got reasonably light as the time entered civil twighlight and I hit just past the half way point. This is where I get onto the almost unknown roads, and end up on the main A47 road. It's fine at this time, nobody else is about at 05:30, and anyone that is is going to the ride (though I still get closepassed by a few cars with bikes on the roof :< ) I rolled into the start and went to the start tent to grab a route map with the support numbers on it, for a bit of security. You hope you don't need them, but you'd be pissed if you forgot to get one and did need it. I was recognised from the year before as someone who went the wrong way, that wasn't me, I'm the nutter who rode there and back! I popped my bike into the racks, turned the lights off to save battery, and went inside for a hot chocolate. On the way past there was a chap sat on the bench with his helmet backwards. You get all sorts of people doing these events. I mentioned to him it was backwards, and he fixed it and thanked me. After grabbing my hot chocolate, and a coffee for my Dad who was just arriving, I went and sat down next to the backwards helmet chap. We chatted a bit, and he asked me about the event. Worryingly he was shocked it took me 9h30m the year before (with 8h riding time). He asked if he could just not stop at the stops, but did understand when I said he could just stop briefly. We saw him at the first and second stops, and he was doing alright. I hope he finished, his being on his own meant he was leaving faster than us, and likely riding faster too, though I imagine the final section was a struggle as he had no water bottles with him. The announcement came to start just before 06:30, and the first bodies rolled out at this time. We were still waiting for Dharms. We chatted with a chap who was doing it for his late wife, and had written her name on his numberplate. He'll be back later, though on the set off he just wanted to go to the pub, not 100 miles! Dharms eventually got there at 06:40, and after fucking with his number for a bit we set off at 06:50 from the start... Timelyness has never really helped. It was slightly nicer than the year before to be out of the chaos of hundreds of riders heading out over the rolling hills, you don't know who's going too fast for themselves, who can't descend, and who's where, so being more alone was better, and there were still people coming past. The first, and longest section to Mountsorrel was good, though the group split slightly as Dharms did his usual going off the front too fast at the start, and I just rolled gently with whoever was more towards the back of our group of 3, knowing it was going to be a long day. We caught back up with Dharms at Borrough on the Hill. The next part was on roads we all know well, rolling into Mountsorrel. On the way we met a chap who kept losing and joining us, because he was riding his own pace and nobody else's. The best strategy, of course. When we got to the stop there was a lady taking pictures, so we smiled for the camera, got some snacks, tried to fix my Dads number which had been attached only at the top so was flapping over his bars (though this fix did cause him to be unable to get into the bag, so carrying it for basically nothing until he undid the extra ziptie towards the end), and we managed a decently short stop (though not as short as I'd like for the first stop) and onwards to the big hills. After the Mountsorrel stop is probably the hardest section of the ride, even though it's the shortest. It's a toss up between that and the final, but the emotions and physical drain of that being the final do change things a bit. First up Sharply Hill, then Warren Hill, and a few more rollers just after as you head into Markfield. Through Markfield ain't flat either. It does at least flatten out as you head from Barton in the Beans towards the stop at the Bosworth Marina. During this time we met a group of riders we kept overlapping with, and would join for some time. Good group of people, knew their riding. They were always just ahead or just behind, but due to the wiggling of the roads we couldn't see them. I saw them many times, having to stop for wees quite a lot on this ride. My fuelling and drinking strategy of "I don't care if you're not thirsty, fucking drink when the 10 minute beep happens" working well. The second stop was a good one, full food. I had an interesting egg and sausage cob. The sausage not being cut did make it hard to eat, but it was good, and nice to eat some savoury solid food. That, plus a refill of water, an orange juice, and a few whispa golds, and after a bit of a break we were on our way. This was the last time we saw the backwards helmet chap from the start, he set off just after we arrived, but was in good spirits and doing well. The next section of the course is where things started to get a little harder. My Dad had apparently been riding in mid zone 3 pretty much entirely, and hadn't really noticed because that's just how it is, and Dharms knee was beginning to ache. This is a long running thing on rides over 50 miles with him. It's a shame, because he can ride so well, but at least it's better than when it was 30 miles. We overlapped many times with the other group, who by now we'd learned 2 names of (and I've forgotten them) and that one of them was from the same town we're from. Small world. He had a great bike, and as we headed through Earl Shilton we ended up talking about the England flags that lined the streets. Most of them had Stand Up To Racism stickers on them, which was nice, but didn't stop them blocking the paths and flowing into the roads due to shoddy attachments. I'm never quite sure what to say when someone asks what I think of a major thing, so I do a politicians "say something while saying nothing" and guage their reaction. Fortunately I think this chap was smart enough to know I'm not a raging loony when I said something like "I think they're fine for the football, but it's too much, and painting them on roads is silly". There's many causes of the rise of fascism in the world, and in the end we agreed it's happened before, and hopefully it can be told to fuck off like the EDL and other scum before these cunts. Remember that if someone offers you an easy fix, they're lying to you. If you were going to buy a bike and someone said "easy fix" you'd run a mile, so why trust it from a politician? Fuck Fascism. Racists, you get out the fucking country. Anyway, that aside, and back to cycling, I dropped into Stoney Cove on the way past. It was mentioned in the route guide as something you could do, if you were willing to do the extra climb out (which turned out to be not a big thing, more of a bridge than a climb, and not long at all). I did it partially just to see it, since it's bang the opposite end of the county to me, and partially to get some riding time at my own pace, as our group pace was slowing due to tiredness. I was still feeling good. There was a lot of people in Stoney Cove, there was a scuba diving event going on to get more people to try it. Seemed cool, but not just over half way around this big ride. I caught the group much faster than I wanted to, and found it was Dharms knee going slowly. Much earlier than expected, only around 90km into his ride. Not a good sign, but we had plenty of time, and we were in good spirits at least. The next section to the 3rd stop felt the longest of them all, even though it should have been one of the easiest. The longer dragging climbs were harder on Dharms knee, and harder on me to keep the speed lower. The trouble with pedalling softly for so long is that your bum eventually starts to hurt much more, as there's less weight being taken by your legs. Just a few more hills, and some confusing, badly done maths, combined with my lap distance now not only being in KM when the route was miles, but also far enough into the ride that real distance and route distance had diverged through stops, wiggles, and Stoney Cove, and we stumbled onto the Cock Inn as our third stop without realising it. The stop here was good, there were a lot of the people we'd seen around other parts here, and being towards the back we were more encouraged to take plenty from the tables since it all had to go by the end anyway. This stop moves from the first to third, so the stuff here is more limited, but still good. I grabbed a dib dab to put in my bag and take home. This is also where we more properly joined up with the chap who'd written his wife's name on his number, who was riding with someone being chased around in a car by a sausage dog (and lady to take the dog) who cheered us on as well, as we were nearby. We started to lose the other group we'd been with throughout as this stop was a little longer for more stretches and rest, but eventually we got moving again. Only 23 miles to go! The final stretch could be considered the hardest. It starts out reasonably flat, then has a couple of steep hills towards the middle as you climb through Saddington, and into Gumley, and then goes rolling through the valley. The hard part is knowing there's 3 steep climbs at the end in Cranoe, Glooston, and finally the mountain top finish back to the start. Along this part we had to stop a few times for a rest, being joined more and more by the chap from the start (now deemed "Annie's Husband" because asking people's names is hard). At the top of Cranoe Hill he joined us, having to walk a touch of it, and was ready for the end. Less than 10 miles to go here, nearly ready for a pint that he'd wanted since the start! It's great to be with more people when people in your group are struggling. I can imagine people in groups with me, seeing I'm perfectly fine and in good spirits not finding it as easy. I've definitely been told as much by people who think everything is easy for me, but the truth is I stress, overthink, overtrain, and then make sure to take it easy (unless it's a race) and pace my effort. It's easy to good too hard and blow up, it's hard to ride easy and finish fast. I counted down the hills to Dharms, who was really struggling now, and any stops to releive the pressure seemed to make it worse once we got back going. One final hill to get over, through Tugby. I'd said I was leaving on this one, we were at a point where none of us were staying together on climbs due to different fatigue levels, and the need to ride ones own pace. I'd spent a week riding easy, not pushing too hard, no sprints, no attacks all day, so I just fucking sent it up the final climb as hard as I could. It's not a bad time for after 180km. I sprinted down the finish tunnel, having to shout "excuse me" to someone stood out to guide people into the finish, flew through the line full pelt, and hung my bike on the fence to go back and film my Dad and Dharms coming in. First, Dad came over the line, not far back from me actually, nearly crashing when trying to lift his arms in the air (the downhill corner of the finish didn't help), and then the wait for Dharms started, which was worrying. There is a road to cross, so we hoped he'd just got stuck there, and hadn't completely cracked hard. He made it though, happy to be done. Never to do that long of a ride again (or so he said) We went to the finish together, got our medals, food tokens, and a bag of crisps. A fanta for me, a beer for the others, and went to get the food. It was a pulled pork cob and half a baked potato. Lovely, solid, savoury food. We congratulated the people we'd been riding near to all day, first the group with the lovely chap who hates racists from our town, and then Annie's Husband, who my Dad did get the name of at the end, but I didn't hear, and he probably can't remember. After eating we headed back to the start tent and asked for a picture, which I don't have, and then Dad and Dharms headed to their cars, as I headed to ride out again. The lady taking the picture even offered that the support crew could take me home, which was really nice, but I insisted on the ride. The ride home was freeing, done from the long ride, knowing I only had a short time home, I could ride whatever pace I wanted to. Last year it started raining close to the end, so I went hammer to the wall and fast all the way back. This year it was better weather, so I just chilled at tempo, something I've not done much of this year. It's either been easy zone 2, or sprints and threshold. Arriving home, I unpacked what I could, sat on the soft, patted the dog, and eventually went upstairs to have a snack, and watch some YouTube before falling asleep. So what next? Well, next up I'm just doing some dirt jumping, and learning more on the skateboard and scooter too, in prep for a family holiday to Scotland. There's a good skatepark where we're staying, but I can't pack a BMX, so I just need to learn to scoot on the scooter I picked up and fixed up recently</a>. I said towards the start of the year I wanted to break 4 hours in the 100km, and I think I can do that even on my gravel bike now. My zone 2 hour long rides are coming in around 24kmh on the flatter ones, so if I find a good route I can do it. First I guess I'll go for a test of a 50km, then head for the big one. At the very least I need to beat the fastest 100km I've done, which was part of the first 100 miler I did (still my fastest due to being alone, and fast stops, though also the hardest as I didn't drink or eat enough) You can listen about that here</a> So, that's that, I think the longest post I've done on this place for the longest ride I've ever done, and there's plenty of details I've missed and forgotten already. It was a good ride, and I'll definitely be back next year. Week 24: Barsby Unknown — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 27.3km / 17.0mi / 180m Elevation Turn right out the village hall over the roundabout to East Goscote, then straight through to Rearsby and turn right after the pub to cross the A607 through the small lane (regroup here). Follow Rearsby Lane into Gaddesby and continue through past the school, and into Ashby Folville. Head through and out Ashby Folville and to Twyford. Regroup at the junction in Twyford. Turn right and go through Twyford and up Thimble Hall Road. Turn right and regroup at the top. Continue down South Croxton Road and turn left onto Baggrave Road. Be careful over the cattle grids and follow through Baggrave Park out into Hungarton. Regroup at the Ashby Arms. Continue straight along Baggrave Road into Beeby, and go straight over at the crossroads. Follow Barkby Road through into Barkby, then turn right after the church onto Queniborough Road towards Queniborough. Go straight on over the traffic lights and back into the village hall. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> A Route RideWithGPS</a> B Group:</h3> 27.3km / 17.0mi / 180m Elevation Turn right out the village hall over the roundabout to East Goscote, then straight through to Rearsby and turn right after the pub to cross the A607 through the small lane (regroup here). Follow Rearsby Lane into Gaddesby and continue through past the school, and into Ashby Folville. Head through and out Ashby Folville and to Twyford. Regroup at the junction in Twyford. Turn right and go through Twyford and up Thimble Hall Road. Turn right and regroup at the top. Continue down South Croxton Road and turn left onto Baggrave Road. Be careful over the cattle grids and follow through Baggrave Park out into Hungarton. Regroup at the Ashby Arms. Continue straight along Baggrave Road into Beeby, and go straight over at the crossroads. Follow Barkby Road through into Barkby, then turn right after the church onto Queniborough Road towards Queniborough. Go straight on over the traffic lights and back into the village hall. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> B Route RideWithGPS</a> C Group:</h3> 19.9km / 12.4mi / 130m Elevation Turn right out the village hall over the roundabout to East Goscote, then straight through to Rearsby and turn right after the pub to cross the A607 through the small lane (regroup here). Follow Rearsby Lane into Gaddesby and continue through past the school. Turn left onto Gaddesby Road to Barsby. Regroup in Barsby. Go down out of Barsby, over the road to South Croxton, then down the hill in South Croxton. After South Croxton turn left up Strawberry Hill on Croxton Road. This is where the downhill freewheel happens from the top of the hill to the crossroads in Beeby. Regroup at the crossroads in Beeby. Turn right at the crossroads and follow the road to Barkby. After the wiggly bit, pass the church, and turn right towards Queniborough. Follow straight along here, over the traffic lights, and back to the village hall. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> C Route RideWithGPS</a> D Group:</h3> 16.5km / 10.3mi / 110m Elevation Turn right out the village hall and across the roundabout to East Goscote (regrouping at the bus stop if needed) then straight on to Rearsby. Turn right after the pub towards Gaddesby and regroup at the main road. Cross over the A607 and head straight on to Gaddesby, regrouping at the Cheney Arms, then carry on along Ashby Road and take the first right turn into Barsby, and up the hill. Regroup at the top. Drop down out of Barsby and across South Croxton Road into South Croxton. Regroup at the church. Carry on down the hill through South Croxton, then continue on Syston Road joining Ridgemere Lane. Regroup at the 90* corner. Carry on back to Barkby Road, regroup, and turn right back down into Queniborough. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> D Route RideWithGPS</a> Scoot Scoot! Unknown — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000 For a whule I've kinda wanted a scooter, and recently one presented itself to me! The reason I've wanted a scooter is they're a perfect mix between BMX, which I love, but don't ride enough because when I ride it it just makes me want to ride at the dirt jumps, and skateboards, which I don't ride enough because I'm too scared to learn to drop in and how to flow around the skatepark on them. The scooter is the middleground. It can hit box jump, and it can do street tricks on the flat and ledges. It's also much easier to 180 on the quarter pipe. I've just never been able to justify buying one that'll fit me. I've picked up a few shitboxes in the last few years, for cheap or out of a bin, but never anything my size or quality enough to be more than an hour of fun until it breaks. That changed recently when I saw a scooter in the bush at the park while doing some pruning of the MTB trails (I really should write about those, but it's such a mess in my head at this point). I asked a friend and my sister, and both agreed that after a week in the bush it was fair game. It was in a bush that if I were to have a scooter, and want to go into the field behind the park, I'd probably hide my scooter in that bush. A week went by, and it was still there, so I grabbed it out, just before the kids went back to school. Almost certainly one would end up bush diving through the brambles and get it out. It was a decent size, and seemed in decently good condition. Rattled to fuck, but I scooted it home, and then assessed the damage. The obvious issue was the rear wheel, bearings were shot and there was a huge wobble. The other issue was the headset. There was a rattling in the bars and the fork was loose. I decided to attack this first because replacing the bearings would be a thing I'd have to buy, and there was no point if the headset was completely shagged and unsafe, or the bars were broken. So I popped the clamp off, started wiggling the bars, and took a look. At the time I didn't know how scooter compressions worked, except that it should be much like a BMX. Fortunately for me, this compression is HIC, which is most like a BMX headset. A topcap, a starnut (integrated in the fork in my case), and a compression sleeve. The problem? Topcap had come undone, compression sleeve was stuck in the bars. It should have been held onto the fork by the topcap. By wiggling and poking I was able to figure out that the top cap was still in the bars, and the bolt dropped out. Somehow, by luck, I was able to hammer on a pedal wrench pushed into the slit of the bars to slowly knock the compression sleeve out. It wasn't welded in, luckily (or at least some WD40 unstuck it). The topcap also came free from this. That was the easy part, I greased it back up, reassembled, and all was good (turns out though, you need to overtighten a scooter compression compared to bike headsets, just tight enough isn't enough, so it did take a few goes and maybe I'll have to go back in soon, but it's an easy job since the bars come off easily and leave the compression sleeve behind) The hard part was the wheels. This is where I have pictures! By this time I'd ordered bearings, and replacement grips. Less than £20 all in for this, plus a fair bit of time which will become apparent soon. The first port of call was to remove the wheels, which was easier on the front than the rear (this will be important later). On the back wheel the deck (Addict Defender 3.0) has a standard axle nut through the middle, one side a 6mm allen, the other a 13mm nut. On the inside of the deck is a spacer with a diagonal cutout on either side (to match the frame, this is really annoying to get fit in) and the wheel. Next up, the "simple" task of removing the bearings. I've done it many times on skateboards, and the guides on the Internet all said it was just as easy. I had a plan, I'd simply get my skateboard out and do it the skateboard way with the axle, and if that didn't work I could hit an allen key with a hammer (or large adjustable wrench, as I don't own a spanner apparently.) This didn't work. I whacked and whacked and whacked, and even hit the damn allen key with a spade to try and break it free. Only one bearing moved by 0.2mm or something tiny. Enough to notice it was no longer flush, but no more. During this, I bent (and then snapped) my 5.5mm allen key. It wasn't a good quality one, and I can't think of any time I've used it (there isn't one on my multitool anyway) I hit quite a few things with the spade (and yes, I did prop the wheel up against something every time). Fortunately nothing was damaged other than that allen key. The spade wasn't gonna take any damage, and I didn't break any tools I actually might need. But no matter what I did, WD40, freezing them, nothing seemed to help. While waiting for them in the freezer I searched around for anything that wasn't just "the easy way" and found this video called "How to Remove Bearings From a Scooter Wheel When the Normal Way Doesn't Work"</a> </iframe> </div> Now that's the kind of title I was looking for. Most videos are called "the easy way" but the "easy way" never works, and watching the "easy way" was sending me around the bend because it was mostly harder, or the same, as the way I knew (and had now checked I wasn't going mad by removing and installing my skateboard wheels on the axle of my skateboard, and they popped out and in just fine). This video is banger, for those who don't want to watch (please go give it a thumbs up though) it says: Pick off the rubber shield on one side of the wheel, then remove the bearing aligner. Move all the balls to one side, and wiggle out the inner race. Pick off the other side bearing cover and drop all the balls out. Now you can get something bigger (like the 13mm socket) straight through, and whack the bearing out the other side. There is an issue, the outer race of the first bearing you dismantled is stuck. That part should be easier, as now you can get a better angle to hit it out. I tried, but couldn't. So I popped the wheels back in the freezer and hunted my tools for a socket, or something, that fit just perfectly, and I found it! A crank puller fits just right! AND I DID IT LIKE THIS!</a> </video></center> A video of me whacking a spade onto a wheel with the "bearing extractor" that's really a crank extractor. So yeah, that was fun! And that got the wheel out. After that it was a fairly simple task to put the new bearings in, they pressed in cleanly, this time with grease. Hopefully they'll come out easier next time, because the destructive way isn't going to be so easy now I've got metal shields on the bearings instead of rubber. There was one last twist before I can show off the cool pictures though. I had to get the wheels back in. The front one was fine, but the back one... Well, that one started fine. It tightened up, felt good, but after a few drop checks it was wobbling. What the fuck? Okay, there's clearly a spacer missing here. So I decided I'd steal the front washers, they're on the outside of the fork, and I don't need need them there, the head of the bolt and the nut are fine against the bare frame. They were too much though. I do know that a lot of bearings come with small washers, these didn't, but I do have two skateboads, and crutially, a pair of freeskates (fun things). I stole the bearings washers off a freeskate wheel, checked it still tightened up and span fine (it did) and compared the width to the front wheel outer washers. The front wheel ones were double the size of these. Okay, time to get them in, but that couldn't be fucking easy either. I tried a bunch of different ways to keep them on the wheels, or on the edge of the large spacers. Gluing them with a touch of grease worked really well, but they still got knocked off as it's super tight. In the end I put them between the spacer and frame, held one side together with the axle partially poked through, and the other with an allen key. This worked, though it was still fiddly. If I get a new deck I'm making damn sure it has straight sides and no funny spacers like this one. But now, it was all tight and together! The wheels spin well enough (cheap bearings, they're fine), and it makes no rattly noises anywhere. I wiped it down one last time with a rag and bike spray, and put some stickers on it. Now, time to stare at it. Scooter wheels don't get punctures, but I run this tube sealent in my bike tyres, and not getting puctures is cool So, what now? Well, it started raining as I was packing away, so I didn't get to ride it that day, but the day after I did. I headed down to the skatepark just with the plan to make sure I could flow around, drop in, and what could I start to do. I quickly was able to drop in normally, then learned to 180 ramps, both things I can easily do on my BMX, and then was surprised when it didn't take much longer to learn to air up onto box, and then air out of the 4ft quarter. Being able to do box without putting a foot down was great. I didn't clear it, but I did get across clean so that's something, especially for a first time at the skatepark in 3 months, and first time on a scooter in like 10 years! So yeah, the scooter is great. Hopefully I can ride it more, because I do enjoy the skatepark. Not as much as the dirt jumps (the kind of people you get at the skatepark tend not to be there to ride, which is always bad for me), but the scooter should help me be less big and bulky, and in need of an obstacle to myself almost like the BMX takes up. Anyway, here's a few pics of the skatepark to end on. Don't Forget To UwU I was going nowhere near spine, certainly not to kickless it Week 23: Beeby Unknown — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 32.2km / 20.0mi / 270m Elevation Start left out the village hall, straight over the crossroads, and then left onto Ridgemere Lane at the top of the hill. Follow the Ridgemere onto Syston Road, then turn right onto Croxton Road towards Beeby just before entering South Croxton. Regroup at the top of the hill. Drop off the back of Strawberry Hill and into Beeby. Turn left at Beeby Crossroads towards Hungarton, up Hungarton Lane. Regroup at the Ashby Arms in Hungarton. Continue straight on past the Ashby Arms and follow the road around to the right at the cattle grid. At the next junction turn left towards Cold Newton. Follow Hungarton Road onto Enderbys Lane and up Sludge Hall Hill. Regroup at the top. Turn right onto Tilton Lane, then shortly after turn right towards Beeby onto Ingarsby Road. Follow that through Keyham. After leaving Keyham turn right at the Y fork onto Keyham Lane. Regroup at the end. Turn right out the end of Keyham Lane and drop down back to the Beeby Crossroads. Turn left there onto Barkby Road and follow all the way back to Barkby. After the church in Barkby turn right onto Queniborough Road, go straight over at the traffic lights, and continue back to Queniborough. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> A Route RideWithGPS</a> B Group:</h3> 32.2km / 20.0mi / 270m Elevation Start left out the village hall, straight over the crossroads, and then left onto Ridgemere Lane at the top of the hill. Follow the Ridgemere onto Syston Road, then turn right onto Croxton Road towards Beeby just before entering South Croxton. Regroup at the top of the hill. Drop off the back of Strawberry Hill and into Beeby. Turn left at Beeby Crossroads towards Hungarton, up Hungarton Lane. Regroup at the Ashby Arms in Hungarton. Continue straight on past the Ashby Arms and follow the road around to the right at the cattle grid. At the next junction turn left towards Cold Newton. Follow Hungarton Road onto Enderbys Lane and up Sludge Hall Hill. Regroup at the top. Turn right onto Tilton Lane, then shortly after turn right towards Beeby onto Ingarsby Road. Follow that through Keyham. After leaving Keyham turn right at the Y fork onto Keyham Lane. Regroup at the end. Turn right out the end of Keyham Lane and drop down back to the Beeby Crossroads. Turn left there onto Barkby Road and follow all the way back to Barkby. After the church in Barkby turn right onto Queniborough Road, go straight over at the traffic lights, and continue back to Queniborough. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> B Route RideWithGPS</a> C Group:</h3> 24.8km / 15.4mi / 190m Elevation Start left out the village hall, straight over the crossroads, and then left onto Ridgemere Lane at the top of the hill. Follow the Ridgemere onto Syston Road, then turn right onto Croxton Road towards Beeby just before entering South Croxton. Regroup at the top of the hill. Drop off the back of Strawberry Hill and into Beeby. Turn left at Beeby Crossroads towards Hungarton, up Hungarton Lane. Regroup at the Ashby Arms in Hungarton. Turn right after the Ashby Arms down into Hungarton and follow Barley Leas to Ingarsby Road. Regroup at Ingarsby Road, then turn right onto Ingarsby Road. Follow this back into Keyham. After leaving Keyham turn right at the Y fork onto Keyham Lane. Regroup at the end. Turn right out the end of Keyham Lane and drop down back to the Beeby Crossroads. Turn left there onto Barkby Road and follow all the way back to Barkby. After the church in Barkby turn right onto Queniborough Road, go straight over at the traffic lights, and continue back to Queniborough. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> C Route RideWithGPS</a> D Group:</h3> Guided Ride Week! Week 22: Hungarton Unknown — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 34.8km / 21.6mi / 280m Elevation Go left out the village hall and straight over the crossroads, then up past the rugby club to the traffic lights. Go straight across the traffic lights and into Barkby. Turn left at Barkby and follow Beeby Road to Beeby crossroads. Go straight across at the Beeby crossroads and take Hungarton Lane to the Ashby Arms pub. Regroup here. Carry straight on from the Ashby Arms and then follow the road around to the right. At the T junction turn right towards Cold Newton. Turn left up Main Street in Cold Newton and go up Skeg Hill into Lowesby. At Melton Road after Lowesby regroup. Turn left then imediate right onto Marefield Lane. At the triangle junction go left across the cattlegrid and then right at the next turn. Follow that road through Marefield. Turn left up Dawsons Lane with the sign to Burrough. Follow this road to the back of Burrough Court. Regroup here. Go left and follow Twyford Road down the hill through John O'Gaunt and to Twyford. In Twyford go right then straight left towards Ashby Folville. Follow that road through Ashby Folville and around to Gaddesby, and back to the A607. Regroup here. Cross the A607 onto the little lane and Gaddesby Lane. Turn left onto Melton Road and into East Goscote. Go straight over the roundabout and return to the village hall. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> A Route RideWithGPS</a> B Group:</h3> 28.8km / 17.9mi / 190m Elevation Go left out the village hall and straight over the crossroads, then up past the rugby club to the traffic lights. Go straight across the traffic lights and into Barkby. Turn left at Barkby and follow Beeby Road to Beeby crossroads. Go straight across at the Beeby crossroads and take Hungarton Lane to the Ashby Arms pub. Regroup here. Carry straight on from the Ashby Arms and then follow the road around to the right. At the T junction turn left over the cattlegrid and drop down (careful of the sheep!) then around the corner and up top the hill. Regroup at the top of the hill the other side of the cattle grid. Continue straight on, then turn right at Melton Road, and next left onto Marefield Lane towards Marefield. At the Y junction turn left over the cattle grid and carry straight on towards Twyford at the next junction. At the next turn go over the cattle grid and down the hill on Twyford Road and Marefield Lane. Regroup here. Go left out the village hall and straight over the crossroads, then up past the rugby club to the traffic lights. Go straight across the traffic lights and into Barkby. Turn left at Barkby and follow Beeby Road to Beeby crossroads. Go straight across at the Beeby crossroads and take Hungarton Lane to the Ashby Arms pub. Regroup here. Carry straight on from the Ashby Arms and then follow the road around to the right. At the T junction Turn left onto Burrough Road and into Twyford. In Twyford turn right, then left towards Ashby Folville on Ashby Road. Follow that road through Ashby Folville and around to Gaddesby, and back to the A607. Regroup here. Cross the A607 onto the little lane and Gaddesby Lane. Turn left onto Melton Road and into East Goscote. Go straight over the roundabout and return to the village hall. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> B Route RideWithGPS</a> C Group:</h3> 22.1km / 13.7mi / 150m Elevation Go left out the village hall and straight over the crossroads, then up past the rugby club to the traffic lights. Go straight across the traffic lights and into Barkby. Turn left at Barkby and follow Beeby Road to Beeby crossroads. Go straight across at the Beeby crossroads and take Hungarton Lane to the Ashby Arms pub. Regroup here. Carry straight on from the Ashby Arms and carry straight on over the cattle grid onto Baggrave Road. Wiggle around through Baggrave Park over the cattle grids and regroup at the top of the hill before Twyford Road. Turn left onto Twyford Road and drop down the hill. Turn right at the bottom to Barsby (caution: gravel). At the top of the hill in Barsby turn left onto Main Street and go through Barsby. Regroup at the bottom of Gaddesby Road. Turn left onto Ashby Road and follow through Gaddesby back to the A607. Regroup here. Cross the A607 onto the little lane and Gaddesby Lane. Turn left onto Melton Road and into East Goscote. Go straight over the roundabout and return to the village hall. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> C Route RideWithGPS</a> D Group:</h3> Guided Ride Week! The Week It All Broke Unknown — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 I've been riding a hell of a lot at the Rothley Bike Track this year, it's been great, and I've been getting much better at my tricks and getting so many good flow lines. On top of that, it made me better at riding too! I'm riding the most powerfully I've ever ridden, which is amazing! More time on the bike is always better. For proof, here's me flowing around the track, shirt undone for style points ;) </video></center> And here's me doing a 1 hander! (I'm very proud of this) </video></center> However a few weeks ago, everything on my bike broke. It started on the Wednesday, I'd just broken my PB up Beacon Hill by a solid minute, and then went on to smash the CR on Blackberry Lane (the Not Humble... segment), a segment I've held joint WR for 2 years, and have wanted to take for my own for ages. That came after a 15 minute thrash at max effort down the hill after Beacon, so I was definitely riding well that evening. On the Wednesday I headed out for a day at the track, rode for a while, and just as it was getting to the end I decided to do something silly. A really tough long gap from boob to boob. It ended with my wheel in bits, buckled fully. This video is after I tried truing it. One side of the spokes were fully tight, the other almost fully loose. Nothing was working, it's gone. </video></center> This wheel had already been remade and spokes replaced. It was a wheel I had used on my commuter when I broke some other wheels on that, and they were wheels my uncle had lying around. 26" wheels on a 700c commuter? Works fine, in fact I still use the tyres on the Project Postie</a>. I assume that's why I ended up back on 700c wheels, but I can't remember when I did it. I managed to get home on this wheel, and put on the rear wheel from my new bike Gary in time for the Thursday session. (Gary is a Gary Fisher HiFi Deluxe, it'll feature later). On Thursday all was going well for about 30 minutes, then my gears started to slip a bit. I went to adjust them and saw the cable was very much about to snap. After another few laps, it went, and I did the single speed hack (I'm quite proud of it) and got it into a reasonable gear for riding. I even managed to get home 1 gear easier with the barrel adjuster (though that did mean on the flat I was spinning out at 22kmh all the way home). I got that fixed fairly quick once I got home, which was good. On Friday, nothing much interesting happened, except an annoying closed pathway with bad signage forcing me to take an unorthadox route home (via a dual carridgeway A road for 200m) The big one was Saturday, quite a lot of people were out, I'd organised with the guy who builds the track to buy an old pair of Mavic Crossride wheels off him (at a fair price, while avoiding shipping costs for me). I was just riding along (hehe) when I felt something strange, looked down, and my crank was hitting the chainstay... It's always been tight, but not that tight. See here for when I put those cranks on</a> I thought somehow it'd shifted, because I know the bearing cover in the bottom bracket is cracked, so I thought if somehow that'd disintegrated it'd have moved over and be hitting the frame. I took it back for adjustment and asked Ben for tools, when he simply noticed... It was cracked... Well, that's the end of that day. I hung around for about 30 minutes, chatting, borrowing bikes, wondering what the hell I was going to do. Eventually I strapped my newly aquired wheels to my back and headed home, thinking "at least I can sit on my bike down the hills". There's not many, but it was something for the long walk home (it's 20 minutes cycling) I got to the top of the first hill, sat on the seat side saddle, and rolled down. Just after I got to a point where scooting the bike wasn't useful anymore, I hopped off and heard the terrible sound of "hisssssss"... Puncture on the back. I looked, and there was a tiny bit of glass. What's most annoying about this is that because I had to swap the wheel over, the new wheel could only take presta valves. My previous wheels had Schrader, and were filled with tyre goop to protect from punctures. That'd have solved it fine. So I got to walking, it took an hour to get home, damaging the tyre a fair bit (3rd time I've walked with a puncture on this bike for various reasons, yes I do have a kit, no I didn't see the point in repairing it with a broken crank). At least I grabbed ice cream with my sister on the way home. I spent ages looking for cranks online, knowing I needed a 24mm axle, but unsure about width. I know road is narrower at 68mm, then there's MTB at 73mm, and 83mm for downhill I think? But I don't know anything except that my bike is 73mm, and the listings online don't say width very often. I just assumed any MTB crank would work, and had to hope. I ordered the cranks, a second pair of cranks for my XC bike, and some cleat shims (because my legs are wonky) The next few days I spent riding Gary, the newest addition to my fleet, bought for £30 because of a long story involving lots of my Dads friends, and a guy needing to get to work, but not liking the full squish, so I had the bike off him. It's a wonderful 2007 trail bike, damn near perfect for how I want to ride trails (rather like crosscountry). I fitted the Mavic wheels to Gary, because they're not quite as strong as the Bontrager Race wheels it came with (most parts on that bike are original!). Gary, as said before, is a 2007 Gary Fisher HiFi Deluxe, it's 120/120 which is definitely trail for 2007, but has a lot of older geometry. The best part is that it rides well with the seat up, the worst part is the bottom bracket is high as hell because it just dives straight down when the suspension goes. I'm still getting used to the setup, but I think I'm gonna take longer to get used to having grippy tyres (Shwalbe Rapid Rob) than the full suspension. It's a great bike. While waiting for the cranks to come I decided to have a friend of my Dads (different to the getting Gary thing) drill my wheels to Schrader. I'd already been caught without a tube, and with only a poorly damaged patch on a ride on my XC bike because I didn't expect it to not take scrader being wheels off a midrange mid 2000s bike. The drilling was done on my XC bikes box section wheels, and the wheels that came off Gary (Bontrager Race wheels). I still needed to fix a puncture on the XC bike where that badly damaged patch had fallen off, but for continuity sake, that's for later. Eventually, the cranks came, and I got them fitted on the Monday in some baking 30C heat ;-; All the swaps went smoothly, and now I have a bonus set of 3x chainrings for the XC bike so I can pick between the ones off the old (now snapped) FSA cranks, or the new Raceface Evolve XC cranks. They look stunning! But first, here's a video of me snapping the cranks! </video></center> That was fun, I'll probably never be able to do that kind of thing again! So here's the pictures of the fixed up bike with new, stunning, cranks. See? As soon as I saw this pair I knew I had to have these ones, and at a very good price of $50 inc. postage! (Cheers Gloustershire Bike Project). Pretty much all of the cranks I ended up looking at were Raceface, and the ones in my main budget, and style were Evolve XC or Deus (the slightly higher end Evolve range). Forged silver was what I wanted, and I couldn't have done better than these. I'm just in love still. After that was all fixed I went out to the track a few days later to test them out. They feel so stiff, the old cranks always had a flex about them, likely why they cracked (lots of reports of the same kind, including Ben who tested the same or similar cranks as prototypes when he was a tour guide in New Zealand, most of the prototypes cracked in 3 months apparently). Repeated flexing of aluminium isn't good. The new cranks feel brilliantly stiff, and the chainline is better than the old ones, though still SUPER close to the frame. I'm super happy with how they turned out. Just got to get back to the tricks I was doing before. On the Thursday after fixing the cranks I decided to fix my puncture, this involved fucking around for ages with glue, never quite getting anything to seal, and I just suck at gluing patches... I should have left the self adhesive ones one, instead of trying to upgrade them. If it ain't broke and all that. I did get one tube to seal, so I can go back to riding the XC bike, which is good because I want to test it with the 1x setup before swapping to the new cranks and the 3x that'll hopefully be a HUGE upgrade for it, and look cooler than going with a wide range cassette (plus, on 8 speed, wide range probably isn't the best idea). I've wanted silver cranks for ages, just gotta find the energy to put it all together. Hopefully that's the end of the shite luck, for now I'll go back to enjoying my riding, and I'm preparing to go 200km around the Loros Round Leicestershire ride in a few weeks time. If I can figure it out I'll do a post about that. Week 21: Swithland Unknown — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 37.7km / 23.4mi / 350m Elevation Turn right out the village hall to East Goscote, and left down Broome Lane. Follow the road around at the end of Racliffe on the Wreake and go under the A46. Turn left at the top of the hill and decend Humble Lane. Regroup at the bottom. Straight over the road onto Platts Lane, then turn right out onto Syston Road towards Rothley. Straight over the road at the traffic lights onto Hallfields Lane. At the junction after the small descent go left onto Town Green Street. Follow this through until Rothley Court, and turn right onto The Ridings. At the end of The Ridings regroup. Cross straight over on The Ridings and keep going all the way through Swithland. Turn left to Woodhouse Eaves up Brand Hill. Follow this all the way to The Bulls Head in Woodhouse Eaves and regroup before turning left onto Beacon Road and climbing Beacon Hill. Regroup again at the top. At the junction at the bottom of Beacon Hill turn left onto Shepshed Road, and then left again onto Joe Moore's Lane. Follow this past the end of Swithland Woods and Bradgate Park (North carpark). Follow the reservoir round into Cropston and back into Rothley. Follow past the end of The Ridings, and regroup opposite the Woodmans Stoke. Turn right at the junction, and straight over the traffic lights in Rothley. At Platts Lane turn left up it to Cossington, then straight over onto Back Lane and up Humble Lane. Regroup at the top. Turn right and follow Broome Lane back around into East Goscote, then right onto Melton Road and back over the roundabout to Queniborough. There is an option to go straight on at Platts Lane and come back via the Syston Bypass. The recommended route is to come back via Humble Lane however, as it is safer. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> A Route RideWithGPS</a> B Group:</h3> 31.3km / 19.4mi / 230m Elevation Turn right out the village hall to East Goscote, and left down Broome Lane. Follow the road around at the end of Racliffe on the Wreake and go under the A46. Turn left at the top of the hill and decend Humble Lane. Regroup at the bottom. Straight over the road onto Platts Lane, then turn right out onto Syston Road towards Rothley. Straight over the road at the traffic lights onto Hallfields Lane. At the junction after the small descent go left onto Town Green Street. Follow this through until Rothley Court, and turn right onto The Ridings. At the end of The Ridings regroup. Cross straight over on The Ridings and follow through Swithland until the Y junction with the grass triangle. Turn left onto Swithland Road and follow the sign for Bradgate Country Park. Regroup the other side of the hill at the junction. Turn left onto Roecliffe Road, past the end of Swithland Woods and Bradgate Park (North carpark). Follow the reservoir round into Cropston and back into Rothley. Follow past the end of The Ridings, and regroup opposite the Woodmans Stoke. Turn right at the junction, and straight over the traffic lights in Rothley. At Platts Lane turn left up it to Cossington, then straight over onto Back Lane and up Humble Lane. Regroup at the top. Turn right and follow Broome Lane back around into East Goscote, then right onto Melton Road and back over the roundabout to Queniborough. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> B Route RideWithGPS</a> C Group:</h3> 27.5.2km / 17.1mi / 180m Elevation Turn right out of the village hall and over the roundabout to East Goscote. Turn right onto Broome Lane and follow this around past the end of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, under the A46, and up the hill. Turn left at the top of the hill onto Humble Lane and regroup. Drop down Humble Lane into Cossington, and go straight over onto Platts Lane. Regroup again here. Turn right onto Syston Road towards Rothley, then go straight over at the traffic lights in Rothley. Follow the road until the junction after the grass, and turn left onto Town Green Street. Regroup near the park here. Follow this road around until you get to Rothley Court (just past the cricket club) and turn right onto The Ridings. Regroup at the junction at the end of the road. Go straight over the junction and continue on The Ridings into Swithland. Regroup at the memorial opposite Leicester Lane. Thrn left onto Leicester Lane and follow back around onto Bradgate Road. Regroup at the end of that road. Turn left onto Station Road back into Rothley. Go past the end of The Ridings and regroup at the junction opposite the Woodmans Stoke. Turn right and go through Rothley, and straight over at the traffic lights. At Platts Lane turn left, and then go straight over at the junction onto Back Lane, and follow that over the railway bridge onto Humble Lane. Regroup at the top of Humble Lane. Turn right at the top and drop down under the A46, then follow the road around to join Broome Lane and follow that into East Goscote. Turn right at the end of there and go over the roundabout to Queniborough. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> C Route RideWithGPS</a> D Group:</h3> 12.8km / 8.0mi / 60m Elevation Turn right out the village hall and go over the roundabout into East Goscote. Turn left onto Broome Lane, and follow this through to Ratcliffe on the Wreake, and straight past to go under the A46 and up the hill. Turn left at the top of the hill onto Humble Lane and regroup. Drop down Humble Lane into Cossington, and go straight over at the junction onto Platts Lane. At the end of Platts Lane regroup and cross straight over to the cycleway and canal path that leads back to Syston. After the boat marina go through the bike gate and exit the canal up the bridge. Turn left and go over the A46 onto Meadow Lane. At the end of Meadow Lane regroup. Cross straight over into the Donkey Park (Memorial Park) and head towards the skatepark in Central Park. Turn left up Chapel Street, then right and straight left past the church, library, and school. At the end of this road, after the allotments, turn right through the bike path onto Wyndale Drive, then left onto Avery Drive, and right onto Parkstone Road. Regroup at the Melton Road. Follow Melton Road back to Queniborough and turn right onto Syston Road, then left onto Barkby Road to the village hall. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> D Route RideWithGPS</a> Week 20: Six Hills Unknown — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 42.4km / 26.3mi / 240m Elevation Start by going right out the village hall, to East Goscote, then Rearsby, and left onto Brook Street in Rearsby. Go left up Station Road and over the railway lines into Thrussington. Turn right up the kick after the pub onto Hoby Road and follow the valley through Hoby into Asfordby. Regroup at the end of Hoby Road. Turn left onto Loughborough Road, then straight right onto Asfordby Bypass Road, then shortly left onto Saxelbye Road and up the hill. At the top turn right following the sign for Ab Kettleby. Follow this road along for a while until a junction. Turn left towards Wartnaby and regroup at the end before joining Six Hills Lane. Turn left onto Six Hills Lane and follow it back to Six Hills, taking care when crossing Loughborough Road. After going under the A64 turn left onto Paudy Lane. Run this fast all the way into Barrow upon Soar. Regroup at the end of the road at the T junction. Turn left onto Sielby Road and follow all the way into Cossington. Turn right onto Bennets Lane after the telephone box, then left at the end onto Back Lane, joining Humble Lane after the railway bridge. Regroup at the top of Humble Lane. Turn right out of Humble Lane and go under the A46, then past Ratcliffe on the Wreake onto Broome Lane. At the end of Broome Lane in East Goscote turn right onto Melton Road and back to the village hall. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> A Route RideWithGPS</a> B Group:</h3> 38.3km / 23.8mi / 240m Elevation Start by going right out the village hall, to East Goscote, then Rearsby, and left onto Brook Street in Rearsby. Go left up Station Road and over the railway lines into Thrussington. Turn right up the kick after the pub onto Hoby Road and follow the valley through Hoby into Asfordby. Regroup at the end of Hoby Road. Turn left onto Loughborough Road, then straight right onto Asfordby Bypass Road, then shortly left onto Saxelbye Road and up the hill. Regroup at the top of the hill. Bear left down the hill to Saxelby and into Grimston. Regroup at the end before joining Six Hills Lane. Turn left onto Six Hills Lane and follow this back into Six Hills, taking care crossing over the Loughborough Road. After going under the A46 turn left onto Paudy Lane. Run this fast all the way into Barrow upon Soar. Regroup at the end of the road at the T junction. Turn left onto Sielby Road and follow all the way into Cossington. Turn right onto Bennets Lane after the telephone box, then left at the end onto Back Lane, joining Humble Lane after the railway bridge. Regroup at the top of Humble Lane. Turn right out of Humble Lane and go under the A46, then past Ratcliffe on the Wreake onto Broome Lane. At the end of Broome Lane in East Goscote turn right onto Melton Road and back to the village hall. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> B Route RideWithGPS</a> C Group:</h3> 31.2km / 19.4mi / 200m Elevation Start by going right out the village hall, to East Goscote, then Rearsby, and left onto Brook Street in Rearsby. Go left up Station Road and over the railway lines into Thrussington. Turn right up the kick after the pub onto Hoby Road and follow the valley to Hoby. Turn left at the back end of Hoby onto Ragdale Road and regroup at the top of Ragdale near the Hall. Follow Ragdale Road through Ragdale and to Six Hills. Regroup at the top. Turn left onto Six Hills Lane and go under the A46, then turn left onto Paudy Lane. Run this fast all the way into Barrow upon Soar. Regroup at the end of the road at the T junction. Turn left onto Sielby Road and follow all the way into Cossington. Turn right onto Bennets Lane after the telephone box, then left at the end onto Back Lane, joining Humble Lane after the railway bridge. Regroup at the top of Humble Lane. Turn right out of Humble Lane and go under the A46, then past Ratcliffe on the Wreake onto Broome Lane. At the end of Broome Lane in East Goscote turn right onto Melton Road and back to the village hall. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> C Route RideWithGPS</a> D Group:</h3> No D Group route this week. Week 19: Tilton Unknown — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 40.5km / 25.2mi / 400m Elevation Go right out the village hall to East Goscote, and turn right again after the pub in Rearsby down the small lane over the A607 onto Gaddesby Lane (regroup before crossing) Follow through Gaddesby, Ashby Folville, and into Twyford. Regroup at the Twyford junction. Turn right, then straight left onto Burrough Road, and shortly after turn right onto Marefield Lane. At the top of the hill with the cattle grid turn left towards Marefield. Follow this road all the way through Marefield eventually ending up on Hyde Lodge Road. At the end of Hyde Lodge Road turn right onto Oakham Road into Tilton on the Hill. Regroup at the church. Continue through Tilton and shortly after leaving turn right onto Tilton Lane, following signs for Hungarton and Cold Newton. Follow this lane past the end of Sludge Hill. Turn right towards Ingarsby and Keyham at the top of Billesdon Coplow. Follow this road back into Keyham, turning right onto Keyham Lane at the Y fork after Keyham. Regroup at the end of Keyham Lane. Turn right off Keyham Lane onto Scraptoft Lane and back towards the Beeby crossroads. Turn left at the Beeby crossroads onto Barkby Road towards Barkby. Follow this back into Barkby. After the church in Barkby turn right towards Queniborough, and go straight over the traffic lights, and the crossroad, back to the village hall. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h3> 33.2km / 20.6mi / 230m Elevation Go right out the village hall to East Goscote, and turn right again after the pub in Rearsby down the small lane over the A607 onto Gaddesby Lane (regroup before crossing) Follow through Gaddesby, Ashby Folville, and into Twyford. Regroup at the Twyford junction. Turn right, then straight left onto Burrough Road, and shortly after turn right onto Marefield Lane. At the top of the hill with the cattle grid follow the road to the right following the sign for Tilton. Follow this road until you meet the busy Melton Road and regroup. Go up the hill and regroup at the petrol station in Tilton on the Hill. Continue through Tilton and shortly after leaving turn right onto Tilton Lane, following signs for Hungarton and Cold Newton. Follow this lane past the end of Sludge Hill. Turn right towards Ingarsby and Keyham at the top of Billesdon Coplow. Follow this road back into Keyham, turning right onto Keyham Lane at the Y fork after Keyham. Regroup at the end of Keyham Lane. Turn right off Keyham Lane onto Scraptoft Lane and back towards the Beeby crossroads. Turn left at the Beeby crossroads onto Barkby Road towards Barkby. Follow this back into Barkby. After the church in Barkby turn right towards Queniborough, and go straight over the traffic lights, and the crossroad, back to the village hall. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h3> 24.8km / 15.4mi / 190m Elevation Turn left out the village hall towards Barkby. Turn left at the top of the hill to go down the Ridgemere towards South Croxton. Just before entering South Croxton turn right up Strawberry Hill (on Croxton Road) towards Beeby. Regroup at the top. Head off the back of Strawberry Hill into Beeby, and turn left at the crossroads. Climb up to the Ashby Arms in Hungarton and regroup. After the Ashby Arms turn right into Hungarton village, and come out at the junction onto the Ingarsby Road. Turn right and follow this road through Keyham. Turn right onto Keyham Lane at the Y fork after Keyham and regroup at the end of Keyham Lane. Turn right off Keyham Lane onto Scraptoft Lane and back towards the Beeby crossroads. Turn left at the Beeby crossroads onto Barkby Road towards Barkby. Follow this back into Barkby. After the church in Barkby turn right towards Queniborough, and go straight over the traffic lights, and the crossroad, back to the village hall. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h3> 21.4km / 13.3mi / 130m Elevation Turn left out the village hall and head to Barkby. Straight over the crossroads, and straight over at the traffic lights. Regroup near the Church in Barkby. Go through Barkby and past the school, following Beeby Road to Beeby. Regroup at the crossroads. Go straight over the crossroads and follow Hungarton Lane to the Ashby Arms at Hungarton. Regroup here. Turn right past the Ashby Arms and head down through Hungarton on Barley Leas. Regroup at the T junction on Ingarsby Road. Turn right onto Ingarsby Road and follow this back through Keyham, turning right onto Keyham Lane at the Y fork. Regroup at the end of Keyham Lane. Turn right out of Keyham Lane onto Scraptoft Lane and head back down towards the Beeby crossroads. Turn left at the Beeby Crossroads and follow Barkby Lane back to Barkby. Regroup at the church. Turn right after the church, and head towards Queniborough. Straight over at the traffic lights, straight over the crossroads, and back in the village hall. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Week 18: Swithland Unknown — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 40.5km / 25.2mi / 400m Elevation Turn right out the village hall to East Goscote, and left down Broome Lane. Follow the road around at the end of Racliffe on the Wreake and go under the A46. Turn left at the top of the hill and decend Humble Lane. Regroup at the bottom. Straight over the road onto Platts Lane, then turn right out onto Syston Road towards Rothley. Straight over the road at the traffic lights onto Hallfields Lane. At the junction after the small descent go left onto Town Green Street. Follow this through until Rothley Court, and turn right onto The Ridings. At the end of The Ridings regroup. Cross straight over on The Ridings and keep going all the way through Swithland. Turn left to Woodhouse Eaves up Brand Hill. Follow this all the way to The Bulls Head in Woodhouse Eaves and regroup. Turn left onto Beacon Road then next right up Breakback Road and follow all the way to Nanpantan. Turn left in Nanpantan and follow Nanpantan Road until you turn left onto Shepshed Road. Follow Shepshed Road down, then turn left onto Joe Moore's Lane and continue past the end of Swithland Woods and Bradgate Park (North carpark). Follow the reservoir round into Cropston and back into Rothley. Follow past the end of The Ridings, and regroup opposite the Woodmans Stoke. Turn right at the junction, and straight over at the traffic lights. At Platts Lane there are two options. You can either turn left up Platts Lane, and come back via Humble Lane and Broome Lane (the way you went out) or carry straight on past the end of Platts Lane on Syston Road and the Syston Northern Bypass back to Queniborough. The A group tends to take the bypass, so that's what route the GPS file uses. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h3> 37.7km / 23.4mi / 350m Elevation Turn right out the village hall to East Goscote, and left down Broome Lane. Follow the road around at the end of Racliffe on the Wreake and go under the A46. Turn left at the top of the hill and decend Humble Lane. Regroup at the bottom. Straight over the road onto Platts Lane, then turn right out onto Syston Road towards Rothley. Straight over the road at the traffic lights onto Hallfields Lane. At the junction after the small descent go left onto Town Green Street. Follow this through until Rothley Court, and turn right onto The Ridings. At the end of The Ridings regroup. Cross straight over on The Ridings and keep going all the way through Swithland. Turn left to Woodhouse Eaves up Brand Hill. Follow this all the way to The Bulls Head in Woodhouse Eaves and regroup before turning left onto Beacon Road and climbing Beacon Hill. Regroup again at the top. At the junction at the bottom of Beacon Hill turn left onto Shepshed Road, and then left again onto Joe Moore's Lane. Follow this past the end of Swithland Woods and Bradgate Park (North carpark). Follow the reservoir round into Cropston and back into Rothley. Follow past the end of The Ridings, and regroup opposite the Woodmans Stoke. Turn right at the junction, and straight over the traffic lights in Rothley. At Platts Lane turn left up it to Cossington, then straight over onto Back Lane and up Humble Lane. Regroup at the top. Turn right and follow Broome Lane back around into East Goscote, then right onto Melton Road and back over the roundabout to Queniborough. There is an option to go straight on at Platts Lane and come back via the Syston Bypass, but the B Group tends to prefer Humble Lane so that's what the GPS file takes. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h3> 31.3km / 19.4mi / 230m Elevation Turn right out the village hall to East Goscote, and left down Broome Lane. Follow the road around at the end of Racliffe on the Wreake and go under the A46. Turn left at the top of the hill and decend Humble Lane. Regroup at the bottom. Straight over the road onto Platts Lane, then turn right out onto Syston Road towards Rothley. Straight over the road at the traffic lights onto Hallfields Lane. At the junction after the small descent go left onto Town Green Street. Follow this through until Rothley Court, and turn right onto The Ridings. At the end of The Ridings regroup. Cross straight over on The Ridings and follow through Swithland until the Y junction with the grass triangle. Turn left onto Swithland Road and follow the sign for Bradgate Country Park. Regroup the other side of the hill at the junction. Turn left onto Roecliffe Road, past the end of Swithland Woods and Bradgate Park (North carpark). Follow the reservoir round into Cropston and back into Rothley. Follow past the end of The Ridings, and regroup opposite the Woodmans Stoke. Turn right at the junction, and straight over the traffic lights in Rothley. At Platts Lane turn left up it to Cossington, then straight over onto Back Lane and up Humble Lane. Regroup at the top. Turn right and follow Broome Lane back around into East Goscote, then right onto Melton Road and back over the roundabout to Queniborough. There is an option to go straight on at Platts Lane and come back via the Syston Bypass, but the C Group tends to prefer Humble Lane so that's what the GPS file takes. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h3> 19.9km / 12.4mi / 130m Elevation Turn right out of the village hall and over the roundabout to East Goscote. Turn right onto Broome Lane and follow this around past the end of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, under the A46, and up the hill. Turn left at the top of the hill onto Humble Lane and regroup. Drop down Humble Lane into Cossington, and go straight over onto Platts Lane. Regroup again here. Turn right onto Syston Road towards Rothley, then go straight over at the traffic lights in Rothley. Follow the road until the junction after the grass, and turn left onto Town Green Street. Regroup near the park here. Follow this road around until you get to Rothley Court (just past the cricket club) and turn right onto The Ridings. Regroup at the junction at the end of the road. Go straight over the junction and continue on The Ridings into Swithland. Regroup at the memorial opposite Leicester Lane. Thrn left onto Leicester Lane and follow back around onto Bradgate Road. Regroup at the end of that road. Turn left onto Station Road back into Rothley. Go past the end of The Ridings and regroup at the junction opposite the Woodmans Stoke. Turn right and go through Rothley, and straight over at the traffic lights. At Platts Lane you can either go back the way you came, up Platts Lane, straight over onto Back Lane, up Humble Lane, then right down Broome Lane into East Goscote and back to Queniborough. Or the prefered route is to turn down the cycle path that joins the canal and come back through Syston, via Meadow Lane, through Donkey Park, up past the church, and the end of the Leasure Centre, and up Melton Road back to Queniborough. This is the route the GPS takes you. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Chapeau ITV Unknown — Sun, 27 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Your browser does not support the audio element. </audio> </div> </div> Chapeau ITV, Chapeau Le Tour de France. I'm writing this while watching the final 45 minutes of the Tour de France on free to air UK coverage with the best team ever to do it. I'm not sure how I'm going to write this, because I've said so much over the past 3 weeks about it to various people. It's not about the cyclists, we'll keep watching (well, I might not watch as much, because I'm pretty sure it's the people behind the ITV coverage that bring be to the Tour so much every year) but will my Nana. In the 2nd rest day coverage Phil told Paul "it's about keeping the old lady from putting the kettle on before the break" and on Friday, in the pouring rain, Ned and David managed to keep my Nana from doing exactly that. A lady that has no interest in cycling beyond that her grandchild loves the sport. It's about the kid that's in the same position I was 20 years ago, experiencing the Tour for the first time, and getting to see it with ALL the bells and whistles, not just detailed facts. It's about the highlights packages. They show more than just the race. There's what? 3 minutes of talk about what happened in the stage, and what might happen on the next day at the end of the highlights package? But instead, Ned, David, Gary, Matt, Frebe, and everyone else will guide you through. They guide you with the live coverage, but don't just show that. Other highlights show 50 minutes of live footage (often just the final 50 minutes, leaving out everything else that happens before) and show nothing of the rest of France. I'll miss Gary's silly intros and amazing jokes. I'll miss Matt telling me about the history of France and little details that are more than just a bike race. I'll miss Ned and David doing the #TuneDeFrance and their pinboard. Those are the things that are important. This isn't just a bike race, this is an experience like no other, and we'll lose that. I'm not upset it's off free to air, I'm upset we're losing the highest quality highlights package possible, where everyone cares and shows you the beauty of cycling. Of course losing free to air sucks, and never having it properly for the Femmes sucks (#WatchTheFemmes doesn't work if I can't even find a fucking highlights package that's more than the final 10 minutes of the stage) I'll miss you all, and I'll miss the theme tune, and I'll miss the banter, and I'll miss the fantastic history, and I'll miss the scenery, and I'll miss the stats, and I'll miss the great reporting, and I'll miss the behind the scenes. Shit, I'll even miss the adverts... I'm sure there was so much more to say, but there's so much you do how could I possibly remember it all? Hey, as I write this part my alarm that uses the theme tune went off to remind me to put the TV on for the highlights (it's the final day, we're still live for the podiums) I don't know what will happen next year, or where I'll watch the Tour, or maybe if I will (I don't care about road cycling outside of the spring classics and the Tour) but I hope it's something I can still find love in. Next year will certainly tell, is the Tour a special race, or is this coverage team a special thing? The bike racing was great, but you made it watchable by all. I don't think I'm going to talk about the actual bike race, because at the end of this 20 something year journey I've been on, you've showed me it's not the racing that matters, that's just an excuse to be here. Gary asks the best questions, and you always find the best people for him to ask questions of. He asks questions for everyone, for the people who've watched more coverage of the Tour de France than you've broadcast, and for the people who tune in for 45 minutes. He's been fantastic for longer than I've been alive, and I've even loved going back in history to highlights DVDs from the 90s and early 2000s to see what he has to say. It's such a good team, and I wish I could thank them all, because I know for sure it's not just the people we see but the ones behind the cameras that make this too. You're the only highlights package that'd run a song from a niche alty band (Fontaines DC, Favourite, I think it was stage 10? It's been a while). Most places don't care about the highlights. Also, thank you on that note for not spoiling the pissing result ever, on YouTube or other posts. Every time I would come home from work and have to try and avoid YouTube somehow for a month until I could get a proper highlights package from you. Thank you for that. It shouldn't be a fucking problem, but it is. I hope that much like RedBull have done, you can find something else. This part isn't about ITV, but about the people behind it. I hope you can find races to cover and to keep us entertained. They'll never replace the Tour de France (unlike RedBull are starting to do with Hardline vs World Cups) but they'll fill a hole in my heart every July. I'm watching now, and Gary is asking about radios between riders and other riders, or riders back to the car. That simply isn't asked or talked about by other shows, at least not in a highlights package or desk show. Maybe Kelly will be asked by Kirby but not for the short bits most people will see. This is completely rambling, and I've gone back to this multiple times now as you might be able to tell, but I'm really gonna miss the extra history parts. They're so interesting, they're so fantastic, they're amazing, I just can't tell anything more. It covered the race, which includes so much outside of the bikes. Mini documentaries, going back 30 years, Gary effectively doing the 15 minute YouTube mini doc a decade before YouTube is invented. Tom Scott eat your heart out. I wasn't really all there with following cycling when Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen were replaced by mostly Ned Boulting and David Millar, and though they'll always be the voices of cycling, Ned and David are a fantastic duo. David Millar is probably my favourite cyclist. A man who wore the first yellow jersey of my life, who is a great time trialist (my favourite discapline of cycling that doesn't involve nobby tyres), and who rebuilt my trust in a sport when the whole of my heroes from my formative years were being outed for doping one after another. He did the correct thing after doing the wrong thing, and he's a great voice for this sport. Matt Rendall is a divisive guy, but he's someone I absolutely love. This coverage is the only one that will even consider allowing someone to talk about the climate impact of the Tour de France, and to talk about sportswashing (something very important to me, as certain countries where I'm banned from sponsor the biggest riders in the race. How do I support a rider who's the best in the world, and races amazingly, but rides for a team sponsored by a govornment that doesn't want me to exist?). Daniel Friebe is great, I want to mention him because he's a core team member and has been for the whole time I've been watching, but right now I can't think of anything super specific. His questions are good, but I think I like his other reports best. He knows where to find information, and you can tell the riders like him and want to share as much as they can, sometimes even if they shouldn't. And of course, I want to thank everyone behind the scenes. So many people who I don't know the names of, but edit and make this show amazing. The music, the stories, the researchers, the filmers, the camerapeople, the script writers, and especially the people who I can't name here because they do things you just don't see. This story comes to an end, but hopefully it's just the end of this road, and we'll go down another (maybe more gravel covered) road. Here's some poems I thought were really nice via the Never Strays Far podcast</a> written by Jim Bridgeman. Stop all the clocks, whittle down the GC lead, prevent Ned from commentating via break in feed. Silence the theme tune, with the muffled drum. Bring out the final highlights, let the broom wagon come. Let helicopters circling the chasing pack shout out their lament, ak ak ak ak ak. As French farmers use tractors to spell out their love, let the Malliot Jaune wear non regulation black cycling gloves. It was my north, my south, my highs and lows. The hard first week, and the two rest day shows. The sprints, the climbs, the time trials, short and long. I thought ITVs coverage would last forever, I was wrong. Their stars are not wanted now, though they set a high bar. Pack away Ned, David, Pete. Though they'll Never Stray Far. Friebos and Rendall all fade to black, and nothing will compare with Gary Imlach. For three weeks each July as the riders flick by, through the department of France, I've sat there entranced and felt so part of it all. I'm not part of the peloton, neither ate a gel, nor swigged a bidon. Never worn and aero helmet or cleats, nor stuffed newspaper to preserve heat, yet I've felt a part of it all. From the HTC Highroad sprint trains, to cobbled hell in the rain when Team Sky was the limit, to the certainty that Pog would win it, I've felt a part of it all. So when Ned and David finally go quiet, I'm tempted to riot, demanding the return of Pete's fashion styles, and Friebos smiles, Rendalls questions and quarms, and Gary Imlachs open arms. For what joy can we share, when the Tour's not free to air. Now I'm watching the outro to the final ever live show, and no other company would do a joke with Armstrong saying "I can emphatically say I'm not on drugs". Most of them refuse to talk about those times. You talk about them, because you understand history, and you taught me history. I'm gonna go have a good cry now. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The story is finally complete - Ned Boulting. Chapeau Le Tour de France, Chapeau ITV4. Thank you. Week 17: Downhill Freewheel Unknown — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Downhill Freewheel Rules:</h3> This week is the week we race downhill without pedalling as far as we can. The race starts at the top of Strawberry Hill (between South Croxton and Beeby) in the layby at the top. Riders set off at 15 second intervals and roll as long a distance as possible, you then wait at the point you stop (until you're passed by enough people to not be in a good position, then roll on to the crossroads). One foot push off, no pedalling, no drafting, no pumping. You must keep on the left side of the road at all times. A Group:</h3> 44.0km / 27.3mi / 350m Elevation Turn right out the village hall over the roundabout to East Goscote, then straight through to Rearsby and turn right after the pub to cross the A607 through the small lane (regroup here). Follow Rearsby Lane into Gaddesby, then turn left at The Cheney Arms up Park Hill, and right at the top onto Pasture Lane. Turn right at the Y fork to keep on Pasture Lane, then at the next crossroads turn left onto Ashby Folville Road. Follow this into Great Dalby and regroup at the junction past the cricket club. Turn right at the junction, then right shortly after onto the main road very briefly before turning left onto Burrough End. Follow this road around and down the hill. The first right down the hill is where you should turn onto Little Dalby Road. Follow this into Little Dalby and regroup at the triangle of grass as you're leaving. Turn right at the grass triangle and follow this road around and up the hill. At the top turn right towards Pickwell and Somerby on Leesthorpe Road. Turn right into Somerby and follow the road around to Burrough Hill car park, then head down Borrough Hill through Burrough on the Hill village and into Twyford. Regroup in Twyford. Turn right, then straight left in Twyford to get on Ashby Road. Follow this into Ashby Folville, then turn left into Barsby after the bridge when exiting Ashby Folville. Go over the road and up to South Croxton, then decend through South Croxton, and turn left up Strawberry Hill on Croxton Road to the top. This is where the downhill freewheel happens from the top of the hill to the crossroads in Beeby. Regroup at the crossroads in Beeby. Turn right at the crossroads and follow the road to Barkby. After the wiggly bit, pass the church, and turn right towards Queniborough. Follow straight along here, over the traffic lights, and back to the village hall. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h3> 36.3km / 22.6mi / 310m Elevation Turn right out the village hall over the roundabout to East Goscote, then straight through to Rearsby and turn right after the pub to cross the A607 through the small lane (regroup here). Follow Rearsby Lane into Gaddesby, then turn left at The Cheney Arms up Park Hill, and right at the top onto Pasture Lane. Turn right at the Y fork to keep on Pasture Lane, then at the next crossroads turn left onto Ashby Folville Road. Follow this into Great Dalby and regroup at the junction past the cricket club. Turn right at the junction, then right again onto the main road, and quickly left onto Burrough End. Turn right at the triangle onto Melton Lane towards Burrough. Follow this road all the way into Burrough on the Hill. Regroup at the top of the climb. Turn right onto Twyford Road and go down the hill into Twyford. Turn right, then straight left in Twyford to get on Ashby Road. Follow this into Ashby Folville, then turn left into Barsby after the bridge when exiting Ashby Folville. Go over the road and up to South Croxton, then decend through South Croxton, and turn left up Strawberry Hill on Croxton Road to the top. This is where the downhill freewheel happens from the top of the hill to the crossroads in Beeby. Regroup at the crossroads in Beeby. Turn right at the crossroads and follow the road to Barkby. After the wiggly bit, pass the church, and turn right towards Queniborough. Follow straight along here, over the traffic lights, and back to the village hall. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h3> 19.9km / 12.4mi / 130m Elevation Turn right out the village hall over the roundabout to East Goscote, then straight through to Rearsby and turn right after the pub to cross the A607 through the small lane (regroup here). Follow Rearsby Lane into Gaddesby and continue through past the school. Turn left onto Gaddesby Road to Barsby. Regroup in Barsby. Go down out of Barsby, over the road to South Croxton, then down the hill in South Croxton. After South Croxton turn left up Strawberry Hill on Croxton Road. This is where the downhill freewheel happens from the top of the hill to the crossroads in Beeby. Regroup at the crossroads in Beeby. Turn right at the crossroads and follow the road to Barkby. After the wiggly bit, pass the church, and turn right towards Queniborough. Follow straight along here, over the traffic lights, and back to the village hall. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h3> 19.9km / 12.4mi / 130m Elevation Turn right out the village hall over the roundabout to East Goscote, then straight through to Rearsby and turn right after the pub to cross the A607 through the small lane (regroup here). Follow Rearsby Lane into Gaddesby and continue through past the school. Turn left onto Gaddesby Road to Barsby. Regroup in Barsby. Go down out of Barsby, over the road to South Croxton, then down the hill in South Croxton. After South Croxton turn left up Strawberry Hill on Croxton Road. This is where the downhill freewheel happens from the top of the hill to the crossroads in Beeby. Regroup at the crossroads in Beeby. Turn right at the crossroads and follow the road to Barkby. After the wiggly bit, pass the church, and turn right towards Queniborough. Follow straight along here, over the traffic lights, and back to the village hall. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Week 16: Melton Unknown — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 61.2km / 38.0mi / 430m Elevation Go right out the village hall, and over the roundabout to East Goscote. After the pub in Rearsby turn right up Gaddesby Lane and through the path to cross over the A607 (regroup at the crossing) then continue to Gaddesby. After the Cheney Arms go left up Park Hill, then right at the top along Pasture Lane until the crossroads. Turn left onto Ashby Folville Road and follow into Great Dalby. At the cricket pitch junction in Great Dalby go right, then straight out onto Main Street, and quickly left onto Burrough End. Follow that road around to the left, and a short ways down Woodgate Hill turn right onto Little Dalby Road. Follow this through little Dalby and regroup at the crossing of Melton/Oakham Road. After crossing straight over the road, turn left up Cuckoo Hill, up and over, then left again at the bottom onto Stapleford Road. Follow that road to Saxby Road (turn right onto that) then follow the road around to the right at the triangle grass in Saxby. Follow that road as it becomes Coston Road and takes you around Garthorpe and into Waltham on the Wolds. At the junction when entering Waltham on the Walds regroup. Turn left and follow High Street through Waltham onto Waltham Road and follow this all the way to Eastwell. Turn left onto Scalford Road as you enter Eastwell, then right again onto Clawson Lane about 3km later. Keep following this road until you come to a Y junction, where you turn left to stay on Clawson Lane into Ab Kettleby. Regroup at the junction joining Nottingham Road as you enter Ab Kettleby. Turn left onto Nottingham Road, then shortly after right onto Wartnarby Road. Follow that until the next juction, and turn left towards Saxlebye. At the next junction turn left to Asfordby. At the bottom of the hill turn right, then next left, then immediate right onto Hoby Road. Regroup here. Follow the valley road through Hoby, into Thrussington, and turn left into Thrussington village. Carry straight on through the village to Rothley. After crossing the train tracks, you'll go up and down a small hill, at the bottom turn right and follow the road around to the junction to go right again. Back down that road and around the roundabout to Queniborough. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h3> 41.6km / 25.8mi / 390m Elevation Go right out the village hall, and over the roundabout to East Goscote. After the pub in Rearsby turn right up Gaddesby Lane and through the path to cross over the A607 (regroup at the crossing) then continue to Gaddesby. After the Cheney Arms go left up Park Hill, then right at the top along Pasture Lane until the crossroads. Turn left onto Ashby Folville Road and follow into Great Dalby. Regroup at the cricket pitch junction in Great Dalby. Go right, then next left onto Dalby Road and follow into Melton. Once into Melton, at the petrol station turn right onto the A607 (Leicester Road) and follow through the centre of Melton to the collage. Turn right at this junction, then left at the next onto Scalford Road. Follow this out of Melton. About 3km after the Melton junctions turn left onto Howell Lane. Follow this road through Holwell and turn left onto Nursery Lane. At the next T junction turn left onto Clawson Lane into Ab Kettleby. Regroup at the junction joining Nottingham Road as you enter Ab Kettleby. Turn left onto Nottingham Road, then shortly after right onto Wartnarby Road. Follow that until the next juction, and turn left towards Saxlebye. At the next junction turn left to Asfordby. At the bottom of the hill turn right, then next left, then immediate right onto Hoby Road. Regroup here. Follow the valley road through Hoby, into Thrussington, and turn left into Thrussington village. Carry straight on through the village to Rothley. After crossing the train tracks, you'll go up and down a small hill, at the bottom turn right and follow the road around to the junction to go right again. Back down that road and around the roundabout to Queniborough. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h3> 29.8km / 18.5mi / 180m Elevation Go right out the village hall, and over the roundabout to East Goscote. After the pub in Rearsby turn right up Gaddesby Lane and through the path to cross over the A607 (regroup at the crossing) then continue to Gaddesby. After the Cheney Arms go left up Park Hill, then right at the top along Pasture Lane until the crossroads. Turn left onto Ashby Folville Road and follow into Great Dalby. Regroup at the cricket pitch junction in Great Dalby. Turn left at the junction onto Kirby Road and follow all the way to the Leicester Road. Regroup here and proceed carefully (in smaller groups if needed) past Kirby Bellars and turn right onto Station Lane to Asfordby. Follow Station Lane and regroup in Asfordby. Turn left onto Main Street in Asfordby, then left again onto Hoby Road shortly after. Follow the valley road through Hoby and into Thrussington. Turn left in Thrussington towards Rearsby. After the train tracks you'll go up and down the small hill of Station Road, then turn left at the bottom and follow the road around to the T junction where you turn left again to go back through Rearsby, East Goscote, and back to Queniborough. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h3> 16.0km / 9.9mi / 100m Elevation Go right out the village hall, and over the roundabout to East Goscote. Regroup at the bus stop. After the pub in Rearsby turn right up Gaddesby Lane and through the path to cross over the A607 (regroup at the crossing) then continue to Gaddesby. Regroup at the Cheney Arms, then go left up Park Hill and straight on at the top. Follow to the Leicester Road and regroup before crossing straight over. After crossing over, turn left at the T junction, then over the cattle grids into Brooksby, and turn right and over the train tracks. After the train tracks turn left up Mill Lane and regroup at the top. Turn left onto Thrussington Road and follow into Thrussington. Regroup in Thrussington. Turn left from Thrussington and follow into Rearsby. After the train tracks you'll go up and down Station Road. At the bottom regroup. Turn left at the junction and follow the road around to the next junction, then turn right and follow the road through East Goscote, over the roundabout, and back to Queniborough. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Week 15: Billesdon Unknown — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 55.0km / 34.2mi / 470m Elevation Left out the village hall, straight over the crossroads, and left onto the Ridgemere at the top of the hill. At the end of the Ridgemere before South Croxton, turn right up Croxton Road to Beeby. At the Beeby crossroads go left to Hungarton (regroup at the Ashby Arms) Turn right at the Ashby Arms through Hungarton village and out onto Ingarsby Road. Turn left at that junction, then next right to Ingarsby and Houghton on the Hill (regroup before crossing Uppingham Road) Go straight over the road into Houghton on the Hill and follow that all the way through and past the end of Leicester Airport. At the end of Mere Road turn left onto Gartree Road, then right onto Stretton Road shortly after. Follow this through into Great Glen and go through until you get to the green. Turn left onto London Road and follow until you turn left onto Mayns Lane to Burton Overy. Follow the road around to the right in Burton Overy on Carlton Lane. Carry along joining Burton Overy Lane, then left at the junction to Kings Norton. Regroup in Kings Norton at the T junction. Turn right at the T junction onto Stoughton Road and follow into Gaulby, and turn left into Billesdon, then right at the Y junction with the large tree. At the next T junction go right onto Uppingham Road and regroup at the A47. Follow Melton Road until Green Lane (turn left onto Green Lane) and follow to the top of Sludge Hill. Turn left onto Tilton Lane at the crossroads, then to Billesdon Coplow and turn right down the very steep hill towards Keyham. Follow Ingarsby Road all the way to Keyham. At the end of Keyham Lane turn right, then next left at the Beeby crossroads, onto Barkby Road. Follow through Barkby, and back to Queniborough. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h3> 45.8km / 28.5mi / 390m Elevation Left out the village hall, straight over the crossroads, and left onto the Ridgemere at the top of the hill. At the end of the Ridgemere before South Croxton, turn right up Croxton Road to Beeby. At the Beeby crossroads go left to Hungarton (regroup at the Ashby Arms) Turn right at the Ashby Arms through Hungarton village and out onto Ingarsby Road. Turn left at that junction, then next right to Ingarsby and Houghton on the Hill (regroup before crossing Uppingham Road) Go straight over the road into Houghton on the Hill and follow that all the way through and past the end of Leicester Airport. Turn left onto Gaulby Lane towards Kings Norton. Follow through Kings Norton, Gaulby, and turn left into Billesdon, then right at the Y junction with the large tree. At the next T junction go right onto Uppingham Road and regroup at the A47. Follow Melton Road until Green Lane (turn left onto Green Lane) and follow to the top of Sludge Hill. Turn left onto Tilton Lane at the crossroads, then to Billesdon Coplow and turn right down the very steep hill towards Keyham. Follow Ingarsby Road all the way to Keyham. At the end of Keyham Lane turn right, then next left at the Beeby crossroads, onto Barkby Road. Follow through Barkby, and back to Queniborough. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h3> 32.2km / 20.0mi / 270m Elevation Left out the village hall, straight over the crossroads, and left onto the Ridgemere at the top of the hill. At the end of the Ridgemere before South Croxton, turn right up Croxton Road towards Beeby (regroup at the top of the hill). Head down the hill into Beeby. At the Beeby crossroads go left to Hungarton (regroup at the Ashby Arms) Straight on after the Ashby Arms until you see a cattle grid junction. Go right here, NOT over the cattle grid. At the next T junction go right again, to Cold Newton, then up Sludge Hill (regroup at the top) Turn right onto Tilton Lane, and then next right down the steep hill towards Keyham. Follow Ingarsby Road until Keyham, and just after the village turn right at the fork in the road onto Keyham Lane. Regroup at the end of Keyham Lane. Turn right out of Keyham Lane, then next left at the Beeby crossroads. Follow through to Barkby, then turn right after Barkby back to Queniborough. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h3> 16.0km / 9.9mi / 100m Elevation Left out of the village hall, straight over the crossroads and up the hill. At the top of the hill turn left onto the Ridgemere (regroup here). Follow the Ridgemere all the way to South Croxton, and turn right up Croxton Road before entering South Croxton. Regroup at the top. Head down the hill and follow all the way to Beeby. Regroup at the crossroads. Turn right at the crossroads and follow Beeby Road to Barkby. Regroup in Barkby. At the junction after Barkby village turn right onto Queniborough road and follow back to Queniborough. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Gravel/MTB Route 1 Unknown — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 This is an off road ride for intermediate skilled riders. You will need moderate bike handling skills to do this route, but if you're unsure come alone as there's options to cut back early at every sector. This route has been tested and can be ridden on any cyclocross, gravel, or mountain bike. The Route:</h3> 23.1km / 14.4mi / 110m Elevation / 37% Off Road Regroup at the end of every off road sector. Ride together on the roads. Head left out the village hall, then left at the crossroads into Queniborough village. After the church, and just before the single wide bridge turn right onto the first sector which leads out onto The Ridgemere. Sector 1:</h4> There are many gates along here, leave them as you found them. This sector is just straight along this path to the top of the hill. The fast way back from here is straight down into Queniborough. At the top of the lane turn right and down the Ridgemere towards Barkby. At the end of the road go left, straight over the traffic lights, and into Barkby. Turn right up past the cricket ground and straight on at the top of the hill towards Hamilton. After the road narrowing control, you'll drop down a fairly steep bit of road. Indicate and pull to the middle of the road early, the next sector is half way down marked by the Bridleway sign on the right. Sector 2:</h4> Head along the grass edge to the first hedge, then right up the hill. Once the hedge breaks, it's an almost 180 degree turn back down on the other side of the hedge. Take care at the bottom as the corner can be very bumpy. Some way along this next field edge you'll need to drop down through the hedge (marked by an often obscured sign). Be careful on the drop down as it's steep and often overgrown. Follow the path through the middle of that field into the next, where you follow the edge until the junction. Get between the two hedges, and follow that all the way out the other side. The fast way back from here is to continue along the route to the next sector, and head back through Syston following the way the route comes back. After the second sector turn left along Barkby Thorpe Lane, then left at the traffic lights into Syston. At the first mini island go left, and then go right at the second onto Fosse Way back into Syston. Straight over the major roundabout at the petrol station, and keep going until you reach the footpath crossing from the park. Sector 3:</h4> Turn left into the car parking and the path to Meadow Lane, then along Meadow Lane until the bridge. Head right before the bridge onto the bridleway. You'll cross a small wooden bridge, then through a grass path, over a stone bridge, and down off that. There you want to go right, through the gate, and under the bridge (staying on the side path). Sometimes this route is blocked though. If it is, turn back and carefully go under the footpath side of the bridge (as if you went left after going over the stone bridge). If both these paths are blocked, or the previous section overgrown, go over the A46 on Meadow Lane and get onto the canal path. After a small bridge over the canal Y junction you'll be able to rejoin the bridleway. After coming out of under the A46 go left and follow the field round. You will find the canal on your left. Keep following the field edge around the solar farm, and you'll find yourself on a 4x4 gravel roadway that leads all the way to the end of this sector. The shortcut back after this sector is to follow the group over the road, then when they turn right onto Back Lane, you shortcut left onto Platts Lane which brings you out opposite the canal path. Follow that back to Meadow Lane (paved canal path) After sector 3 go straight over the road, then take the first right onto Back Lane. Follow that around and over the railway bridge, then Blackberry Lane is on your left after the railway bridge. Sector 4:</h4> Blackberry Lane is a simple one, just head straight up the gravel hill. Pick your line carefully, it's usually best to stay in the middle on the grass centre, though fun can be had either side. At the top of Blackberry Lane wait for everyone, regroup, and head back down. The line choice on the way down is different from on the way up. Such is the wonders of off road! Regroup at the railway bridge. The shortcut back from the top of Blackberry Lane is to go right onto the road and go back to Queniborough via Broome Lane and East Goscote. Or you can go right on the road and turn back down Humble Lane (runs paralel to Blackberry Lane). This is a good option if you want to rejoin the ride if you don't want to descend Blackberry Lane, but can also take you back alone Platts Lane and onto the paved canal path back to Syston (described at the end of sector 3) After the railway bridge follow Back Lane around to the crossroads and turn left back to the T junction. Head straight over the T junction and onto the bridleway. Sector 5:</h4> This is sector 3 in reverse. Follow the 4x4 gravel track back down to the solar farm, then once at the canal edge follow the field edge around to the bridleway under the bridge. Remember whichever way you came the first time through. Follow the path over the stone bridge, then the wooden bridge, and back out onto Meadow Lane. Follow Meadow Lane back to Fosse Way and the car parking. This time cross straight over the road and follow the river side path under the railway into Donkey Park. Put someone with a bell at the front for this part. Once out of Donkey Park turn left then right onto Brook Side, and turn left at the Dog and Gun pub. Follow Chapel Street to the junction, and turn right then left up past the church and library. Follow this road along past the school until you reach a turn at the end. Go through the bike path onto Wyndale Drive, turn left onto Avery Drive, and then right onto Parkstone Road. Follow that back to Melton Road, and follow Melton Road back to Queniborough. Thank you for riding off road, I hope you enjoyed it! Route GPX Download</a> Route Komoot</a> Live image of me creating this route Week 14: Baggrave Unknown — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 52.3km / 32.5mi / 420m Elevation Left out of the village hall to Barkby, Beeby, then right at the crossroads to Keyham (left onto Keyham Lane), then along Ingarsby Road turn right to the back end of Hungarton on Barley Leas (regroup at Ashby Arms). Right to Baggrave and over the cattle grids. Regroup at the main road at the end of Baggrave (top of the hill). Caution at the bottom, turn right to Barsby, and first left through the village to Gaddesby. Turn right up Park Hill and head towards Rotherby (regroup at the main road at the top of the hill). Straight over the main road into Rotherby, and right to Frisby on the Wreake. Turn left in Frisby and over the railway line to Hoby, then right as you enter Hoby to go to Ragdale. Regroup at the entrance to the spa centre in Ragdale. Carry on to Six Hills, then turn left onto the main road, and under the A46, then left onto Paudy Lane. Follow this into Barrow upon Soar. Regroup after entering Barrow at the junction. Left at the junction to Sielby, then into Cossington, and turn left up Bennets Lane to Humble Lane (regroup at the top) and follow Broome Lane to East Goscote and back to the village hall. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 36.9km / 22.9mi / 300m Elevation Turn left out the village hall to Barkby, then Beeby, and right at the crossroads, then left onto Keyham Lane to Keyham. Continue on the Ingarsby Road, then turn right into the back of Hungarton (regroup at the Ashby Arms). Right from there to Baggrave (caution over the cattle grids) and through Baggrave to the main road (regroup at the top) Left down the hill, with caution at the bottom to turn right into Barsby, then first left through the village. Left out of there to Gaddesby, and right up Park Hill. Follow this to Leicester Road at Rotherby (regroup here). Straight over the main road, then right in Rotherby to Frisby on the Wreake. Turn left in Frisby to go over the railway line to Hoby. Follow the valley through Hoby, Thrussington, all the way to Ratcliffe on the Wreake, then turn right at the top of the hillin Ratcliffe to come back via Broome Lane and East Goscote. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 25.0km / 25.5mi / 190m Elevation Turn left out of the village hall to Barkby, Beeby, and right at the crossroads. Then turn left onto Keyham Lane through Keyham. Turn left up into the back of Hungarton and regroup at the Ashby Arms. Go right from here and over the cattlegrids through Baggrave and regroup at the main road. Turn left and take care down the hill, turning right into Barsby, then first left through the village. Turn left at the bottom to Gaddesby, and follow back to the main road, crossing straight over into Rearsby, then East Goscote, and back to Queni. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> 22.1km / 13.7mi / 150m Elevation Left out of the village hall to Barkby, then Beeby (regroup at the crossroads), and straight over at the crossroads to Hungarton (regroup at the Ashby Arms) Straight along from Hungarton to Baggrave, turning left over the cattle grids, and through Baggrave. Regroup at the top of the hill at the main road. Turn left and take care down the main road, turning right into Barsby, then left through the village. Regroup at the bottom of the hill. Turn left at the bottom and head back to Gaddesby. Follow the road back to the A607, and straight across to Rearsby (regroup before crossing), then back to Queni through East Goscote. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Week 13: Borough Unknown — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 55.8km / 34.7mi / 420m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, Twyford, Borough Hill all the way to the Fort (regroup at the carpark) Somerby, Cold Overton, Langham, Ashwell, Whissendine, Little Dalby, Great Dalby, Ashby Folville. Barsby, Queniborough. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 38.8km / 24.1mi / 300m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby (regroup at Cheney Arms), Ashby Folville, Twyford (regroup at T junction), then up through Borough Hill to regroup at the fort carpark. Down through Somerby, Pickwell, and into Little Dalby and on to Great Dalby. Turn left at the milk stall in Great Dalby back to Ashby Folville. From Folville go over to Barsby and back down South Croxton Road to Queni. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 31.2km / 19.4mi / 260m Elevation Reasby, Gaddesby (regroup at Cheney Arms), Ashby Folville, Twyford (regroup at T junction), then up Borough Hill to the corner before the pub. Drop down Melton Lane (caution: Gravel at the bottom) and to Great Dalby. From Great Dalby head left at the milk stall and back to Ashby Folville. Then go up into Barsby, and back down South Croxton Road to Queni. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> 23.6km / 14.7mi / 160m Elevation From Queni go right over the roundabout to East Goscote, then Rearsby, then up the lane and over the A607 to Gaddesby. Follow through to Ashby Folville, up the hill, and left at the top down the gated road to Thorpe Satchville. (regroup at all junctions) Turn left up Grat Dalby Road until the Klondyke Lane T junction, turning left again. Follow this back to Ashby Folville Road, and turn left at the T junction back to Ashby Folville. Turn right at the bottom of the hill, go over the bridge, and up into Barsby, then back down South Croxton Road into Queniborough D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Week 12: Beacon Unknown — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 52.7km / 32.7mi / 380m Elevation Broome Lane, Humble Lane to Cossington, then Sielby, Barrow, and onto Coates Road. Regroup crossing the Loughborough Road at the cut through. Stanford Lane into Stanford on Soar, then to Normanton on Soar, Hathern, and Shepshed. Entering Shepshed take Lansdown Road on the right, after going under the M1. Then go left at the T junction along Tickow Lane, onto Charlie Lane, and to the Beacon cross roads (take care and regroup at main crossroads at A512). Regroup at the top of the hill. Right down Joe Moore's Lane, past the Reservoir and straight to Rothley, Cossington, and finishing down the Syston Bypass road to Queniborough. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 37.7km / 23.4mi / 350m Elevation Turn right out the village hall to East Goscote, and left down Broome Lane. Follow the road around at the end of Racliffe on the Wreake and go under the A46. Turn left at the top of the hill and decend Humble Lane. Regroup at the bottom. Straight over the road onto Platts Lane, then turn right out onto Syston Road towards Rothley. Straight over the road at the traffic lights onto Hallfields Lane. At the junction after the small descent go left onto Town Green Street. Follow this through until Rothley Court, and turn right onto The Ridings. At the end of The Ridings regroup. Cross straight over on The Ridings and keep going all the way through Swithland. Turn left to Woodhouse Eaves up Brand Hill. Follow this all the way to The Bulls Head in Woodhouse Eaves and regroup before turning left onto Beacon Road and climbing Beacon Hill. Regroup again at the top. At the junction at the bottom of Beacon Hill turn left onto Shepshed Road, and then left again onto Joe Moore's Lane. Follow this past the end of Swithland Woods and Bradgate Park (North carpark). Follow the reservoir round into Cropston and back into Rothley. Follow past the end of The Ridings, and regroup opposite the Woodmans Stoke. Turn right at the junction, and straight over the traffic lights in Rothley. At Platts Lane turn left up it to Cossington, then straight over onto Back Lane and up Humble Lane. Regroup at the top. Turn right and follow Broome Lane back around into East Goscote, then right onto Melton Road and back over the roundabout to Queniborough. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 27.5km / 17.1mi / 180m Elevation Turn right out of the village hall and over the roundabout to East Goscote. Turn right onto Broome Lane and follow this around past the end of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, under the A46, and up the hill. Turn left at the top of the hill onto Humble Lane and regroup. Drop down Humble Lane into Cossington, and go straight over onto Platts Lane. Regroup again here. Turn right onto Syston Road towards Rothley, then go straight over at the traffic lights in Rothley. Follow the road until the junction after the grass, and turn left onto Town Green Street. Regroup near the park here. Follow this road around until you get to Rothley Court (just past the cricket club) and turn right onto The Ridings. Regroup at the junction at the end of the road. Go straight over the junction and continue on The Ridings into Swithland. Regroup at the memorial opposite Leicester Lane. Thrn left onto Leicester Lane and follow back around onto Bradgate Road. Regroup at the end of that road. Turn left onto Station Road back into Rothley. Go past the end of The Ridings and regroup at the junction opposite the Woodmans Stoke. Turn right and go through Rothley, and straight over at the traffic lights. At Platts Lane turn left, and then go straight over at the junction onto Back Lane, and follow that over the railway bridge onto Humble Lane. Regroup at the top of Humble Lane. Turn right at the top and drop down under the A46, then follow the road around to join Broome Lane and follow that into East Goscote. Turn right at the end of there and go over the roundabout to Queniborough. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> 12.7km / 7.9mi / 60m Elevation Turn right out the village hall and go over the roundabout into East Goscote. Turn left onto Broome Lane, and follow this through to Ratcliffe on the Wreake, and straight past to go under the A46 and up the hill. Turn left at the top of the hill onto Humble Lane and regroup. Drop down Humble Lane into Cossington, and go straight over at the junction onto Platts Lane. At the end of Platts Lane regroup and cross straight over to the cycleway and canal path that leads back to Syston. After the boat marina go through the bike gate and exit the canal up the bridge. Turn left and go over the A46 onto Meadow Lane. At the end of Meadow Lane regroup. Cross straight over into the Donkey Park (Memorial Park) and head towards the skatepark in Central Park. Turn left up Chapel Street, then right and straight left past the church, library, and school. At the end of this road, after the allotments, turn right through the bike path onto Wyndale Drive, then left onto Avery Drive, and right onto Parkstone Road. Regroup at the Melton Road. Follow Melton Road back to Queniborough and turn right onto Syston Road, then left onto Barkby Road to the village hall. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Week 11: Asfordby Unknown — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 46.8km / 29.1mi / 300m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, Asfordby Folville, Twyford, and up Burrough Hill all the way to Somerby (regroup at the fort carpark). Continue along through Somerby to Pickwell and then the Dalby's (Little and Great). Carry straight on at the milk shed and playpark in Great Dalby to Kirby Bellars. Then to Asfordby, Hoby, Thrussington, and Ratcliffe on the Wreake before finishing back up Broome Lane to Queni. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 39.1km / 24.3mi / 260m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, Twyford, and up Burrough Hill (regroup at the corner in Burrough on the Hill village before the pub). Turn down Melton Lane to Kirby Bellars (regroup and careful for the bit on the main road) and into Asfordby. Then back down the valley via Hoby, Thrussington, and Ratcliffe on the Wreake, finishing back up Broome Lane to Queni. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 27.8km / 17.3mi / 160m Elevation There are two possible C groups this week, see the shorter route below. Rearsby, Gaddesby, and up the hill at the Cheney Arms (regroup at the top). Turn right onto Pasture Lane, and follow it along to a Y junction, where you should continue on the left fork. Then at the next Y junction, continue on the right fork to Kirby Bellars. Regroup at the main road. Head through Kirby Bellars, into Asfordby, and back down the valley through Hoby, Thrussington, and Ratcliffe on the Wreake, finishing up Broome Lane to Queni. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> C Group Shortcut:</h4> 24.9km / 15.5mi / 160m Elevation There are two possible C groups this week, see the longer route above. Rearsby, Gaddesby, and up the hill at the Cheney Arms (regroup at the top). Turn right onto Pasture Lane, and follow it along to a Y junction, where you should continue on the left fork. Then at the next Y junction, take the left fork to Frisby on the Wreake. Regroup to cross over the road. Then it's back down the valley through Hoby, Thrussington, and Ratcliffe on the Wreake, and finishing up Broome Lane to Queni. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> 20.1km / 12.5mi / 130m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, and left up the hill at the Cheney Arms up Park Hill. Regroup at the top then carry straight on following Gaddesby Lane to Rotherby. Regroup and go straight over the main road, then turn left at the T junction in Rotherby over the cattlegrids to Brooksby. Right down the hill in Brooksby, over the train tracks, and up Mill Lane. Then follow the valley to Thrussington and Ratcliffe on the Wreake, and finish up Broome Lane back to Queni. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Week 10: Tilton Unknown — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 49.2km / 30.6mi / 410m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, up Park Lane at the Cheney Arms, then right at the top to Great Dalby, Little Dalby, Pickwell, Somerby, and Owston. Then take the Loddington Road to Tilton and regroup at Tilton Church. From there head down Tilton Lane, turn right onto Ingarsby Road, and back via Keyham (regroup at the end of Keyham Lane) Beeby, Barkby, Queniborough. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 37.0km / 23.0mi / 260m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, Twyford, right at the bottom of Burrough Hill to Marefield (regroup at the top of the hill, triangle corner). Head down Hyde Lodge Road to the Oakham Road and right to Tilton on the Hill (regroup at the top). Then down Tilton Lane, right onto Ingarsby Road, and back home via Keyham (regroup at the end of Keyham Lane), Beeby, Barkby, Queniborough. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 33.2km / 20.6mi / 230m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, Twyford, right at the bottom of Burrough Hill towards Marefield, but head towards the Melton Road and Tilton on the Hill on Twyford Road. Regroup at the top of Tilton Hill near the Church. Then head down Tilton Lane, turning right onto Ingarsby Road, then back via Keyham (regroup at the end of Keyham Lane), Beeby, Barkby, Queniborough. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> Mystery Guided Ride week (13 Miles) Week 9: Keyham Unknown — Tue, 27 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 52.3km / 32.5mi / 420m Elevation Barkby, Beeby, Keyham, Hungarton, Baggrave (regrouping at the Main Road). Then over to Barsby, through the village to Gaddesby, up Park Hill and straight on to Rotherby (straight over at the A607) and right to Frisby. Then back to Hoby, up to Ragdale, and to Six Hills Lane. Fast back down the big road to Barrow upon Soar. Then head back towards Sielby, and into Cossington. Up Humble Lane, Broome Lane, and back via East Goscote. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 37.3km / 23.2mi / 300m Elevation Barkby, Beeby, Keyham, Hungarton (regrouping at the Ashby Arms pub), then over the cattlegrids to Baggrave and regroup at the Main Road, down and right into Barsby. Through the village of Barsby to Gaddesby, and up Park Hill at the Cheney Arms to Rotherby. Straight over the A607 and right to Frisby on the Wreake, then back into Hoby, Thrussington, and finish through Ratcliffe on the Wreake and East Goscote. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 25.0km / 15.5mi / 190m Elevation Barkby, Beeby, Keyham, Hungarton (regroup at the Ashby Arms pub), then over the cattlegrids to Baggrave, regrouping at the Main Road. Down the hill and right into Barsby, through the village to Gaddesby, then home via Rearsby and East Goscote. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> Mystery Guided Ride week (11 Miles) Week 8: Tilton Unknown — Tue, 20 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 37.0km / 23.0mi / 260m Elevation Go right out the village hall to East Goscote, and turn right again after the pub in Rearsby down the small lane over the A607 onto Gaddesby Lane (regroup before crossing) Follow through Gaddesby, Ashby Folville, and into Twyford. Regroup at the Twyford junction. Turn right, then straight left onto Burrough Road, and shortly after turn right onto Marefield Lane. At the top of the hill with the cattle grid turn left towards Marefield. Follow this road all the way through Marefield eventually ending up on Hyde Lodge Road. At the end of Hyde Lodge Road turn right onto Oakham Road into Tilton on the Hill. Regroup at the church. Continue through Tilton and shortly after leaving turn right onto Tilton Lane, following signs for Hungarton and Cold Newton. Follow this lane past the end of Sludge Hill. Turn right towards Ingarsby and Keyham at the top of Billesdon Coplow. Follow this road back into Keyham, turning right onto Keyham Lane at the Y fork after Keyham. Regroup at the end of Keyham Lane. Turn right off Keyham Lane onto Scraptoft Lane and back towards the Beeby crossroads. Turn left at the Beeby crossroads onto Barkby Road towards Barkby. Follow this back into Barkby. After the church in Barkby turn right towards Queniborough, and go straight over the traffic lights, and the crossroad, back to the village hall. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 33.2km / 20.6mi / 230m Elevation Go right out the village hall to East Goscote, and turn right again after the pub in Rearsby down the small lane over the A607 onto Gaddesby Lane (regroup before crossing) Follow through Gaddesby, Ashby Folville, and into Twyford. Regroup at the Twyford junction. Turn right, then straight left onto Burrough Road, and shortly after turn right onto Marefield Lane. At the top of the hill with the cattle grid follow the road to the right following the sign for Tilton. Follow this road until you meet the busy Melton Road and regroup. Go up the hill and regroup at the petrol station in Tilton on the Hill. Continue through Tilton and shortly after leaving turn right onto Tilton Lane, following signs for Hungarton and Cold Newton. Follow this lane past the end of Sludge Hill. Turn right towards Ingarsby and Keyham at the top of Billesdon Coplow. Follow this road back into Keyham, turning right onto Keyham Lane at the Y fork after Keyham. Regroup at the end of Keyham Lane. Turn right off Keyham Lane onto Scraptoft Lane and back towards the Beeby crossroads. Turn left at the Beeby crossroads onto Barkby Road towards Barkby. Follow this back into Barkby. After the church in Barkby turn right towards Queniborough, and go straight over the traffic lights, and the crossroad, back to the village hall. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 28.8km / 17.9mi / 220m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, first turn into Barsby then over the road to South Croxton (regroup at the church). Then over Strawberry Hill to Beeby, and left at the crossroads to Hungarton (regroup at the Ashby Arms). Turn right after the Ashby Arms down towards Quenby Hall and come out on the Ingarsby Road. Right there into Keyham, Beeby, Barkby, Queniborough. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> Guided Ride week (11 Miles) Week 7: Bash Unknown — Tue, 13 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 42.4km / 26.3mi / 240m Elevation The Bash Route, apparently if you don't know it you don't need to do it ;) But I'll tell you anyway! Start by going right out the village hall, to East Goscote, then Rearsby, and left onto Brook Street in Rearsby. Go left up Station Road and over the railway lines into Thrussington. Turn right up the kick after the pub onto Hoby Road and follow the valley through Hoby into Asfordby. Regroup at the end of Hoby Road. Turn left onto Loughborough Road, then straight right onto Asfordby Bypass Road, then shortly left onto Saxelbye Road and up the hill. At the top turn right following the sign for Ab Kettleby. Follow this road along for a while until a junction. Turn left towards Wartnaby and regroup at the end before joining Six Hills Lane. Turn left onto Six Hills Lane and follow it back to Six Hills, taking care when crossing Loughborough Road. After going under the A64 turn left onto Paudy Lane. Run this fast all the way into Barrow upon Soar. Regroup at the end of the road at the T junction. Turn left onto Sielby Road and follow all the way into Cossington. Turn right onto Bennets Lane after the telephone box, then left at the end onto Back Lane, joining Humble Lane after the railway bridge. Regroup at the top of Humble Lane. Turn right out of Humble Lane and go under the A46, then past Ratcliffe on the Wreake onto Broome Lane. At the end of Broome Lane in East Goscote turn right onto Melton Road and back to the village hall. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 38.3km / 23.8mi / 240m Elevation Start by going right out the village hall, to East Goscote, then Rearsby, and left onto Brook Street in Rearsby. Go left up Station Road and over the railway lines into Thrussington. Turn right up the kick after the pub onto Hoby Road and follow the valley through Hoby into Asfordby. Regroup at the end of Hoby Road. Turn left onto Loughborough Road, then straight right onto Asfordby Bypass Road, then shortly left onto Saxelbye Road and up the hill. Regroup at the top of the hill. Bear left down the hill to Saxelby and into Grimston. Regroup at the end before joining Six Hills Lane. Turn left onto Six Hills Lane and follow this back into Six Hills, taking care crossing over the Loughborough Road. After going under the A46 turn left onto Paudy Lane. Run this fast all the way into Barrow upon Soar. Regroup at the end of the road at the T junction. Turn left onto Sielby Road and follow all the way into Cossington. Turn right onto Bennets Lane after the telephone box, then left at the end onto Back Lane, joining Humble Lane after the railway bridge. Regroup at the top of Humble Lane. Turn right out of Humble Lane and go under the A46, then past Ratcliffe on the Wreake onto Broome Lane. At the end of Broome Lane in East Goscote turn right onto Melton Road and back to the village hall. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 31.2km / 19.4mi / 200m Elevation Start by going right out the village hall, to East Goscote, then Rearsby, and left onto Brook Street in Rearsby. Go left up Station Road and over the railway lines into Thrussington. Turn right up the kick after the pub onto Hoby Road and follow the valley to Hoby. Turn left at the back end of Hoby onto Ragdale Road and regroup at the top of Ragdale near the Hall. Follow Ragdale Road through Ragdale and to Six Hills. Regroup at the top. Turn left onto Six Hills Lane and go under the A46, then turn left onto Paudy Lane. Run this fast all the way into Barrow upon Soar. Regroup at the end of the road at the T junction. Turn left onto Sielby Road and follow all the way into Cossington. Turn right onto Bennets Lane after the telephone box, then left at the end onto Back Lane, joining Humble Lane after the railway bridge. Regroup at the top of Humble Lane. Turn right out of Humble Lane and go under the A46, then past Ratcliffe on the Wreake onto Broome Lane. At the end of Broome Lane in East Goscote turn right onto Melton Road and back to the village hall. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> Guided Ride week Week 6: Beeby Unknown — Tue, 06 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 39.8km / 24.7mi / 360m Elevation Starting out heading down the Ridgemere to South Croxton, Barsby, and Ashby Folville, this route then runs up and down into Twyford and towards Borrough on the Hill. Cutting off part way up to go to Marefield, turning just before to loop around to the Oakham Road and get to Tilton on the Hill. It's then a fast run down Tilton Lane to Keyham, Beeby, Barkby, Queniborough. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 32.2km / 20mi / 270m Elevation Start left out the village hall, straight over the crossroads, and then left onto Ridgemere Lane at the top of the hill. Follow the Ridgemere onto Syston Road, then turn right onto Croxton Road towards Beeby just before entering South Croxton. Regroup at the top of the hill. Drop off the back of Strawberry Hill and into Beeby. Turn left at Beeby Crossroads towards Hungarton, up Hungarton Lane. Regroup at the Ashby Arms in Hungarton. Continue straight on past the Ashby Arms and follow the road around to the right at the cattle grid. At the next junction turn left towards Cold Newton. Follow Hungarton Road onto Enderbys Lane and up Sludge Hall Hill. Regroup at the top. Turn right onto Tilton Lane, then shortly after turn right towards Beeby onto Ingarsby Road. Follow that through Keyham. After leaving Keyham turn right at the Y fork onto Keyham Lane. Regroup at the end. Turn right out the end of Keyham Lane and drop down back to the Beeby Crossroads. Turn left there onto Barkby Road and follow all the way back to Barkby. After the church in Barkby turn right onto Queniborough Road, go straight over at the traffic lights, and continue back to Queniborough. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 24.8km / 15.4mi / 190m Elevation Start left out the village hall, straight over the crossroads, and then left onto Ridgemere Lane at the top of the hill. Follow the Ridgemere onto Syston Road, then turn right onto Croxton Road towards Beeby just before entering South Croxton. Regroup at the top of the hill. Drop off the back of Strawberry Hill and into Beeby. Turn left at Beeby Crossroads towards Hungarton, up Hungarton Lane. Regroup at the Ashby Arms in Hungarton. Continue straight on past the Ashby Arms and follow the road around to the right at the cattle grid. At the next junction turn left towards Cold Newton. Follow Hungarton Road onto Enderbys Lane and up Sludge Hall Hill. Regroup at the top. Turn right onto Tilton Lane, then shortly after turn right towards Beeby onto Ingarsby Road. Follow that through Keyham. After leaving Keyham turn right at the Y fork onto Keyham Lane. Regroup at the end. Turn right out the end of Keyham Lane and drop down back to the Beeby Crossroads. Turn left there onto Barkby Road and follow all the way back to Barkby. After the church in Barkby turn right onto Queniborough Road, go straight over at the traffic lights, and continue back to Queniborough. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> 16km / 10mi / 100m Elevation Starting out heading up the Ridgemere to South Croxton, turning up and over Strawberry Hill to Beeby, then back to Barkby and Queniborough. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> CiCLE Classic 2025 (Both Races) Unknown — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Race</h2> This is a race that I love dearly, a local based big race. For the mens it's a 1.2 UCI race, the only UCI 1 day in the UK for the past 20 years. For the women it's the start of the National Road Series, and a National A where all the best domestic racers are out at. Topping all that off, as if it wasn't enough, it's a classic style off road sectors brutal hills and never flat agressive all out possible mudfest and I LOVE IT! I highly recommend people check out their local racing. It's always a good watch, and the people that hang out at these things are great. Here's a link to The British Continental's race calendar</a> So? What about me hanging out at the 2025 edition? Womens</h2> This was a while ago now, so I might forget some details because I forgot to write about it, but it was a good day that's for sure. Last year this race was a pure mudfest, with teams having to get info to riders about which side of puddles were safe, and which were deep potholes to Australia. This year though, the weather was good. It was cool, but not cold, especially for the racers. I headed out to the feedzone between Owston and Borough for my first pass of the race. I got there a bit early and vaguely infiltrated chatting with the Boompods team, partially because they were stood on the end of the line where I knew I could get out the way once riders came through, and partially because they had dogs I could pat :3 The race was "All together at the front" going through Borough, which was the call that told us they would soon be passing. No feed on the first lap as they were going down the hill, but teams were wanting to find out where their riders were, and had wheels ready just in case. When the race came through it was indeed "all together at the front" but that was only about half the bunch, the back was anything but together. It's always interesting watching the teams trying to get info to riders at these points in the race, and also talk to team cars as they pass slightly later. Then it slows down, and eventually the broom wagon comes through. After the broomie it was quick onto the bike and chase it down to Owston for a cheeky extra half view by taking the shortcut through Green Lane (2nd half of the Manor Farm sector when they come from Owston centre out to Newbold). Then a gentle hop over the road to watch from the Sommerberg. It was a great day for the Sommerberg. Wet, but not completely boggy as it was the previous year. Definitely some bonus for the CX riders. A small part of it had recently been regravelled. That part was honestly the hardest. In the centre, where nothing had driven on it, it was roughed up and deep gravel you could sink into, but where it was packed down was arguably harder to ride on. It was flattened, and all the small silt and sand had come to the top to form, mixed with the water, a super slick slippery layer. It was slippery with gravel tyres (Schwalbe CX Comp) for me, so I can only imagine what riders on 25mm slicks were having. A rider from the Hope team had a puncture somewhere up it, and was running as she came around the corner to where I stood. The hill is so steep, and was so slippery that running in road cleats was faster than riding. The wheel change came quick and easy for her though, and she powered off to try and catch. At this point in the race there was barely a bunch left, it was just scatterment of riders and I believe it went from a 10 minute timecut to an 8 and then 5 minute over the next shorter laps of Owston. From that coming through I rode down the other side of the Sommerberg (effectively having ridden straight over, backwards to the way I'd seen the riders, and the same way they would take it next lap), swooped into Sommerby, then down into Owston to catch 2 more laps. One I caught on Green Lane, hidden in a hedge, watching the incredible cornering and handling skills of the riders, and the next lap I caught in the same(ish) place that nearly 20 years before a rider had slammed to a halt for a wheel change in the mens race. A lot of good memories around these gravel tracks, and I definitely took full advantage of being able to ride through the usually blocked off Manor Farm sector. After the race had been past twice here I went home, a great race watched, and some good riding done. On the way home I pass through the feed zone, and took a look for bottles (none found) and saw some poor guys stuck in the mud, waiting for a farmer. Rolled out of there and over to the litter dropping zone, where I found 1 full bottle on the way over, and in the drop zone found only broken bottles. I was, once home, able to put together an extra bottle from a broken lid, and a broken bottle (and using the good bits). I'd not expected to find that, and knew I'd be killed if I took a load of good bottles back home to Mums so I gave the good bottle I'd found to Simon as I passed on the way home! A good 50km ride and a bunch of racing watched. If you'd like more info on the race itself, I'll link The British Contintentals coverage here</a> Mens</h2> A few months later, and it's time for the mens edition! A full UCI 1.2 race, racers not just from the UK but all over, and this time I wasn't even alone as my Dad came with me. The weather for this one was HOT, incredible changes from the day before where I was out on the group ride in gillet and coat. The Sunday race I was only wearing arm warmers to not get sunburned! The same start to this one as the Womens, heading over to the feed zone and looking around. Much different feelings there though, as there were far more people hanging around. This time the riders would be coming up the hill, and be able to feed. A good time to see what was going on as it was going slower. The break had already got away here, a group of around 10 or so. 45 seconds after came the big bunch, all together for the most part, with Alec Briggs smashing to fuck on the front up the hill. It's a narrow lane, so it's an important segment to get in front on, and a lot of steep short sprints where gaps can easily be made (plus with the downhills the other side of those, it'd be easy to get held up behind a slip of wheels). The lap sizes for the mens race were much bigger than the womens, and tended to be heading the opposite way to the way I wanted to go, so it was much easier to get between sections to watch. After the feedzone first lap we went to watch one lap in Owston, getting there just as the road was blocked off for the first riders to come through a few minutes later (admittedly a lot quicker than I thought, they really smashed that section, but it was mostly downhill and I suspect some attacks were launched on the litter drop hill into Borough, so they'll have largely outpaced the average expected 37.5kmh I was basing timings off) This was a great bit to watch at, the turn onto Green Lane, full speed and beautiful handling. Spectators, and even the marshal, scared for the riders as they flew in fast as anything. A stunning display of bravery and handling, with barely a "woah" or slowdown for any riders. At the end of this part, just in front of the Broom Wagon was a strange, non competing rider, who'd snuck into the race! Later found out even worse happened at Women's Leige Bastogne Leige (he wasn't with the riders, just annoying a medical car). Please, if you go to watch one of these races (which I highly recommend you do), wait for the Broom Wagon. The roads are closed until that car comes past (at least for UCI races with full police involvement). After that more chaos was caused by a confused Uber delivering a lady over from Ireland to watch her son Leo Doyle compete. She was confused, but helped to get to the main Owston laps to watch the full 7 times (though she'd missed one) and then off to Owston. I did ask for his number (37) but never caught him in the race itself (didn't help we were looking for the 34, and the Cycling Leinster team, where he was on the next team after that, which wasn't obviously Irish) From here we went through the Green Lane and over to the Sommerberg with a fair wait for the first lap. Chatted to a few of the filmers, and the Scotland photographers. It's always a good hangout at bike races waiting for the race. The riders came through, kicking up dust and flying over. The break was still away, still around a minute, but there was no peloton anymore. The next part, both between laps, and the other pass was much more exciting. We moved over to the other side of the hill, as the race passed the other way for the next lap, and stood near to the Cycling Scotland photography car where there was a rider out of the race. When the race finally came past (I messed up, we should have gone back to Owston for a lap, then back to Sommerberg because they did two laps of Borough Hill in that time) out the front of the bunch was a flying Scotland rider who shouted for a wheel. The rider in the car was caught off guard, he was just out of the race, not really checking much. He went to get a wheel, went to take his wheel off, and eventually gave his bike over hoping it was the right size. The rider who took it (#104, Alfred George) shouted "I'll pay for any damage" as he took off, and the pushing rider said "no worries". Always a strange mix on these kinds of teams. Fortunately for Alfred, it was the right size, unfortunately for him the brakes were backwards as William Taylor tried to figure out what was wrong with the bike. He tried the brake and realised the back brake didn't work, but it wasn't because of that. We found out Alfred did just fine getting down the hill, which is good. Backwards brakes can be very confusing! The reason was a simple puncture. It'd half sealed from being tubeless, but was soft enough to notice when riding, but not obvious in the grass. Alfred George managed a 9th place in the race after that! I spoke for a little bit with William Taylor, the #106 rider who was sat in the car, and eventually asked for a photo which he was fine with, but a bit confused. Hopefully it was good for him. I just kinda wanted a photo with someone, it's always good to get the pics. Even the Scotland official photographer got a snap of it (which if theys see this, it's fully fine to use!) My Dad was even cheeky enough to get a bottle! After that it was just to ride home and hope to collect more bottles from the feed zone. Dad found one on the tail of the Sommerberg, then I grabbed one bottle and one unopened gel in the feed zone (not quite sure when I'll use it, or if I'll give it to someone who I know uses that brand). They'd already cleared it as it'd been a bit since everyone had gone home, and since the Sommerberg was after the final pass of Owston we were coming through after the Owston crowd had left. Still went to check the litter drop zone, but no luck this time. I think there was a car at the top that was collecting the mess, so we were too late. We went back through the non-raced off road bridleway near the feedzone, which has a nice river crossing. On the downhill we had to carefully overtake a young horse rider, and then after hopping the bridge I raced as hard as I could up the other side. Took a nice 3rd place on the uphill section, and could definitely find better if I ran the downhill (I just about held pace with the KOM on the full down and up during the up, so I think I can get a nice top 10 there. Will have to go back soon) All over, a brilliant race! Again, here's the link to The British Continentals coverage</a> which is great to read, and my favourite way to see these local races. Hope to see it all again next year! Next up there's the Owen Blower memorial race, and the Ronde van Wymeswold to watch. Week 1: Hoby Golf Flag Unknown — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 21.8km / 13.5mi / 120m Elevation Turn right out the village hall and over the roundabout to East Goscote and Rearsby. Turn left down Brook Street in Rearsby and onto Brookside. Then turn left up Station Road. Follow this into Thrussington, turning right after the pub. Regroup after this junction. Follow Hoby Road towards Hoby, and turn right onto Mill Lane just before Hoby. At the bottom of Mill Lane turn right towards Brooksby, then left over the cattle grids through Rotherby. Regroup at Rotherby Lane and turn left, following the road around to the right into Frisby on the Wreake. At the bottom of the hill turn left and over the railway tracks. Regroup at the next junction. Turn left from this junction to Hoby and follow the valley road through Hoby and back to Thrussington. At the junction in Thrussington turn left, then right onto Ratcliffe Road. Follow this to Ratcliffe on the Wreake and regroup at the triangle. Drop down onto Broome lane and follow back into East Goscote. Turn right onto Melton Road at the end of Broome Lane and follow back over the roundabout to Queniborough. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h3> 15.8km / 9.8mi / 80m Elevation This route is affectionately known as "The Golf Flag" (after the strava segment, and the route looking like that on a map). Turn right out the village hall and over the roundabout to East Goscote and Rearsby. Turn left down Brook Street in Rearsby and onto Brookside. Then turn left up Station Road. Follow this into Thrussington, turning right after the pub. Regroup after this junction. Follow Hoby Road towards Hoby, and turn right onto Mill Lane just before Hoby. At the bottom of Mill Lane turn left onto Hoby Road and follow into Hoby. Regroup at the junction, then turn left towards Thrussington. Follow the road into Thrussington and regroup at the junction. At the junction in Thrussington turn left, then right onto Ratcliffe Road. Follow this to Ratcliffe on the Wreake and regroup at the triangle. Drop down onto Broome lane and follow back into East Goscote. Turn right onto Melton Road at the end of Broome Lane and follow back over the roundabout to Queniborough. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h3> 15.8km / 9.8mi / 80m Elevation This route is affectionately known as "The Golf Flag" (after the strava segment, and the route looking like that on a map). Turn right out the village hall and over the roundabout to East Goscote and Rearsby. Turn left down Brook Street in Rearsby and onto Brookside. Then turn left up Station Road. Follow this into Thrussington, turning right after the pub. Regroup after this junction. Follow Hoby Road towards Hoby, and turn right onto Mill Lane just before Hoby. At the bottom of Mill Lane turn left onto Hoby Road and follow into Hoby. Regroup at the junction, then turn left towards Thrussington. Follow the road into Thrussington and regroup at the junction. At the junction in Thrussington turn left, then right onto Ratcliffe Road. Follow this to Ratcliffe on the Wreake and regroup at the triangle. Drop down onto Broome lane and follow back into East Goscote. Turn right onto Melton Road at the end of Broome Lane and follow back over the roundabout to Queniborough. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h3> 9.8km / 6.1mi / 50m Elevation Go right out of the village hall and over the roundabout to East Goscote. Regroup in the bus stop. Head straight on to Rearsby and turn left down Brook Street and join Brookside. Turn left up Station Lane, then down over the railway tracks and follow to Thrussington. In Thrussington regroup at the junction before the pub and turn left onto Ratcliffe Road. Follow this into Ratcliffe on the Wreake. Regroup at the junction to Broome Lane, then drop down Broome Lane and follow back to East Goscote. At the end of Broome Lane regroup. Take a right onto Melton Road and follow back over the roundabout to Queniborough. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Week 2: Twyford Unknown — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h3> 36.9km / 22.9mi / 260m Elevation Turn right out the village hall over the roundabout to East Goscote, then straight through to Rearsby and turn right after the pub to cross the A607 through the small lane (regroup here). Follow Rearsby Lane into Gaddesby and continue through past the school, and into Ashby Folville. Head through and out Ashby Folville and to Twyford. Regroup at the junction in Twyford. Turn right then left towards Burrough, then turn right onto Marefield Lane at the bottom of Burrough hill. Follow the road up the hill, and at the Y fork after the cattlegrid at the top, continue on the left to Marefield. Follow this road around and at the Y junction go right towards Halstead on Hyde Lodge Road. Regroup at the junction on Oakham Road. Turn left to Tilton on the Hill, then left again at the top of the hill after the church onto Leicester Road. Follow this around until you get to a right turn for Cold Newton and Hungarton. Turn right here onto Tilton Lane. Follow Tilton Lane all the way to Billesdon Coplow, and turn right down the steep hill onto Ingarsby Road. Follow this all the way through Keyham, turning right onto Keyham lane after the village. Continue to the end of Keyham Lane. Regroup at the end of Keyham Lane. Turn right and go down the hill into Beeby, and then left at the Beeby crossroads and follow the road to Barkby. After the wiggly bit, pass the church, and turn right towards Queniborough. Follow straight along here, over the traffic lights, and back to the village hall. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h3> 27.3km / 17.0mi / 180m Elevation Turn right out the village hall over the roundabout to East Goscote, then straight through to Rearsby and turn right after the pub to cross the A607 through the small lane (regroup here). Follow Rearsby Lane into Gaddesby and continue through past the school, and into Ashby Folville. Head through and out Ashby Folville and to Twyford. Regroup at the junction in Twyford. Turn right and go through Twyford and up Thimble Hall Road. Turn right and regroup at the top. Continue down South Croxton Road to the Beeby/South Croxton crossroads. Turn left at the bottom of the steep hill (be careful of gravel) and up into South Croxton. Regroup at the top near the church. Go down the hill and after South Croxton turn left up Strawberry Hill on Croxton Road. Continue down the back of Strawberry hill to Beeby crossroads and regroup. Turn right at the crossroads in Beeby and follow the road to Barkby. After the wiggly bit, pass the church, and turn right towards Queniborough. Follow straight along here, over the traffic lights, and back to the village hall. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h3> 19.9km / 12.4mi / 130m Elevation Turn right out the village hall over the roundabout to East Goscote, then straight through to Rearsby and turn right after the pub to cross the A607 through the small lane (regroup here). Follow Rearsby Lane into Gaddesby and continue through past the school. Turn left onto Gaddesby Road to Barsby. Regroup in Barsby. Go down out of Barsby, over the road to South Croxton, then down the hill in South Croxton. After South Croxton turn left up Strawberry Hill on Croxton Road. This is where the downhill freewheel happens from the top of the hill to the crossroads in Beeby. Regroup at the crossroads in Beeby. Turn right at the crossroads and follow the road to Barkby. After the wiggly bit, pass the church, and turn right towards Queniborough. Follow straight along here, over the traffic lights, and back to the village hall. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h3> 16.0km / 9.9mi / 100m Elevation Go left out the village hall and straight over the crossroads towards Barkby. At the top of the hill turn left onto the ridgemere and regroup. Follow the ridgemere along until you reach South Croxton. Turn right up Strawberry Hill towards Beeby just before entering the village of South Croxton. Regroup at the top of Strawberry Hill. Drop down from the top of the hill into Beeby and regroup at the crossroads. Turn right at the crossroads in Beeby and follow into Barkby, regrouping near the church. After the church turn right towards Queniborough and go straight over the traffic lights, and straight over the crossroads back to the village hall. D Route GPX Download</a> D Route Komoot</a> Week 5: Swithland Unknown — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> Starting towards East Goscote, then down Broome Lane to Humble Lane into Cossington. Over to Rothley and through the village. Once past the cricket club turn right up The Ridings and head to Swithland. Through Swithland to Woodhouse Eaves, left at the Bulls Head up Beacon Hill (regroup at the top). Fast back down Shepshed Road, careful turning left onto Joe Moore's Lane to Cropston. Follow the reservoir round to the right into Cropston and back to Rothley. At the Cossington junction there's two options, the main route taken is to go straight ahead and down the Syston Bypass, but some riders choose to go back the way they came up Humble Lane (see B and C route finishes for this way) A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 31.4km / 19.5mi / 220m Elevation A hilly one for Week 5. Heading over to East Goscote, then Humble Lane and down that to Cossington we then head into Rothley and straight across at the traffic lights. Right turn up The Ridings and into Swithland village. Taking the turn out of Swithland at the end of the village at the triangle, up the winding hill. Regroup at the bottom after the hill, either right at the junction or in the big driveway entrance. The top of the hill has nowhere to stop safely. After that head straight and quick down past Bradgate Park and Swithland woods carparks, following the road to the right around the reservoir and into Cropston. From there follow the road back to Rothley. Just before Cossington there are two route options. Officially the route is to head down the A607 bypass, though most riders opt to head back through Cossington and up Humble Lane (reverse the way you came). That is the route linked in the GPX file below. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 27.5km / 17.1mi / 180m Elevation A hilly one for Week 5. Heading over to East Goscote, then Humble Lane and down that to Cossington we then head into Rothley and straight across at the traffic lights. Right turn up The Ridings and into Swithland village. Once in the village go until just before the Memorial Hall, and turn right up Leicester Lane. Follow this around back to the triangle and join Bradgate Road, and then to the junction at Station Road. Follow that back to Rothley, and then towards Cossington. Just before Cossington there are two route options. Officially the route is to head down the A607 bypass, though most riders opt to head back through Cossington and up Humble Lane (reverse the way you came). That is the route linked in the GPX file below. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> Week 3: Hoby Unknown — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 31.9km / 19.6mi / 190m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, left up the hill at the Cheney Arms, then right at the top onto Pasture Lane. Follow that along, then left at the crossroads onto Ashby Folville Road into the back of Great Dalby at the milk hut. Left at the T junction onto Kirby Road. At the end of that regroup and take care on the A607. Left onto that for a short while, then right onto Station Lane into Asfordby. Head through Asfordby and back down the valley road through Hoby and Thrussington. Right in Thrussington after the pub to go to Ratcliffe on the Wreake and back via Broome Lane. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 28.1km / 17.5mi / 150m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, and left up the hill at the Cheney Arms. Right at the top there, following Pasture Lane round. At the Y fork in the road, take the right hand path to Kirby Bellars. Regroup and take care on the short section of the A607 before heading down Station Lane and across the railway into Asfordby. Head through Asfordby and down the valley road into Hoby and Thrussington. Turn right after the pub in Thrussington to go through Ratcliffe on the Weake and down Broome Lane to finish. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 24.9km / 15.5mi / 160m Elevation Rearsby, Gaddesby, left up the hill at the Cheney Arms, then right at the top onto Pasture Lane. Follow the road around until a Y fork in the road and take the left path. At the end of this road there's a steep rise to meet the A607. Take care crossing straight over, then steeply down the other side into Frisby. At the bottom of the hill in the village turn right onto Water Lane and across the railway. Follow the road into Hoby and Thrussington, then right at the pub in Thrussington to Ratcliffe on the Wreake, and home via Broome Lane. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> Guided Ride week Week 4: Hungarton Unknown — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A Group:</h4> 30.4km / 18.9mi / 200m Elevation Barkby, Beeby, straight across the crossroads to Hungarton (regroup at Ashby Arms) and on to Cold Newton. Left before Sludge Hill to go to Lowesby, then a left right over the Melton Road to go the Marefield way to Twyford. From there head back through Ashby Folville, Gaddesby, and Rearsby. A Route GPX Download</a> A Route Komoot</a> B Group:</h4> 27.2km / 16.9mi / 180m Elevation Barkby, Beeby, straight over the crossroads to Hungarton. Regroup at the Ashby Arms, then go right at the cattlegrid (not over it) towards Lowesby. At the next T junction go left (over the cattlegrid) towards Twyford. Left onto the main road, and around the triangle junction and down the hill into Twyford. From there go home via Ashby Folville, Gaddesby, and Rearsby. B Route GPX Download</a> B Route Komoot</a> C Group:</h4> 22.1km / 13.7mi / 150m Elevation Go left out the village hall and straight over the crossroads, then up past the rugby club to the traffic lights. Go straight across the traffic lights and into Barkby. Turn left at Barkby and follow Beeby Road to Beeby crossroads. Go straight across at the Beeby crossroads and take Hungarton Lane to the Ashby Arms pub. Regroup here. Carry straight on from the Ashby Arms and carry straight on over the cattle grid onto Baggrave Road. Wiggle around through Baggrave Park over the cattle grids and regroup at the top of the hill before Twyford Road. Turn left onto Twyford Road and drop down the hill. Turn right at the bottom to Barsby (caution: gravel). At the top of the hill in Barsby turn left onto Main Street and go through Barsby. Regroup at the bottom of Gaddesby Road. Turn left onto Ashby Road and follow through Gaddesby back to the A607. Regroup here. Cross the A607 onto the little lane and Gaddesby Lane. Turn left onto Melton Road and into East Goscote. Go straight over the roundabout and return to the village hall. C Route GPX Download</a> C Route Komoot</a> D Group:</h4> Guided Ride week Rutland and Beyond Audax 2025 Unknown — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 What's this then?</h3> An audax I should have written about last year when I first did it, but I didn't so here we are back again! Last year it was raining, and there were many floods, this year it was snowing to start, and freezing cold! Always a good test of kit then. I decided to do this again pretty much right after I finished it last year, it was a great thing to get me back into the year and caused me to go ham with longer rides, up to 200km, including rides to Hunstanton for 160km. Most of my road riding last year was just gently chugging along at an easy pace, which was amazing. This year I want to go faster though, time trials and off road segment hunting! Still, a mid Feb 100km audax is a great ice breaker to get started I feel. Preparations</h3> Last year I prepared well, doing 50km each Sunday and whatever TdQ rides threw at me. This year I just did whatever in general, less seriousness but keeping my pace happily slow. I had a few worries 2 days before when I did a 45km ride looping close to the start of this ride, and it wasn't great, but on the day I ended up fine. My fuelling was to overload in the bottles. 60g sugar per bottle, a 550ml insulated, and 750ml regular steel bottle. This was a great plan, as it was hard to get sweets out the front bag with huge gloves on (and double gloved). In that front bag I had a pack of Haribo and some home made flapjack</a> I'd been checking the weather for weeks, following the long forecast and then the short, all the way to the day before. Making sure also to check each of the stops around the route to avoid running foul of "it's sunny all day at home, but raining heavily where we're going" as happened at least twice last year. It was supposed to be entirely dry, then the day before I went for an easy 20km ride and was told it was going to be sleeting tomorrow. I need to get that guys weather app, because it was right! Cold and sleet at the start, though I've commuted enough to not really notice my Dad beside me was complaining. That chap also told me my seat is pointing upwards, which I'm really annoyed at because I've never felt it as a problem in the at least 2 years it's been set like that. All of last years rides, this one included, the 200km, the multiple 100km rides, at least 10,000km since I changed the angle (though I did lightly lower it 2 weeks ago, but I'm not sure if that was a true lowering or just resetting it to where I'd put it back too high after removing and regreasing for the anual "don't sieze the seatpost" check). So I'll have to get that pointed down flat, because now I do notice it. Starting Out</h3> The first thing is to head off to the ride, it's 104km around the route but it's only an extra 8km each way for me to get there and home. Leaving just after sunrise. It was dry and no rain as I set off, then shortly after it started sleeting as I was waiting to meet with Dad. The next 20 minutes to get in were cold and sleety, but I'd put 2 coats, a thick gillet, and armwarmers on. So I was dry, and mostly warm other than my face. Double gloves were definitely the right move, but less for the sleet and more for the bitter winds later on. Turned up at the start hut, met Lou and Nick hanging around outside, for some reason in the cold, and went in to get signed on, collect the cards, and grab a snack before the start time. We arrived easily with 20 minutes before the proper start. Off we go!</h3> We set off just after 08:30, which beats our last Audax at the end of last year where we only made it home with 15 minutes to spare, but also set out 20 minutes after the start time... The cutoff wasn't a worry, but it's always best to leave yourself more time. The first section of the ride is back the way we came, and towards our regular stomping ground of Borrough Hill, stopping to collect the first answer on the card. If you've not seen Audaxing before, it's long distance anti-race cycling. You ride around a route, collecting checkpoints, and some of those checkpoints (controls) are info controls. The first here asked "what colour are the birds on the Carrington Arms coat of arms?". The answer I leave you to find in the photo below. To the first proper stop</h3> Off up the hill we went after that, it'd got a little warmer, and Nick and Lou shot off to stay warmer. I held back, knowing I needed to do a job of towing my Dad and Dharms around a little bit. It was a strong headwind. I knew we had plenty of time, 12kmh was an easy target for us, and the start is the hardest section so even if we did get to the first stop slow it'd be fine, we could make it up. The climb was good, I dragged Dharms and Dad all the way in my wheel and they seemed to be within breath and riding fine. At the top I had my 3rd leak of the ride, not sure if it was just drinking (enough) or if there's something wrong, but I'll keep an eye on it. Chased back onto the group, and rode around to get back to pushing the wind out the way. Holding a steady pace for the next section. Heading down the back of the hill, over the next 3km we made up 1kmh which was impressive! We rolled our way into the first stop at Rutland water with a little confusion. Last year the cafe at the first stop was closed, so the control was right near the entrance. I hadn't noticed that detail, so hadn't updated my GPS. It still led to the toilets (4) so that was good, and we asked and checked maps, and kept rolling around the lakes on the path. A beautiful section. I managed to get a bit of grass cross riding and gate keeping open done, which satisfied the part of me that keeps the off road tyres on my mostly used for road cyclocross touring bike. Into the first stop and cafe with plenty of time to spare! We got signed in and stopped for food. The chips were great! :3 Hot chocolate was too hot to drink though, so I ended up popping it into my thermal bottle (a great choice, and I'd emptied it already as was the plan to have it finished at least by then. Probably not quite fast enough though). Onwards, to stop 2!</h3> After a fairly long stop we were on 14kmh average as we left, perfectly fine. The next section around Rutland Water was cold with the wind smashing us, and fun because of some nice gravel sections. Overlapping and cutting across different groups as different people held open gates for each other, classic audaxing comradery. After we left the lakes is where the ride did start to get harder for some. Lou and Nick had already been yoyoing, but staying within sight of me, Dad, and Dharms, but now they were slowing going out of sight (not hard due to the turns and winds). This bit of the route is very up and down in the worst way, steeply always, and with each down not getting you more than half way up the next up before you're under your own steam again. At this point Dad and Dharms lack of specific training, and Dharms bad knees did start to take their toll. I stayed solidly up the front here until we got to the second info control! What time is the Saturday collection from the postbox at 55km? Well, 07:00 of course! The next part was definitely harder than before, as we twisted and wound our way around the lanes, up and down, beautiful scenery if you could lift your head up over the hedgerows. It was still bitterly cold, the sun had come out a bit between the first full stop and this info control but now it was solidly hiding away. The pace slowed, and I stayed at the front, only rolling away on one major hill for leak #5... I don't remember much, other than the Harrington(worth?) viaduct, apparently the longest viaduct in the world when it was built and maybe possibly the longest in the UK still (not checking that fact, and my Dad wasn't 100% on the details, but it's a very nice viaduct). We past along the hill I'd had a puncture on the year before, stopped at the top of the hill for a snack break in the same place I'd mended my puncture, outside the caravan place. When we got to the 2nd full stop at East Carlton country park we were surprised that Lou and Nick had only just beaten us there by a few minutes. Our steady, non stop if slow, efforts had done us well. We were comfortably at around 15kmh here but I can't remember exactly. We had around 1h15m until that stop closed. The lovely Phil was there again, checking us off, losing his paperwork every 5 minutes. It was at this point, not long after getting our stamps, that Dharms asked about a quicker way home, his knee was bad. It's just unfortunate that there isn't one. A few different ways back to the scout hut we'd started at, but all of them roughly 28km or so, rolling hills but generally downhill (now, that's not to say it's all downhill or that there are no hills, but there's 300m of elevation to lose, so it must be downhill!) Fortunately Phil was able to give Dharms a lift back, he was struggling, and it's best to stop before you're out for a long time. Hopefully he can get back to his best, but still it was a good ride. 72km in, and the hardest of those done. I managed to pat a really fluffy dog, who loved me because my hands tasted like sausage rolls. Lou and Nick left ahead of us, as they were already going along. My Dad was struggling at this point too, blaming the cold, but also (correctly) severe lack of prep and training. Whelp, I'd set out to be a windblock, so a windblock I'd be all the way back. Homeward Bound</h3> Off we go, heading home. A wind block I'd set out to be, and I windblock I would be for the journey home. My favourite part of the ride from the year before, though that was partially helped by it being warm at that point in the ride, and the relief of not having a continual puncture as I was worried about while waiting at Carlton. It was still bitterly cold, and we left the carpark with an average of 13.7kmh. Easily doable to get back, we'd have to lose a lot of time, our average moving speed should be above 12kmh. It was a rough ride back, but I did remember the route for the most part, even if Dads GPS packed it up, and mine started to lag a little more. There's not many turns on the final leg though, a 10km to next thing on my Garmin being the only time I've seen that widget be double digits. The best part of this section was an almost cyclocross part, so much mud had been brought onto the road by some tractors and stuff off the fields. Both me and Dad are on CX bikes with mudguards, but I could hear Lou and Nick cursing me, their mudguardless asses, and 25mm tyres (they get me back on the fast road sections in summer, unless I can get onto a road road bike for longer rides) It was a decent ride, but again nothing to report for this next section. Finally Dad had to ditch the big ring, he'd ridden the whole way so far in the 46t and not even with the use of his 34t rear, due to not telling me it wasn't getting into that cog (I'd have fixed it if he'd said, but he never did). It was a 15% section he had to give up, and I'm glad he then did for the rest of the ride, definitely made it easier on him. The final 5km is pretty much entirely downhill, and with a tailwind and planes to look at it's great. It still dragged, and at this point I did just want the ride to be over. So close, but so far, the smell of curry at the scout hut almost in my nostrils. Arrive</h3> We got back to the hall, with only a few still there, and not many more to come, but with a healthy amount of time left on the clock. Nick and Lou had ridden off, and Dharms was safely back with Phil and headed off as we got inside. All done and safe. Cards stamped, cake to be eaten, and a word as we'd come in that possibly a friend who was supposed to be with us had turned up just late. He'd showed up to the final stop with around 20 minutes to that closure (Dharms texted as he was waiting with Phil until the timecut). Another 1 point Brevet in the bag, Dad decidedly not getting back on a bike ever again, and certainly not doing this next year. Home, and Beyond</h3> We left the scout hut finish for our final ride home, accepting we wouldn't see Simon come in (though waiting for lights we saw coming down the hill to check it wasn't him). Up the hill was a rough one, it's a tough start straight out of the scout hut up a 12% grade, but after the rest of the ride it's brutal. Dad had to walk a bit after a bad gear change on a restart half way up (never stop on a hill). It was a bitter ride home, I could definitely tell he hadn't entirely enjoyed the day out, but enough of that old curmudgen! I enjoyed the ride a lot, and will be back next year. It's a great challenge for me at the start of the year, forces me to do longer rides and make sure I'm in good shape for spring, but not so hard that I have to focus only on longer road rides. I can still smash around on the MTB if the weather permits. Next year I might be on my own, or I'll join an adhock group, because it seems nobody else wants to come back that I tricked into coming >:3c But that's it from this wonderful audax, and the longest post I've so far written. Here's to some more rides, and next stop sub 4h 100km time trial (not an official mark, but something I can definitely do with the right setup and planning, but not something I can just do on a whim or have ever manged before) Cafe Rides 004: Buttercups Cafe Unknown — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Ride Out</h3> We weren't sure if this ride was going ahead this week, the rain was forecast as "likely but light" and it was on the edge of cold. Of course I jinxed it with last weeks post</a>! Still, I decided to go because I needed miles anyway, if anyone else turned up I'd go with them. It was cold, but the pace on the way out was fairly easy, Nick rolled off the front by accident a few times, but we rolled gently over. Lou managed to break his AXS battery somehow, despite showing fully charged it was dead, so he was stopping before hills to put the back in the front, change the front, and get riding again! There were a few hills, but they were good ones, like Tilton! I'm feeling decent on steep hills still, but not so snappy as I'd like to be. We'll see if I work on that, or need to keep more power towards the long efforts for TTs. The Cafe Stop</h3> Buttercups is always lovely, good food, warm and large inside, and it's quick. Mostly warm going around this week, though I missed Dad saying he'd like a cake and got sausage sammich instead for us. I'd thought about the orange cocolate cake too, but oh well, good sausages! This cafe has some animals outside, today in the front were some birds (like geese, but I'm not sure) and the alpaccas were around the back, looking cold. Homewards Bound</h3> It fogged over and misted up as we got ready to head home, and it was definitely cold coming out of the cafe. I'm glad I took my jacket off while I was inside so I didn't get used to the extra warmth. Riding home was mostly downhill with a few valley dive and backups, Amanda did a great ride getting up hills fast so hopefully she sees them in a better light soon (doubt it, they never get any easier, you just get faster!) The fog cleared, and with a few extra pushes of speed we got home mostly warm. All in, a good ride. Just one more week until the Rutland and Beyond Audax, so one ride Saturday and then we're onto Sunday for 125km, early starts, and brevet cards. It's looking like it'll be a cold one though. Project Postie Part 6: Years Later Unknown — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The final post of Project Postie</a> didn't come out as I really wanted, and that's weighed on me since. I just wanted to get the thing finished, so didn't take good pictures as I did it, and I didn't take any proper pictures after. Well, I now have that same Grandad's camera (very posh one), and have ridden the bike a few thousand KM to events like Critical Mass</a> and shopping every week. So here's some nice photos, and a talk through of everything. The Trailer</h3> The trailer was an accident, well, the trailer itself wasn't but it was meant to go on my Boardman regular commuter bike, not this one! But the boardman, with the rack on the back, and mudguards, and just the way the whole thing was couldn't take the bracket for the trailer pin. All my other bikes have hooded dropouts. So the postie, with sliding dropout, was the only bike that could take it. I was going to set the Boardman to be able to take the trailer (light modification to the pin needed) but I just never did, and I think it's better that way. I've been able to ride this bike every week, and I think the postie gives a certain feeling when I ride that car drivers respect more. The Sturmey</h3> One of my favourite things I did was the gearing, it really helped with the trailer, but it's also made the 2nd gear the crusing gear, 1st is climbing, and 3rd is speed! All the way up to 25mph, maybe a touch more before spinning out. That's WAY fast enough for a cruiser commuter like this (the bike is happily stable until that fast though, it's a lovely ride). The Sturmey 3 speed has failed a few times due to not oiling it enough, but being an AW (Always Works) hub, it's come back easily after a little freshen up with WD40 and fresh lube (just using Finish Line wet, a great commuter lube, but horiffic to clean off as I find every time I have to use it on anything other than the postie). The mudguards</h3> I don't think I noted this in the original finishing post for this bike, but the front mudguard didn't fit through the brakes, so I cut the head off of it, re-attached the black protector, and it looks smart and works great. The position is high up, and the rack between you and the wheel means the spray never touches you, and the mudguard comes far enough down to protect the bottom. The Brakes</h3> Welding on those brakes was an amazing idea, the wheel build has been great. I really enjoyed doing it, and they've only needed a slight truing since. The rear wheel has slight play that I do eventually need to sort, but the front wheel has been perfect, and it's now spaced out enough on the fork to fit easily if I need to take it off. The brake pads are about to wear out, and hopefully the next pair can reach, since the brakes are just a touch too long for where the posts are (it's a tough thing to get right) Tyres</h3> These tyres were just some I had lying around from when the Boardman ran some old MTB rims and was 26" (the wonders of Discs). Those wheels need repairing so I can have nicer wheels on my jump trail bike, but that's been "in the works" for a few years now... It'll happen, maybe... They've been amazing tyres, they're cheap but hardly showing any wear after a year on the boardman and a few years on this bike. I've had 2 puncutures, one caused by off roading, that fixed itself due to putting mucoff slime innertube goo into the tubes, and another one because the valve split (that tube came with the bike and was at least 10 years old). One on the rear, one on the front. Not bad for the riding I've done. This bike, always reliable, always got me home (the split tube happened overnight, though I did have to ride my CX bike to work because I'd broken the Boardman with a big crash that yeah, I really should have posted about) The Toolkit</h3> The original toolkit was stuffed into whatever I could get onto the bike, but then I decided to get a piece of waxed canvas cloth, and nick some toestraps off another bike (a Trek I'll be posting about soon). Wrapped all the tools into that (a small multitool, mostly for others bikes since I only need the screwdriver, adjustable spanner for most of the bike, tube, patches, and a pump) and strap it to the rack and it's been amazing. So far I've been fortunate and only needed the spanner to tighten the wheel every once in a while (the rack pulls the wheel to one side sometimes) and the pump (for the aforementioned puncuture above) Broken things</h3> So what broke in all this time? Well, very little. I've gone through at least 3 rear wheel washers (I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, I don't know what), the brake pads aren't set right (hopefully to be fixed soon), the bottom bracket has developed play twice (which isn't too bad, though I need to fix the 2nd time soon), and a cotter pin basically fell out (but I did get it back working). Other than that I really can't think of anything that's gone terribly with the bike. It's ever reliable, always there for me, and hasn't let me down, and in true to this bike fashion, I haven't washed it once! It got a bath when the country flooded a few times (including a complete underwater ride through the lakes, where I rode through some of the lakes themselves as they overtopped!) The Future</h3> I'm just going to keep riding and loving this bike, it does everything I need it to do and I love it to bits. The best bike in the world, and the coolest thing I'll probably ever build or ride. Thanks Grandad. Cafe Rides 003: Lands End Oakham Unknown — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Ride</h3> The first regular TdQ ride of the year! Finally starting at 0900, with everyone, and no reason to delay! It was a bit drab and drizzly though. The ride out to the foot of Borrough Hill was gentle, but when we got to Twyford it split heavily between different people going different directions, and some getting lost. My route was led out by Greg down the muddier back lanes that make up the feedzone and a few laps of the Melton Oakham (none of the true off road bits, but the Sommerberg is getting "resurfaced" before the womens race in a few weeks). Everyone got to the cafe alright, and it was fun to get a bit of speed up early in the year, though I'm tonining it down to let myself get used to gentler riding for the Audax in 2 weeks. The Cafe</h3> This cafe has been a regular cold day haunt for us since it opened last year (or the year before?). It's big inside, quick service, plenty of options, and warm. A lot of people opted for the "build your own" style breakfast (bacon, toast, eggy bread, beans, it's all available) but I went for a toastie (I'll usually go for a paninis but they didn't have any in a flavour that took my fancy). The favoured part here for some is that the coffee is just a simple machine, nothing fancy, it just works. The hot chocolate is strong, and thick, though you do have to check you select "chocolate" and not "chocolatte" (choco latte, coffee)... Fortunately my eyes still work well enough to not make that mistake, but one day I'll need a set of glasses for cycling with (or maybe I'll get a stem cap mounted monacle) Homeward Bound</h3> All together for the way home, we thought. Then Phil had a slow puncture. I offered a pump, but had stupidly forgotten it on the fridge after I'd replaced my chain and cassette a few days before (I didn't think it was interesting enough to write about). I borrowed one from Nick and got to reversing the slow leak, while Phil had a quick one :P. The rest of the group said they'd ride slow so we could catch up, and we went fast since the puncture was still going down to get home before it was gone. The blast back down through Gaddesby felt amazing, nowhere near my best (over 1 minute slower) but in winter kit, and having smashed that section on a TT set up road bike (more on that soon) I thought averaging 20mph wasn't too bad. Again, time to slow down. A good ride, and a good cafe all around. Hopefully we're riding every week for a good length now! RIP To Cycle Sport in Britain Unknown — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 This post copied from a reddit comment I made in reply to Eurosport no longer existing in the UK, and the general death of the sport of cycling professionally in the UK in the past few years... RIP to the sport of cycling in the UK. We're losing ITV4 coverage of the Tour, British Cycling didn't cover Nationals Cyclocross at all and they don't exactly push the National Road Series. When I first got into cycling as a little kid I watched and rewatched DVDs of Eddy Merckx, and Armstrong, stories of the 60s and 50s at the Tour, and I must have watched the 2006 Tour of Britain 50 times over because there was no fresh coverage of anything. Back when the best British hopeful was Maggy Backstead (he lived in Wales, that counts right?) because he won Roubaix, and it's a core memory for me having a dodgy recording of the last hour of Roubaix when Roger Hammond came 3rd (I'd met him that year at a random cyclocross race locally). Then along comes Cav, and G, and Froome, and Wiggins, and of course the amazing 2008-2016 track racing at the Olympics, it was looking up (though at that time I missed the boat to go pro and get on it). British Cycling touted all of these riders as "theirs", though I suspect they had a lot less to do with the success than they like to claim (Cav never made their strict guidelines, but you can't stop a bloke who's winning going to worlds). The worst story is them not wanting to give a speedsuit to the womens team in 2008 worlds, because the mens team was unlikely to win so they never made them. I can't remember which team mate it was, but her and Nicole Cooke sewed on the new sponsors to a suit from the year before, and at the end of the race Cooke was world and Olympic champion in the same year. I had a British Cycling window sticker in my window for 15 years, I burned it last year in protest of their bullshit. It hurt. I wear a beanie from nearly 20 years ago, because it's the best damn winter under helmet hat I've got (they stopped making them shortly after anyway) and I feel bad when people see me in it, possibly thinking I support their killing of my beloved sport. The sport of cycling in Britian will survive without BC, because clubs will keep it alive. It'll go back to where nobody is pro, and it'll struggle hard because of local bike shops no longer being able to "sponsor" clubs and riders for any more than grease and a service every few months. But it'll survive because people love it, and when the next wave of talent comes through I'm sure British Cycling will be there to sweep it up, and they'll fight to get it televised again and take the credit. Anyway, I'm just mad the sport I love is dying... Cafe Rides 002: Borrough Court Unknown — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Ride</h3> Late start to this one, at 11:00. I thought it'd be cancelled with an ice warning only ending at 10:00, but the message went out it was going ahead, though there were groups going off at various times. Our 11:00 starters decided to keep it short, and head a simple 20ish miles to Borrough Court. We set off gently into the wind and headed towards Barkby, picking up a friend at the top of the hill in Croxton, then splitting in Foalville for those who wanted a cafe and those who needed home. Up Borrough Hill to the cafe (although only half way) it got quite warm, still glad I took my larger coat though. A nice sun and gentle climb is a good day for me :3 The Cafe</h3> Cafe is nice, I've not been before. Good selection, and the hot chocolate was amazing! It had chocolate whipped cream on top! Big cups too. I had a lovely thicc sausage roll, and various bacon and sausage cobs were spread around elsewhere. The cafe is small inside, but a big outside so it'll be good in the summer. It was only us inside and it was nice and warm, so great on that one. Homeward Bound</h3> Heading home we just dropped down the hill and back the way we came, detouring at Barsby to head back through Gaddesby and home. A good ride in the conditions, kept at a low speed and just chilled out how most easy winter rides should be! Planning onwards for bigger rides in the summer was the chat today, whether Hunstanton is the call again this year, or instead heading around Leicestershire for the 100. Next up though, Rutland and Beyond in 3 weekends time! Close close close! Cafe Rides 001: Eye Kettleby Lakes Unknown — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 A start to me hopefully remembering to vaguely review cafes we go to over the year! First off, a chilly visit to Eye Kettleby Lakes. The ride was a fairly brisk pace, ended up at just over 50km, but easily doable with 5 of us sharing the pacemaking. Borrough Hill as always thoroughly enjoyed. Initially we were going to head to the Dairy Barn, but it was freezing as we passed and we agreed to just continue further down the ride a few km and stop at Eye Kettleby. It's a good place to go when you're cold, though we could have done with getting closer to the fire! A minus 3C throughout definitely needed a hot snack at the cafe. The 5 of us that were there between us got 4 coffees, and 1 deluxe hot chocolate (hi, that's always me). The waitress looked at me directly and said "I'm not sure who's ordered the hot chocolate" and yes, hi, that'd be me. The food was quick, with one brownie arriving quickly, a sausage and egg cob, two toast and egg (one scrambled, one fried), and a sausage cob for me. The sausage cob was great, came with 3 whole sausages (cut in halfs) and I had to squash it down to fit it in my gob! Brown sauce supplied, always good. Overall, definitely good :3 Warm, easy, and a decent hill to climb to get in which is always a bonus! Admitting Defeat, and Letting a Shop Service My Wheel Unknown — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Wobbling wheels, I have them often. On my dirt jump/trail mix bike, on my commuter (although that one is stable), on the wheel I repaired a million times (and more after that)</a>, and finally after about a year on the new wheels I didn't mention because I wasn't posting. Now normally I'd just jump straight into it with making the repairs myself, but damn am I glad for once I decided not to. The wheel in question is a Vision Team 30, a wheel you can't find on the Internet because there's too many variations of them. This wheel is extra special though, and (despite being early days, I know) got the award for "Weirdest Thing I've Seen This Year" from the bike shop Northside Bikes</a>. A weird wheel First off, the skewer isn't a normal small skewer that goes through a hole in the axle, the skewer is the axle, almost like a thru-axle except not because it's actually quick release. Then, the axle inside the hub that the bearings run on, that has cups and locknut type thread on parts to hold the bearing on. There's a flange and flat on this centre piece "axle holder" thing, then bearing, then holding cap flange (threaded on), then locknut that's the piece that touches the frame (that's non drive side, hidden by the disc brake). On the other side there's a hand tightened thread on cap into the freehub, that part is quite simple, but it hides a dark secret. You can't knock the bearing out because it's like =: where the bearing is flush with the inside of the hub shell, and so you need a fancy puller. So in that moment, I knew I was definitely glad I chose to take it to a shop. The break even price on shop work for this vs doing it myself was only a missread bearing away from costing more at home, and a specialty tool definitely throws that right out. So we took it over to the recommended Julies Cycles</a>. Recommended by the aforementioned Northside as someone with higher end tools, and by friends we ride with who've bought bikes from there (particularly Derek who had hub troubles himself due to some Bontragers being poorly assembled). When I went in they were massively overworried about not being able to fit it in! You all need to slow down Eventually, when they said actual dates, it was revealed that "We might not be able to do it today, but definitely tomorrow" was the actual time constraint, which for me is more than more than fine. I was prepared to wait a week to allow for ordering in of bearings (so many different standards and sizes, and some hubs use 2-3 different sizes, all this and you're unlikely to have the size in stock at any time). For me, it's the 16th of Jan as I write this, but on the 16th of Feb I've got an Audax (Rutland and Beyond, something I should have written about riding last year)</a>, that I need the bike to be in good working order for. So that's kinda why I decided it was time to get the wheel serviced. The play had started last year, in around November, so I just decided to shag it through the winter but have it serviced for this. Anyway, I digress into what I didn't do, not what I did. So I realistically was fine with two weeks for the service. That'd still give me two weeks with the bike before the event, and I'm certainly not short of bikes to keep the fitness up on in the meantime. Despite making all the worry about time constraints and their workload (I get it, I also don't like to be pushed, and always underpromise and overdeliver), and me saying I don't need it done in a rush, I'm texted 3 hours later saying it's done (annoying, no price stated in that, and no hard price at the shop as they didn't know bearing costs until the bearings had been looked at to see what they even were, a ballpark of £30 for labour, and £6-10 per bearing x 3 or 4 bearings was given). Well, I can't even pick it up until Tuesday! (Out doing things Friday, Saturday I want to ride, Sunday I could maybe go, Monday they're closed, Tuesday I can get taken by Dad instead of riding through town with a wheel on my back). What now? After all that craziness, the next question was what do I ride. The simple answer being either go on the MTB, take a weekend break (not gonna happen with the bad weather before this weekend having 3 enforced no cycles, and two enforced no run/cycle), or pinch Dads bike. As it happens, my Scott and Dads Cube are very similar. 2016 for me, 2015 for him, both 11 speed (mine with an Ultegra mech, but 105 level everything else and his 105 throughout), same cassette, same brand of brake pads, so I said well, 50/50 his wheel might fit in my bike. It does. Perfectly. So now I have my Dads wheel on my bike, and all is well until I can collect my wheel again. He's even got the same tyre that I run (Schwalbe CX Comp, a love letter I need to write to them). So uhh, yeah, thanks for reading, hopefully more to come. GG Wearing and Tearing (an old post) Unknown — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 This post was originally written for my first SSG website, 2019-04-28. I'm posting it here so I can forget about it really. If you've seen this in your RSS feed, hi Dee and Steph! I'm gonna try remembering to post now I have an odd obsession with general wear and tear. I love the idea of wearing out thing like tyres and keyboards. It's an odd thing I've always liked. I can't remember why honestly. When I played F1 games as a kid I would put no track limit, no other cars, and just drive, but I would have wear and tear on! It was fun to just wear the track out. I like off road racing too and seeing the grass get turned to mud in the racing line. That's really cool. I always look at things carefully to see their wear when I've just got them, but after that I often forget about them. I forgot about my laptop for the past year and I've just looked at it again, and despite it being hooked up to an external keyboard most of the time, it's getting very worn. I love that. Part of it I think comes from my school, and specifically the local vicar. We got Bibles when we were in a certain year (I think year 4?) and she said that the next time she saw us she wanted to see the books pages grubby and the corners folded. That showed it had been used! I think I read that Bible once, but the whole idea of using something and making it look worn has stuck with me. My sister reads a lot and she always likes to make her books look like they've never been read. I ride bikes, and if there wasn't a scratch on my bikes I'd say I haven't ridden them enough! When I got a fingerboard ramp I was annoyed that it looked so new, so I constantly rode that ledge again and again and again until it looked well used, but the thing is it was well used. I must have done 2-3 thousand tricks in a few days! I don't wear things out on purpose, and I still do (mostly) take care of my kit! The laptop I'm writing this on is something I hope I'll still be using for quite a while. I got it as a laptop that I can take anywhere I go and can do basically anything I need. It's a Thinkpad (x230) so I know the keyboard is really good and strong. I'm starting to see just a little bit of wear on the spacebar because I kinda swipe on my spacebar when I press it (typing properly with my left hand and just with one finger on my right!) This shows up really well at work where I'm usually wearing gloves. Even though we don't type a lot, the space bar is worn in one year as much as my gaming laptop in over 2! I've definitely used my laptop more! I think that's what makes me enjoy the really boring task of polishing stone at work, and also cutting samples. We sell stone floor tiles, and for samples we cut lots of smaller tiles from the big ones. It's repetetive and boring, but I like it because it's wear and tear and it's growing large numbers of things. Well, there's a little insight into my mind and my love of wear and tear. Maybe I'll think of something else I want to talk about and write it up in this way :3 Changing Brakes, Mangled Starnuts, and Tight Chainring Gaps Unknown — Thu, 18 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 I finally test rode the GT retro XC bike</a> and it's amazing, but the rear brake was completely locked up. The springs are gone, and so I bought a new one. Forgot to take pictures though, so all you get is the after of a new BMX U brake installed on the bike. It's not great power, especially compared to the old one (but the old one never fully released it's power) The second issue with the bike was a mangled starnut that pulled upwards when tightening down the cap, meaning the headset was never tight, which is quite dangerous. Here's a quick guide on how to replace a bollocksed starnut. First, remove the parts of the starnut Next, aquire a starnut installing thwacker, and a starnut (usually bundled cheaply online) Hit it. Yeah, it was a really easy process and the whole thing sets nice now. Gonna full test the bike again this weekend with a longer one and muse about the next issue the bike has. Tyres. I want that bike to be a winter off road bike, which means it'll need some more tread than the worn Kenda Smallblocks it's got, but the issue is the clearance is at best 2.1" and finding good XC tyres in 26x2" (for clearance of mud) is very hard right now. I'm thinking my best bet is the Conti CrossKing, that's the style I want, but there's so many others I think I like the look of more that I just can't run because they don't come in the right size. Strangely Schwalbe, who are usually good with many many sizes start all their MTB 26" tyres at 2.25" which is bigger than I can even put in the front of the GT! Really 26" tyres are for dirt jumpers and retro bikes (or kids XC bikes) so make them 2", that's great for DJ and fits retro bikes really well. Bigger is better, but mud clearance on a U brake fuckin sucks! I did a bit of a change to the dirt jump/trail masher/non-XC bike too. The chainline was crap, so I was going to try and move the chainring to the inner position on the chainset (it's a 3 chainring setup, so inner big is the middle, therefore should be a proper line) and I was sure I'd need a spacer as my old 36t chainring rubbed before, but apparently it's just fine. NS Such a tight gap there... I've got a spacer somewhere I know just in case, but it gives a perfect chainline to the 5th gear, which is the skatepark gear so I don't want to push it over an extra gear if I don't have to. But it's nice to not hear grinding when in the 1st gear. Anyway, bikes cool, hopefully I'll get to ride them soon, need to get the fork serviced on the jumper but I don't want to lose the bike just in case I really want to ride it and yeah... Bikes are cool, next up writing a post on the M check, and how I wash bikes. I'm mad about chains, PSA: Fake chains everywhere! Unknown — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 TLDR: Thank Sheldon Brown for keeping the bike mechanics industry working, fake chains are all over the place, buy from supplier, reputable online dealer (NOT EBAY OR SCAMAZON), or preferably a genuine local bike shop if you have one that has stock. Get yourself a chain checking tool, and oil your chain well. Your bike will love you for it, and I promise it will save you money. I must credit the late and great Sheldon Brown</a> for the vast majority of facts in this post. If it's not got a link, it's probably scrambled shit from my brain. Well fuck me I guess... Last year I was worried about chains</a>, and now I'm even more worried. This all started when my dads chain wore out. It was a YBN 11 speed chain, and had done over 2500 miles with only a wash every once in a while. Mud, winter, whatever. It'd done it. That's how long that chain should last. Cracking. He bought a new chain off Ebay. It was a fake Shimano chain. Here's an article from road.cc (don't trust them for much, but this piece is fair) article here</a>. I put it on anyway, and said I'd keep an eye on the wear using a simple go/no-go chain checker. It looks like this: If you haven't got one, go and get one. They're a fiver and could save you a hundred (full new set of cogs, chainrings, and chain on a high end bike could cost upwards of £200, a club rider would be looking at roughly £100, and due to how cheaper bikes are put together you'd be looking at upgrading the whole set as replacement parts aren't worth using on cheap bikes where the crankset is one piece with the chainrings). For those unsure why a chain wears, and why that's bad, here's a really indepth article from Sheldon Brown, the ultimate legend in all of cycling</a>. But the TLDR of it is the chain gets longer, and the distance between pins/rollers increase. This means the chain no longer meshes well with the cogs, allowing for the chain to wear the cogs faster, and potentially then skip over teeth. Next image is taken from the Sheldon Brown page, and the American Chain Association manual (1972 edition). You know it's good, because it's actually a gif and static! This image was captioned as such: "The American Chain Association manual (1972 edition) includes the image below, showing engagement of a new and worn chain with a new sprocket. The worn chain, at the right, is shown with links of unequal length. That actually occurs, because the distance between pins with inner side plates increases due to wear, while that of links with outer side plates -- those which hold the pins -- does not. Uneven roller wear, however, compensates for this in part. Uneven sprocket-tooth wear also does, if the same teeth are always engaged by inner or outer plates. The image at the right is, however, unrealistic in showing chain wear without sprocket wear. It would be unusual to install a worn chain on a new sprocket. The sprocket shown has an odd number of teeth, such that the teeth cannot wear in to accommodate the unequal length of the links." -Sheldon Brown The chain wore after less than 200 miles. At roughly the same time I wore out my chain, previously a KMC x11 chain that'd done (according to my Strava) 2360 miles. Again, this was done in all conditions, covered in mud, and often ran with just a quick wipe and relube. This is the kind of distance I expect from a chain. I decided to get myself a YBN chain, as it'd done so well for my Dad, and I felt it'd have less chance of being counterfiet. I looked online and found few reports of fake YBN chains, so decided to pick one up off Ebay (the correct place to find YBN chains, as they're Chinese imports) at a regular price of £18.50. This is what you expect to pay for these sorts of things, and what you'd pay from Aliexpress after including postage and import taxes. The chain has so far worn between the 0.75 and 1.00 marks, AKA time to replace it very shortly (even shorter if you've got a fake one) and it's only done 180 miles according to my Strava. Far far short of the KMC one I had before, which I replaced before it hit the 1.00 mark. This means it must have been fake, which I wouldn't possibly have known when purchasing it and couldn't even tell looking at the packet against a known correct one online. This fucking sucks. I have since purchaced a SRAM PC-1110 as SRAM chains are apparently quite good for chainlife, and this chain is damn cheap for an 11 speed as it's one of the few that has no fancy shifting plates, or anti rust nickle plating (coat your chain in oil, you'll not have it rust if you keep it oiled, oil is a water repelent and rust protector). This has not yet been installed and tested, but it's really seeming to be the only reasonably priced chain in stock anywhere that I can confirm it'll be real (places like chainreaction, wiggle, treadz, and tweeks). If you can buy a chain from a physical local bike shop, please do. Mine are all out of stock on 11 speed chains right now. This whole situation entirely sucks, because I'd much rather spend the £74 I just spent on 2 chains, 2 bottles of lube (okay I needed them anyway, although I was gonna get green oil and have instead gone with finishline wet because mucoff leaves a bastard of a residue and I'm fed up with it), and a Park Tool CC-2</a> because a go/no-go guage isn't gonna cut it anymore for me I don't think. I need to settle my heart and mind with something so expensive it can't be shit... Park Tool, for when you've got either more money than sense, or need something you can absolutely rely on to get the job done for 100 years... I do have to say though, if I ever work in a bike shop I'll expect a Park chain breaker because damn that thing is so easy to work with... Which is fuckin good with the number of chains I've just changed in the last few months! Anyway, there's a really really long rant about bike chains, and a warning that they're fakes out there. This has been a mess of a post, and I'm sorry. I tried to find references to things I know about but often it's passing comments in videos, or somewhere hidden in the huge Zero Friction Cycling whitepaper</a>. If you read all this, you must love your bike. Thank you for loving bikes. One Gear, One Problem Unknown — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 So first of all, no I've not yet finished the GT</a> and fully tested it... The starnut is still loose, the 5th gear still skips. I'll do it at some point, honest! But I've got a new idea, see?! And it requires changing wheel sizes (like almost all my plans seem to) We've had this old green bike in the house for ages. It was a project bike for my Dad, who repainted it and made it quite nice, but he could never make it work. The rear mech never quite stuck (no hanger, the holding piece doesn't stay put), and the gearing is old, massive, and crap. It was meant to be a pub bike for him, but if you can't ride it when sober it's gonna go badly... It does however have skinny tubes, sliding dropouts, and a lot of chromed parts :3 The bike is technically complete, I just forgot to take a pic before I whipped the wheels out, as I was excited to check sizing and all that. The brakes might just about reach, we'll see if they do, but if they don't I'll only need longer standard brakes, not the full on longreach which is quite nice. Roughly 65mm needed, by my calculations. I've taken stock of what parts I need. Bearings for the rear wheel (1/4th in)</li> Singlespeed kit</li> Pedals (beartrap cages?)</li> Chainring bolt spacers (for when I've removed one or the other chainring)</li> QR skewers, probably best to go bolt on so I can crank down the rear wheel, and also for style points</li> </ul> As for work things that I've noted: Respace the rear wheel dropout (135mm I think)</li> Remove the granny brakes</li> Check the bottom bracket (Dad said it's jammed in improperly)</li> </ul> All of this seems like a good project that'll make a nice bike. I'm not sure quite what gearing I'll go for, but I know there's a 52t and 40t chainring to pick from. The tyres will be 28mm that I have lying around, and the wheels are donated by the same guy who buggered this wheel</a>. The rear has the same exact issue, and the front had a big ol' dent! But we fixed that with some plyers. It's not perfect because the rag I was using to try to protect the sidewall tore through, but it should work fine. These rims have plenty of wear life left in them, and hell the rear one is nearly brand new somehow. Maybe he just used the drag from the locked up rear hub to do his braking! Sheldon Brown of course held the answers here. His guide to roadside wheel repairs</a> is pretty much the only place I could find that dared tell you this sort of thing is possible, other than a really old book which also stated the same sort of methods as Sheldon. So, that's the next project! It's gonna take a bit of work to make nice, but I think it'll be a cool addition to have a true singlespeed to go around on, and having a "racer" is something I keep looking at, but know I'll never need because of the glory of wide tyres and low tread CX bikes! Just gotta bite the bullet and start doing the work. Spreading the rear triangle will come first, and after that I'll pick up the parts I need. As a bonus, I finally made the rear wheel on my MTB properly tight. The bearings are shit, I probably need to replace the whole axle unfortunately, but for now it can stay... I don't have the energy... Critical Mass Leicester Isn't Dead! Unknown — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 It is not dead, and it's an amazing thing and great fun! On the last Friday of the month, at 18:00, I met up with a few riders in Orton Square Leicester for an unplanned and open to all bike ride! There were only 5 people there (including me), but I'll take that with the weather being quite shit. My journey over was a chill 6 mile ride up a main road, but I was definitely ready for better bike lanes and the safety of a group once I got to the city. I rode the postie bike</a> which was the perfect bike for the ride. A comfortable commuter, and absolute thrill of a party bike. Sure some hills were a bit steep, and I did start losing gears as the wheel slipped, but damn it's a comfy bike around town, and the reliability of thick tyres with puncture goop just made me feel safer. I'm going to add a waxed canvas roll of tools, ala eric marth</a> The ride was about an hour and a half, only travelling 6 miles, and taking in some nice sights of the city. I only got a picture of this one: There's a lot of cool shit in cities, and a lot of pride flags, which was awesome to see on Trans Day of Visibility (where I was, of course, not that visible... Well, except for the high vis and extreme levels of lights I've got on the bike) I can highly recommend you find out about your local critical mass and go down, and if it doesn't exist maybe consider starting one if you feel your city isn't safe to cycle on your own. If your city is friendly and safe to bikes, please be thankful for that, use it, and have a bike party instead! Celebrate the bike when you can, and fight for the ability to ride safely. Critical Mass is awesome, and more people should do it. Show people there is an alternative, and have a great bike ride at the same time! Spring Time Service Time Unknown — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 This is a late night post, but I keep forgetting to write it! Not much will make sense, but when does it ever? It was the clock changing day last week, also known as 6 months since I installed my wrap around mudguards on my CX/Road/Gravel bike. That's when I said I'd take them off. Also a great time for a full service. Chain has lasted a year, it holds up to the 1% checker, and I'm sure this checker is a bit too soon, but I shagged a cassette trusting the other one too much, so now I'll be a safe enby. Had to try and get the not-quite-roundness out of the wheel. It worked to some extent. The bulge was at the seam, which is slightly worrying Cleaning down the bike was quite satisfying. Getting all the crap and grime out of the bike There were 3 major rain showers in the washing of the bike, and that;s why there's no further pictures, but all in it took 3ish hours, I stripped down the whole bike and cleaned it, put a new chain on, and sorted the bearings in the rear wheel not quite being right and the untrueness of the wheel. The issues that occured weren't really with the found issues on top of a standard service, it was more just cleaning everything took a long time, plus rain showers and stuff. If I were to do it again I'd leave the rear mech on the bike, just so I didn't have to resetup the gears (I left the front one on). I'd still take the jockey wheels off and clean those and the cage. I'm not quite sure if I'd do all the work to the brakes I did. In this service I sanded down the disks, and pads, and put grease on the backs of the pads as often suggested. The brakes are taking a while to bed back in, but I'm sure it'll be fine again soon. I think next service I'll have to do the cables, although that won't be too bad, and at some point over the summer I certainly need to get a hydraulic bleed kit and service the brakes. They're not bad at all, but I can definitely feel some spongeyness, certainly from the rear. Anyway, that's the basic service I did. I definitely missed some stuff here, but it was an enjoyable way to spend some time and the bike runs absolutely amazingly! Can't feel the difference between mudguards and not, but there's something cool about the look with both, and I like it. MTB Upgrades, Fork and Gears! Unknown — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 So, it's been a while, I've done things I should have written about, but here goes something that's happened over the last few weeks. I upgraded my MTB to 9 speed! This was due to having a 9 speed shifter I was gonna use on the GT (post up at the same time as this one) but I wanted more gears on this bike, so I did it. There were issues, because of fucking course there were. So, I grabbed the parts, selected the best cassette from the two that were hanging around (might use that wheel that I didn't choose the cassette from as a better wheel for this bike, but at the same time I think it's not better than a proper service on the current hub) So uhh, there's a lot skipped here... In between those pictures a whole night happened. The actual changing of the shifter and cable went fine. I had to throw a new cable on, but it's the original cable and I've had this bike for 3.5 years now so like... Finally did it... But the chain was an issue... I thought it'd be fine, I've ran an 8 speed chain on a 9 speed bike before and it all goes well enough, but this time it didn't... Okay, so I throw a 9 speed chain on and it works fine! Beautiful. The chainline is wrong, but we fix that... There were issues with the chain... As I set off on this near chain I hear a grauncing. The chain is wrapping around the front chainring and back up until it gets hit off by the chainstay. I assumed this was because the chainring was an 8 speed one, and cheap and wasn't playing nice... I cleaned it and that helped, but it wasn't perfect. I took a deeper look and realised the chainring was worn to fuck. I put this down to it being cheap and was like, yeah, whatever... I cried a little, because honestly it'd taken over 5 hours of setup so far to get to this point, but as I had a nap I realised I could probably flip the chainring around. I'd already ordered a new chainring at this point though, but it'd be fine for a ride if the chainring didn't come before the next weekend. I have since realised that I had overstretched my old chain... I thought it was fine, but appently it was so dirty that it didn't let the chain guage in... That's bad, and that's my fault. I only know this after replacing the chain when going to the GT and the gears are skipping in gear 5 of the old cassette. It's this gear that I used at the park. It's clearly worn when looking at the cassette... As much as I bang on about cleaning chains, and not fucking up parts... I fucked up parts. I will endeavor to do better for my bike, because holy fucking hell I love riding this bike. I think I need to order a chain cleaning device, and more degreaser after I've written these blog posts... Turning it around worked, but the new chainring came before the weekend, so I just swapped it out. It looks sick in blue, and I'll not fuck this one up (I hope) So, I haven't yet ridden the bike with the forks installed, but I did put them on, and it's not enough for it's own post so uhh, yeah... New fork! Absolute steal off ebay for 52 quid for a nice fox float 32 from ages ago (IDK the year honestly, about 2010 though). There are however issues... The settings don't actually seem to do anything, so I might have a fucked damper... I'm gonna get it serviced, but until then it works smoothly and I can adjust stuff with just different pressures. It is a 60mm travel fork, down from the old 100mm travel, which does make the headtube angle steeper, but actually I think I like it so far, from the little ride I did to check everything was solid. The wheelbase is actually basically the same because the offset on the new fork is more than the old fork, so that maybe 1.5 degrees is offset by the offset! I think the bike looks absolutely fucking fantastic right now, and I can't wait to have the energy to ride it, hopefully next weekend! I'll take it to a shop that can service suspension at some point, but honestly I don't hold out much hope for that being until after the summer. I've got the GT now (see other post here)</a> New old steed :3 Unknown — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Some of you may remember the Project Postie</a> wheel donor</a> bike... Well, it's been hanging from my garage roof for a year now and I just loved the look of the frame, and definitely had to do something with it, and FINALLY I did... Welcome to the family, the Neon Annihilator. I never mentioned, but the non-drive side bottom bracket part was stuck in there. It'd been driven in too far, and without grease. This was a bugger to get out. I tried putting the BB tool in the vice and using the full leaverage of the bike, but I couldn't get the downwards pressure and it was basically stuck fast. I had to resort to a really long extender bar, a hammer, and praying the BB moved before the breaker bar broke... It did, fortunately, but I had to remove the most of the way by doing 1/4th turns at a time as I had to still use my full weight to move the part! Use grease damn it! Here's the bucket of parts, I didn't end up using the levers as the ones on the donor Marin were very nice, and these are quite cheapo ones. The shifter was put onto my main MTB (see that upgrade here</a>). I used the old 8 speed I took off of that. It was nicer than the shifter on the Marin, which was quite bulky and the screen was very dirty. Getting the front brakes on the bike was a PITA... They had this weird thing on them to hold the spring that made setup a nightmare since it was friction fit. Why didn't they just pop the spring through the little hole in the mounts I don't know, but they seem to work good now. The rear brake sucks, it's a U brake, and IDK how they work. It barely springs back, and I think I'm gonna have to spend an afternoon fiddling with it at some point. One afternoon I spent the time just assembling this bike. I'd had enough of gears after doing the 9 speed MTB so I left it here. Doing things in stages is just so much better for me right now. Break everything down into small parts and just say "if the vibes are right, keep going" was how this bike was built. I came back from work and said, I'll throw cables onto the brakes. If the back break doesn't cooperate, or I can't figure it out, that's fine just leave it. It cooperated enough. I was only going to throw the gear cable onto the bike at this point, but the vibes were right so I went whole hog and set it up. It took a little bit of fiddling but it set pretty well. A few skips in harder gears, but that turns out to be because the chain was shagged... I changed that, since I had some 8 speed chains laying around from when I found them for a fiver (thanks BikeBargains</a>) All in this bike cost a chain and £3 for a QR seat clamp which has yet to arrive. Might cost a little more when I get around to fixing the broken star nut (yeah, it's slipping out so I can't properly tighten the stem down, but it's janky enough to be safe :P) The 5th cog is fucked, as the chain was really far gone actually, and just too dirty to put in. I might take the old 8 speed cassette out of the parts bin, but it's only got a 30t on it, where this has a 34t which is way better (even if it technically doesn't fit at all, even with the B limit maxed it hits unless the chain is on and 1 half link too short) The bike works though. I've taken it around the test circuit at the park near my house, and I'll at some point soon take it around a route. I probably need to find a bottle cage in the garage, and any one of the tens of old pump holders we've got. I'll have to temporarily nab a pump each ride, but there's a patch kit in that old saddle bag (thanks grandad <3) and even if the saddle bag rattles because it was modified to fit a different bike (also thanks Grandad :P) it looks quite cool on this bike I think. We'll see how she steams in future. I envisage it as a cross country bike, that I can also loan to friends or ride myself as they take my NS. It's quite twitchy at the front, but it bunny hops well and I think can totally send! Anyway, I'll leave you with the bike, and yeah... Have a good one, thanks for reading! An Imperial Hundo, New Parts, and Good Riding Unknown — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000 Your browser does not support the audio element. </audio> </div> </div> Quite a long listen this one, get a beverage of choice and enjoy it~ A seized wheel, and a tale of cleaning Unknown — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 To the guy that owns this wheel, if you can't be arsed to read my ramblings my recommendations are clean your bike more, the grease was replaced with mud, and that if the wheel wobbles let me know I've probably not got the screws set quite right. A friend of my Dads brought over his rear wheel a little while ago as it had seized up in the freehub. It was really bad. After I got it free it was spinning both ways. Clearly clogged with mud. First step? Spray WD40 into it, see if it clears. It did clear, but I wanted more, so I removed the bearings and decided I was gonna take the hub off entirely. Removing the cassette had shown a thick layer of mud inside all the cracks that are usually sealed (and worryingly, a very tight lockring on a loose cassette, but we get back to that later) As you can see it's very dirty! The insides never really did get clean, but don't get it right just get it running. The hub is probably close to trashed, but I know this is a commuter bike so I'm happy with this effort. You can see how much shit is coming out. This is the 3rd going over with WD40. It must have been minging in there. I thought that a freewheel was a 12mm allen, but having aquired one it's not, it's bloody 11... So I had to just say fuck it and flush the thing out with more WD40. It seems to have worked, and I've got some chain oil thrown down the back of it for good measure (it's worn enough to give a gap for that to get in, which is also what let the mud in). I dread to think what's actually in there after all this... The bearings were shot, but I hadn't got a full set of new ones on hand, so back in they go! They'll be good enough, and the roughness of the hub shell and the cones will likely wreck the bearings anyway. I did put the better ones into the drive side (the side that was worse before) though, so that might help a bit. Next up, clean the cassette. It was -1C when I did this, and I had to break the ice in a bucket to use it... But hey, I love this shit! :3 This is what was left. Metal shavings from cleaning the whole cassette... Absolutely grim what must have been on that chain. The chain is definitely worn, I can tell from the cogs. They should be alright though. Hell, only 2 cogs were really worn (as happens often with commute bikes) Shiny! I mentioned earlier the wobble. This cassette was missing a spacer somewhere. No idea where (probably the back) but it didn't have enough, allowing the lockring to be overtightened (bottoming out the threads) and the cassette to still wobble a lot. I found a random old spacer and jammed it on. It's not perfect (it's not correct at all even) but damn it it works. I should probably get a stack of a few spacers for this sort of thing. It's rare to see, but it'd be nice to have some spare (and somehow I've not got any, probably because in the past cassette replacing has always been a shop job and I've not worn out a cassette in the past 3 years I've been doing my own deep dive mechanics) I hope the tightness of the cup and cones is okay. It's hard to test without putting it in a bike, but it should be good enough I hope. It runs stiff, but smooth which is what I aimed for (although if it does need tightening, which it might having compared to my own road bike wheel) then it's gonna run a bit rougher. I've actually given the fuck up on the advice of "A tiny bit of play is good for QR style wheels" because damn it just makes it so hard to find the right place, because different tightness of QR skewers fucks it, so I'm going for the other way that we do all other bearings. As loose as possible with zero play. My rear wheel on my own road bike has gone really gritty recently (probably after my escapdes into the dirt</a> TBH) so as with last time I had to rebuild a wheel, I end up doing 2-3 at the same time... Ah well, that life time supply of grease is getting a bit low, might need to top that up! (life time supplies of bike things always seem to run low when you get deep into bike mechanics. I've lived my life on probably 2 tubes of grease before now, but I can go through a tube in one wheel! How much grease? Lots!) Anyway, there we go. Cya next time Stuck in the Mud Unknown — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 20:30:00 +0000 So I went for a ride in the mud. I had a half day off work on Wednesday and I decided to really test the semi slick, light gravel/summer grass, but mostly for road tyres I have (the WTB Byway) These tyres are definitely NOT rated for what I did, but they held up perfectly. They even held, just about, going over slippery bog grass, and over thick mud. The only place they didn't cope was when the mud was clagy and thick. They didn't clear well, and the mudguards didn't help either, but I've had far better tyres for the mud get stuck on literally ploughed fields like that. I wish there were more tyres like this, because the rear is wearing and I'm worried my next ones will have the same wobble issues these ones have. This was a beautiful little place to find after a long steady descent. Not sure how well the tyres might have held up at 15mph+ with any turning, but this wasn't at all a race so I could always just slow down instead of going down. The thing that really muddied the bike was the 2nd to last off road segment. This is a well trodden bridleway in the trees, and it was FUCKED. It was covered in thick mud, and little streams going through it, and everything. Where it was good, it was amazing, but with the leaves mixing with the mud my wheels seazed so hard twice I had to remove the wheels to unclog the guards! I'd possibly have been able to push through that with the tyres, but the bike clogs in those conditions without mudguards so the guards have been fantastic, and as you can see from the next picture, they kept the bike kinda clean (other than the wheels, which were submerged in mud multiple times, along with having blocks of mud run along them) Cleaning the bike from this, to the next pic took roughly 45 minutes, about 4 buckets of water, plus a sprayer. All was collected from outside buckets and rainwater collections though! First I took the wheels out and hit the bike all over with the bog brush, it got most of the mud off. Then I went smaller with the brushes, used the sprayers, and finally finished with a clean bucket where I sponged down any remaining debris and muck. After all that was done, I still gave it a casual 10 minute clean (along with my commuter bike) which made sure the chain was clean, and the bike sparkled. I gotta eventually do a "How to clean bike in 10 mins" post, because too many people have dirty bikes! But I'm sleepy, and currently half awake watching the European MTB champs (from 3 months ago) So yeah, cyclocross is incredibly fun! I love riding it, love watching it, and the mudguards have made it even more possible (because I stay dry and clean ish, and the bike is less of a complete fucker to clean) Bonus pic :3 Mudguards, my saviour of bum Unknown — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 I finally got mudguards (like 4 weeks ago, I also finally made the pissing post...) Honestly I swear I've had no things to post or something IDK, let's ignore that there's no fucking algorithm here! So the mudguards: They needed to fit within the not massive clearance of my cyclocross bike. It's got clearance for 35mm tyres with good mud clearance, but mud clearance isn't needed to the sides as long as the tubes are designed to aid dropping the clumps. So I chose the SKS Edge AL 46(mm outside width). They fit what I need. Gotta make use of the postie! This is how the bike started out. With the mudflap that protected my rear on dodgy days and light crap in the spring and summer, and also all last winter. But it's not good for the front, or the guy behind. Plus I want to ride off road more this winter (if I can find anywhere that's not just a bog) When fitting the front I completely forgot about turning the fork so I could fit my allen key in... I was doing 1/4th turns for AGES! Had to bend the sides in slightly for it to fit, but that's expected with these things. It fits really snug and clear gap all the way around. I had to fiddle a lot with getting the right spacers in all the places, and bending in what needed to be bent but you can't even tell. I made sure to regrease every time I took them out though. REALLY don't want that shit seazing. I like how the bike looks with the guards on. The missing saddle bag helps the clean look, but I've been told by multiple people they didn't realise I even had them on. I did want something a bit more flash (silver) but hey, these are really solid. Told you there was a saddle bag There was a slight clearance issue at the back which caused rubbing after a small bit of mud got stuck. The guards recommend 1.5cm of clearance all around. I did not have that at all, but now I've got it, which is really good for running these offroad :3 Overall, these are REALLY good mudguards. I can recommend them so far. Easy to fit, come with plenty of bolts, and while I wouldn't call this a review I'd give them a solid score if it was. Time will tell how they hold up, but I've washed the bike by leaning it against a brick wall on the back wheel, and it's not scratched the paint, plus all the other leanings and scuffs the bike has come across in about 150 miles of wet road riding and a touch of off roading. Hopefully I've got some more stuff to post soon. I'm currently midway through a wheel hub repair (low on pics, because it's so muddy) and I'm not sure what to do next really... I enjoy writing these though. I just need ideas :3 Get It Running: Bikes Can Always Be Repaired Unknown — Sun, 28 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 I didn't take enough before and after photos of this project, but here's the finished project: A working bike, from something that was almost working but damaged. The bike in question is the bike of a friends mum, who hasn't ridden it in many many years. I'm sure we can all think of someone who has a bike like this. This particular bike had a few issues. The brakes weren't great, the tyres had leaked to flat (pretty ordinary for the years of non-use), a loose headset, and a loose back wheel. The first few issues were easy to fix. A pump and an allen key fixed them while I inspected the bike at their house. The other issues were harder. The loose headset didn't take long to fix, but it wasn't too bad and once tightened felt smooth. No new bearings needed. The rear wheel however, well that was a mess. I'd already attempted to tighten up loose rear wheels on both my MTB and my road bike</a> from when I'd not quite got them right before. Tightening cup and cone wheels is very hard. When you do up the locknut it often takes the whole axle with it, which makes the cone effectively unscrew. Doing it in an axle vice means it's difficult to figure out if you've got the cone correctly set! It's tough, but with fiddling I managed to get it on the MTB, no worse on the road bike (I then fixed it this weekend and it's perfect), and on my friends bike it was a struggle... First off, the locknut on the drive side was loose, which is a normal reason for these to come loose. This bike was a simple, mid range bike. It had a 6 speed freewheel. I tried finding a freewheel tool to remove the cogs, but couldn't seem to find one that fit. Why? Well, I got my old cheapo toolkit, with all the old cheapo bike tools in it (like locknut tools, and pin wrenches, stuff modern bikes don't have, but lower end bikes do). The tool in this was sure to be for a freewheel. It had the correct splines, and was almost the right size, but was slightly too big. Why? No idea, still no idea, but I hammered it in and removed the cog, then hammered out the jammed tool (you don't need a tool to tighten a freewheel). Once this was off, tightening the rear wheel was simple, but the afforementioned difficulties reared their ugly heads. I got it good enough. My friend isn't a rider who will be jumping or destroying the bike. The wheel is safe, it'll likely wreck the bearings but looking inside when I was repairing it there's a lot of grit in there. I just didn't have the time, nor energy, nor feel the point in replacing the bearings. Get it running, getting it right could come later if she wished for it to be perfect. So, what damage did all this cause? Well, it too 2 hours, my driveway looked like this: And I learned that I have no idea how to do a "quick job". I love working on these sorts of bikes though, they're amazing. They work well, they're reliable, they're simple to work on, and I understand the principles of them because I can see all the moving parts (even if sometimes I find it hard to adjust them). Consider getting your old bike out, give it an M-Check</a>, give it a quick clean with a bucket of water, dish soap, and a brush (use an old toothbrush for the gears), and see what's wrong. It's possible it's something you can fix, or that it might be reasonably cheap to get the bike running again by taking it to a local bike repair shop. Bikes were built to be ridden, and they can ALWAYS be repaired. Some repairs are just more invasive than others (like replacing a whole frame, kinda feels like replacing the whole bike but the frame is 1 part of the bike, the same as the wheels or tyres or pedals). Anyway, enough rambling. Bikes good, I like repairing them, and we should do cool shit with them. Wheels! BMX! Bearings! Unknown — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 17:00:00 +0000 I'm sorry if you don't listen to the audio on these, there's kinda no pictures of this shit... Your browser does not support the audio element. </audio> </div> </div> Cheers! <3 New Touchpoints on the MTB Unknown — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 17:00:00 +0000 This is how my bike looked before. I went into the orange colour as my old tyres were yellow, and that made the whole bike look a yellowy orange colour. However it was only the tyres keeping it together, and with the grips being definitely worn, and the pedal pins in need of replacement I decided it was high time for some nice shit on my MTB. This is also while I was looking for BMX wheels and to get back on that steed, so realising how much I'd put into upgrades for that thing and barely ridden it, I knew I really really had to show my MTB grind bike some love. Grips: DMR Deathgrips Miami, a stunning blue and pink marble colour. I got them in thicc, because I've had some thumb ball bone hurty issues recently and knew bigger would help that. The old ones were thin, and unflanged. Not sure how I feel about the flange with the gears, but it's not big so I like it. Definitely love it on my BMX where no gears, one brake, and it's large. Pedals are DMR v11 in sky blue. The old pedals were off ebay and fairly cheap. They're good, but they're not reliable, had a lot of wobble, and I can't find pins for them. When I bought them I said "I'll buy new, proper pedals if I end up being a full time flats rider" (as this was when I was still deciding if flats or clips were best, and as I rode more pump track and freestyle shit I realised definitely clips can get fucked. Still ride them for CX and road though, but if I had to lose them for any reason I'd not be sorry). The new pedals are a bit bigger, but not too much. The whole thing looks bloody lovely, and felt amazing. A few days later some new bars came for it too. I'd been looking for some slight riser bars for a bit, and some 35mm risers came up at a good price and I snagged them :3 They make the bike look so much better, and I think they make me ride slightly better too! I could probably go higher though, maybe I will at some point (although I've been saying I'd get some riser bars for like 6 months now...) So yeah, gave the MTB some love like I said I would. Today I learned fast plants on it, and I'm getting slightly slowly more confident with doing no footers (very tiny ones) and did a few one handers on jumps I've found too sketchy or not big enough to take the hand off before, so that's going really well. Watching Crankworx and the European BMX champs definitely helped (especially making me just want to learn fast plants) So yeah, super sick. Cya next time. Keep shreddin! Finally Fixing my BMX Unknown — Sun, 31 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 Your browser does not support the audio element. </audio> </div> </div> The Kids Bike From The Bin Unknown — Sat, 23 Jul 2022 20:15:00 +0000 Your browser does not support the audio element. </audio> </div> </div> Project Postie Part 5: The Finale Finally! Unknown — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Your browser does not support the audio element. </audio> </div> </div> It's finally, finally, done... Long Overdue Upgrades/Repairs to my Crosser Unknown — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 12:00:00 +0000 This post is gonna be a mess. The stuff I did happened 2 weeks ago now, and this was meant to be a speaky one but shit gone down so I'm sat on my Grandparents sofa, writing this up, while watching stuff about some old lady who wrote Bohemian Rhapsody :P Anyway, my wheel broke, and I knew it was dying, but I did nothing about it for fear of making it worse right before a big ride, and then it completely locked up on me, probably just to spite me. Whip the locknut off, and pull out the cassette Took out the bearings, and one side was horrible. Of course it was the drive side! The races were perfect still, so that was good. But the quality of the freehub was awful, so I tried to remove it but... Apparently 12mm is required, and I don't have one of those. I always thought it was 10mm anyway. In between these pictures, some forgot to be taken, and many were lost to some corruption for no reason. I forgot to take pitcures of all the headset stuff, but that went uhh... As smoothly as it could I guess? But the bearings first. Cleaned them all up, threw away the bearings because they were quire trashed, and replaced them with fresh balls and fresh grease. It's great running now. A tiny wobble I need to sort out, and at some point I need to replace/get the freehub serviced. I don't think I'll be doing that myself though as it's very difficult, involved, and requires many tools I'll never use again. As for the headset, removing the crown race was a fight. Eventually, getting it slightly up with a weird business card multitool my Dad had, then jamming various degrees of spanners into it with a hammer, and prying upwards worked after a good 20 mins of trying. The reinstall was very easy. Pop out the cups with 2-3 hits (really don't see the need for a cup remover if you've got a long hex like thing, or a screwdriver). Putting the cups in went perfectly with a bit of wood and a few whacks gently. The new crown race was split, as the new headset is cartridge style (amazing). I made sure it was set by overtightening the whole system to squish it down. There's a small gap, but there always was before anyway. It just got covered by the plastic bearing cover that was needed before. The silver headset looks really nice against the silver details on the front of the bike, and (as seen later) I put a silver bar plug in, which I think is the small details I needed. Had a few accidents that day. One (the plaster on thumb) at work, and the rest were from the chainring as I tried internal routing. The internal routing tool is stuck in my frame because it fell off... I'll try to remember to remove it when I next whip the BB out and can get it. Eventually it did go through. The bike looks no different, but the new gear cable feels amazing and somehow hasn't stretched yet which is good. When I first put the bar tape on one side, and had the old on the other you could really see the difference between brand new and over a year old, but then once I'd changed both you can't see anything, and I've ridden 100ish miles on it now so it's probably just as dirty. All in, I'm glad I changed the cables, and the headset is so so so nice. Maybe I'll actually change cables on some of my other bikes. Ive got some new brakes coming for my commuter, because holy shit the cheap ones were bad and I regret getting them. On a commuter they're powerful enough, but a year of abuse and the bolt holding the cable has stripped when I went to replace the pads :/ I've got some Tektro Novelas coming. Not incredible, but they'll be reliable. I did consider trying to get the SRAM Juicy 3s the bike used to have serviced and set up, but I think I'll try to sell those, and get a set of mineral oil ones for my MTB at some point in the future. As a bonus, the bike will look nicer due to slimmer brake levers. Anyway, thanks for reading, thanks for allowing me to ramble on the Internet, and uhh... Yeah. Have a great time. Wash ya bike. Overoil the chain, and have a great ride <3 Making Bikes Look Good on the Cheap, and Breaking Shit Unknown — Sun, 15 May 2022 18:00:00 +0000 Your browser does not support the audio element. </audio> </div> </div> Please turn right, into this anti-bike gate! (and some puncture stuff) Unknown — Sun, 01 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 I went on a ride after work on Friday, I took my MTB down to the track! It was going well, some lads were there (a bit dumb and young and annoying, but well meaning enough at least). It was great fun, they were riding well and asking me to help them jump further and giving me the motivation to try new tricks (like no footers, which are easier than one footers I think. Still crap at them) Just as I was about to leave, my rear tyre started going down... Well, I had some mucoff slime in there, so I rode about a bit and hoped it'd seal... It didn't. So I took my tools out, and set about removing the wheel. Except... Fuck. No 5mm, and I installed allen key skewers instead of QR ones (for anti branch death protection, and steeze factor). Ah well, I have patches in my pack as well as a tube, so I put one on. It fixed it, but I thought it was still going down, so I tried pumping and pumping aaaand... My pump broke... Fuck fuck fuck. So I had to walk home. That really sucked. A 15 minute easy ride turned into a 45 minute walk/jog. Today I headed out again, having "mended" the holes. I'd found 2 thorns and removed them, and thought I was in the clear... Well, after my floor pump also died... That fuckin sucked. Need to buy a new one of those, because my "new" pump doesn't work on the presta end for some reason. No. Half way to the track I had to admit it was definitely going down. I carefully inspected everything and there was a 3rd fucking thorn in my tyre! I've got no idea if the 2nd and 3rd thorn were from walking home, or if I went through 3 thorns, or if they'd got in there at a previous point but never punctured the tyre and walking home with a flat tyre made them go through... That fucking sucked, but I was able to change it. It wasn't such a bad place to stop anyway: On my way into the park on Friday I took note of this sign: Today I took a picture of it. It's only recently that I've come down this way, and only because of the canal path really because there's also a road route into the park (for cars, who pay exorbitant amounts to park and then people get bikes out and cycle around... Madness) This sign annoys me, because the canals were built for horses but slowly the horse and bike allowed status of them is being removed by the canals trust. Now, those people do good work making these things safe, but it is very annoying that this local park to me loves to remove cycling side paths as much as possible, because "cyclists too fast" but then force those same fast cyclists onto the same paths as walkers and random ass dogs who like to cut you off. I cycle slowly through the park anyway (most of the time) but even then people just won't move out of the way when you ding a bell, or dogs will cut straight across. It's a pain in the arse. This sign saying "Please Turn Right, No through route for cyclists" is a shining example of how in the UK cyclists are only remembered so our ability to get around can be cut. Anyway, we'll end on a nice part. This ride was really good in the end, and I'm glad I went on it. Despite the punctures, despite the crappy signage and bike routes sucking, and despite annoying kids it was an enjoyable ride. I was tired before I went out, and I'm less tired now. Definitely need to finish the postie though, because that's the correct bike to take out for an easy Sunday rest ride. Project Postie Part 4: Frame Updates Unknown — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 18:30:00 +0000 Your browser does not support the audio element. </audio> </div> </div> The frame is back, and I've started sanding it down! LINK Alfano Frameworks</a> The framebuilder who brazed on the brake bosses for me <3 Creating a Group at Birstall Bike Track Unknown — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 18:30:00 +0000 What isn't a ramble around here, eh? Anyway, I wanted to create some more activity at the bike track I go to, so decided to try to get people to meet at the same time each week. I put up some posters: While I was there I saw a rider I've seen a few times, and confused him with what it was, but I think he got the idea? Maybe? Who knows... I'm sure he'll figure it out with the signs. Anyway, that QR code (and a direct link, because nobody uses QR codes but they basically just denote links these days) goes to this site</a>. The plan, hopefully, is to create something where people turn up regularly and ride on a Friday after school and work, and we just kinda vibe I guess? It might die, I might not be able to run it due to not having the awful Facebook, but like... I can try, right? And at the very least I can be there every Friday. So I'm gonna try it. We'll see in a few days if anyone was intrested, or even if the signs are still there. I'm hopeful, and the ride out crew are going again on Sunday so I'm hoping to meet them there and invite anyone who cares along. We'll see how it all goes. This all feels quite pointless across the Internet really... If anyone can get to Birstall bike track (it's on Google Maps and such, or message me and I can send details) then hit me up, I'd love to ride with you. Food: ADHD Flapjack Recipie for Bike Energies Unknown — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 18:30:00 +0000 Ingredients: Porridge Oats/Jumbo Oats (200g/250g if no fruit) Brown sugar (but any kinda works, just use less if it's white) (50-100g depends on taste) Butter (no idea if salted or unsalted, I use either) (125g) Golden syrup (2tbsp? IDK, I use the measurement of "some") Fruit additives, or chocolate, or basically anything you like. Nothing too wet. Hi there! I make flapjacks as bike food, but also packed lunch snacks for work. I found a few recipies on tinterweb and did some shit to them to make them easy to make! So here goes some instructions for dumbass flapjacks that taste pretty good. Chuck the oats, sugar, and mixings into a bowl. If it's chocolate you might want to melt it in with the butter later, unless you want chunks, but it still will probably melt in a bit. Amounts are honestly incredibly random. Every batch is different and the point of this is kinda guessing until you figure what you want out. Mix that all together After that get your butter and melt it in the microwave (or saucepan, if you don't have a microwave). Doesn't need to be perfectly melted, just enough to mix in with the dry shit. Then add the golden syrup to an amount of "some". I forgot to take a picture of this, but it's honestly guesswork, especially since I use a squeezy bottle of the stuff so I can't even measure it if I try. I prefer the sqeezey because you don't lose half of it stuck to a spoon every time. Make them a few times and you'll figure it out. More is better here though. This foodstuff definitely isn't healthy, but it is tasty and for energy bar alternatives it's great. If you don't use enough don't worry, it'll just be a granola. When mixing the golden syrup you might need to microwave the whole bowl to make it easier to work in. Depends on ambient temps. Put some baking paper into a tin, I use a disposable BBQ one because it's the right kinda size. This is meant to be for a 20cm x 20cm tin though, so whatever's closest to that. Then pour your mix in, and push it all around until it's smooth. This is where you can usually feel if it's too dry (this mix was just a bit dry, but works and holds together fine). If you want to add more of anything you can always throw it back in the bowl at this stage. Next throw it in the oven. This is where we get into very inexact science. I put mine in at 180*C (fan oven) for 20 minutes, NOT preheating the oven. That's the basically perfect time for me. What you want is to see the mix just about bubbling. This means the sugar has melted a bit and gone into places to harden up after it cools. Then once done, leave to cool and then cut into squares or circles or pentagrams and enjoy. I've got this down to 10 minutes prep time, and then just watch shit on the Internet while it's in the oven. It works well doing it once a week (usually) and I can get a weeks worth of packed lunches out of 1 batch, plus some snacks, plus some for the weekend rides :3 Hopefully this was vaguely useful and made sense, IDK. 🥺 Brackets Unknown — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 16:55:47 +0000 I've never been quite sure how well the previous two owners of my Scott CX bike looked after it, but I'm 99% sure this one was my fault. From a recent post</a> someone might have read and remember me talking about my crank coming loose? Well, that seems to have been a long term issue, as the bottom bracket was creaking and still loose as we headed out on Tuesday night for the first evening ride of the year. I got back, tried to sort it, and found the non-drive side bearing was absolutely shagged... It's pretty much frozen solid, and the drive side feels like someone packed it with sand instead of grease. It'd also worn a groove into my NDS crank, which I was worried would be an issue with the new BB (if I was missing a spacer) Annoyingly I stripped out my hex key 5mm while doing this. It served me well. Now I'll need to buy another set (I have one in my basket but descision paralysis, and expensive, and also deciding whether to buy knockoff crankbros cleats as I'm not getting on so well with Shimano right now) So I ordered a new BB on Tuesday, and hoped it'd be here on Friday, and that the weather Friday night would hold off long enough for an install ready for Saturday morning. All of that happened, somehow! I got a new Ultegra BBR60, which is slightly smaller around the outside than the old Hollowtech 2 thing (but Hollowtech 2 cranks are still used, and fit and that's now what the bearing size standard is called, god damn it why did they have to make it so complicated for barely any bloody gains, it's probably saved like 8 grams). Luckily my tool did have both sides on it, so it's fine! I cleaned out the threads, added a bit of grease (I didn't trust the amount of grease on the threads of this BB, it's not a lot so I replaced it, but what was inside for the spindle was quite a lot and some had to be wiped off after pushing the crank through). Then I installed it clean, torqued it down to "quite hard" and put the crank in. I had to hit the drive side crank (the one with the spindle attached) quite hard with the rubber mallet to get it in. This is the same as on my MTB which I changed here</a>. I guess new BBs are just a tighter fit than really well worn ones? Anyway, after getting it in I cranked down the bolts with a torque wrench (partially to stop the cranks coming loose, and partially because I'd stripped the end of my 5mm which was easiest to fit and do those bolts up) You might be able to see the rain starting to come down in that picture. It just held off until I was almost done, and at least until I was past the point where it mattered (putting on grease in the rain is a right pain in the arse, and I was already in waterproofs from commuting home because it was supposed to piss it down and had been for the 30 mins before we left). The difference in looks isn't much, but it does look sleek in black with the frame and being slightly thinner than the old The main difference is that I can feel it's smoother while pedalling. It was immediately obvious when I rode it out on Saturday, so I hope I can keep this one in good working order for at least 10,000km or so. My commuter bike is still going strong and feeling smooth (even with the cranks out and my fingers in the greasy bearings) after probably more than that (honestly not sure when that thing was changed, it might be factory, the shift cable probably is). So here's to long bottom bracket life, and the ease of changing a threaded bottom bracket! I wish all the repairs I do to things were that easy, and obvious. Cheers for reading this junk. Cya next time. Wear and Tear Parts Unknown — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 16:45:00 +0000 I've had a few random mechanics things go off over the past weeks that I've not put on here, but before that if you're wondering what's going on, why this is a more bloggy post, and where project postie is, well uhh, I felt like it, and the guy who's welding my frame got ill and had to pospone giving me the bike back. So I decided it was finally time to change my brake pads on my MTB. Some may remember the last time I said that, where I decided they were fine (see here)</a>, well this time I felt them go bad, couldn't get them that good, and decided it was time to just replace them whatever they look like. I have done so, and am glad I did. This is what they looked like: There's still some life left in those, but certainly not much. The performance after isn't much better than before, but the feel of the brakes is better, and I'm sure these pads will last a while. Another pad related thing happened on a bike I repaired to sell for my Dad, the front brake pads were worn. First time working on road pads ever, was good. I'm only saying this because "Things come in twos" for me right now. When I was riding at the park on my MTB my pedal started wobbling. The bolt had come loose. This is an issue at the park, as my crank bolt takes a 4.5mm allen, and I only had 4 or 5 on my multitool. Luckily I'd already stripped the head and made it fit a 5 while trying to use a torque wrench (see here)</a>. I tightened it back up with some natural threadlock (grit) and it's held fine. I should replace the bolt as it was quite stripped on the threads when I got it, but I have executive dysfuntion so... yeah (I did the bar tape on that, and I'm very proud because I did the figure 8 perfectly on my 50th attempt! I now don't like sticky backed tape because it's harder to do that on, and impossible to take off) After changing the road pads on this bike I flipped the stem on my gravel/cross/road bike, because I felt I'd like a more upright position as I head towards trying to ride it offroad more. I forgot to take a picture of this. If a mirracle happens I might update this post at some point with a picture. Once I'd fiddled with that I rode the bike up and down the lane to see if the bars were back in the right place for me, and if it was worth doing. I think it was, but we'll see on longer rides. I did notice a slightly worrying wobble from the cranks though... The same one I'd felt on the weekend with my MTB... Ah, crank is loose... Shit. This time it wasn't stripped, but does take a weird star bit that you need to get specifically (which sucks if it ever did come loose on a ride! Nobody is going to be carrying a Shimano crank pre-load tool in their spares kit on a Cafe stop...) Anyway, with all those things fixed, I stopped for the evening, after checking a few chains for wear of course (I said this would be a ramble) We're time travelling back in time to the week before the events of this (and these events have jumped massively, hope this makes any sense at all really) While cleaning the Trek I measured the chain, and decided for shits and giggs to just check the other chains. Oh fuck, my road chain was past 0.75... Oh fuck, past 1.0... That's bad. It's 11 speed, so in theory I shouldn't go past 0.5, and 1.0 is a death sentence for the whole drivetrain, right? (nah, it's fine, I got there in time) I did immediately take the chain off and order a new one (which always annoys me for going 11 speed. 10 speed chains are so much cheaper). This led me to worry more about chains, after this</a> (wear and tear is a thing I love, but also hate, but that's a whole nother post). A few posts on Fedi later and I now understand the sudden jump. The pins are hardened, and once the harden (0.1mm thick, or less) is gone, you're into soft steel and boom it's work way fast. My new strategy for chains though is to wipe with a rag after every ride (or every week, on my commuter, as that does 30 miles a week). I have no idea if this will do very much, but it did make the chain way easier to clean on both my MTB and commuter at the weekend, so I'm going to keep doing it for sure. I think it will help life though as I checked my collegues bike, who had washed at the same time I did and rides roughly the same roads at the same time and the same distance, and the lube that I got on my finger from a quick rub was just as black and horrible, but far far less gritty on my bike than on his. So uhh, yeah. Long post, lots of ramble, if you got this far holy shit I'm so so sorry, but uhh... Cya out on bikes! It's getting warmer, so let's get out there :3 New Parts Haul Unknown — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 18:55:00 +0000 Your browser does not support the audio element. </audio> </div> </div> This one is mostly a ramble, but there's some mechanics in there somewhere Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Fig. 8 Fig. 9 Fig. 10 Fig. 11 Fig. 12 Fig. 13 Fig. 14 Fig. 15 Fig. 16 Hundo rides suck and mean nothing Unknown — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 15:51:00 +0000 Okay, so I admit this title feels very much like a huge hot take, as I write this just after I've got back and my legs ache, and it kind of is, but at the same time ask me in a week and I'll still agree, and maybe in a few months I'll pine for another hundo but not once I've got half way round. My average ride is 2 hours, my average distance (road) is 30 miles (50km). Why did I want to do a hundo then? Well, it's customary to do the years of your age in miles (or KM if you can't be arsed to do miles, and are over 55) for your birthday. I'm 22 (soon, as of writing) though, so that's not really a big ride... Today we did 21.3 to the cafe stop while I did the first part with the group ride. 100kms just take time though. Time, and planning, and eating properly, which makes them harder for me than for most people really. I decided to do this one in two parts. First the normal Saturday ride, which would take me to about 35 miles (out of the 62.137 required), and the other 50km would be on my own. I filled two bottles, added some special electrolite tablet to one of them, and headed out for the first bit, which included a cafe stop, as previously mentioned. CW for the next paragraph as I talk about the cafe stop, and food.

Craven's Bike Site

CiCLE Classic 2026 Womens

The Stuff</h2>

A Freehub, and Parts Availability Moaning

Oh The Punctures I've Had

A Sunday in Hell, in Danish, Because of a Book

Failing the Audax 2026

100km in Under 4 Hours

TrackMania Linux Setup Tricks

Anything else</h1> If you know of any other tricks or tips then let me know so I can add them to here at some point</p>

Week 25: Thrussington

And I Would Ride 161km, and I would ride 40km more!

Week 24: Barsby

Scoot Scoot!

Week 23: Beeby

Week 22: Hungarton

The Week It All Broke

Week 21: Swithland

Week 20: Six Hills

Week 19: Tilton

Week 18: Swithland

Chapeau ITV

Week 17: Downhill Freewheel

Week 16: Melton

Week 15: Billesdon

Gravel/MTB Route 1

Week 14: Baggrave

Week 13: Borough

A Group:</h4> 55.8km / 34.7mi / 420m Elevation</small></p> Rearsby, Gaddesby, Twyford, Borough Hill all the way to the Fort (regroup at the carpark) Somerby, Cold Overton, Langham, Ashwell, Whissendine, Little Dalby, Great Dalby, Ashby Folville. Barsby, Queniborough.</p>

Week 12: Beacon

Week 11: Asfordby

Week 10: Tilton

D Group:</h4> Mystery Guided Ride week (13 Miles)</p>

Week 9: Keyham

D Group:</h4> Mystery Guided Ride week (11 Miles)</p>

Week 8: Tilton

D Group:</h4> Guided Ride week (11 Miles)</p>

Week 7: Bash

D Group:</h4> Guided Ride week</p>

Week 6: Beeby

D Group:</h4> 16km / 10mi / 100m Elevation</small></p> Starting out heading up the Ridgemere to South Croxton, turning up and over Strawberry Hill to Beeby, then back to Barkby and Queniborough.</p>

CiCLE Classic 2025 (Both Races)

Anything else</h1>
If you know of any other tricks or tips then let me know so I can add them to here at some point</p>

D Group:</h4>
Mystery Guided Ride week (13 Miles)</p>

D Group:</h4>
Mystery Guided Ride week (11 Miles)</p>

D Group:</h4>
Guided Ride week (11 Miles)</p>

D Group:</h4>
Guided Ride week</p>

D Group:</h4>
16km / 10mi / 100m Elevation</small></p>
Starting out heading up the Ridgemere to South Croxton, turning up and over Strawberry Hill to Beeby, then back to Barkby and Queniborough.</p>
D Route GPX Download</a>
D Route Komoot</a></p>