Daff Bashing in the Park! (by the non spring weather!)

Mice Log Day 101. 12.57 miles, 11.7 average speed, 18.4 max speed in 1hr 04 mins on the Brommie! 

The rain scheduled for midday seemed a bit too heavy so I left at 9am to avoid being drenched!   

Off to a meeting via Hyde Park where the daffs have spent too long in the company of estate agents!   It's now all about Location! Location! Location!  

Some of them seem as though the sun has been shining on them since they peered up through the ground, others are looking a bit exhausted and then there were this lot which have been given a right good hiding by the elements!

 

Roll on Spring, I say!

One thing leads to another...

Mice  Log Star Date 100.  12.5 miles, Average speed 7.9, 16.2 max speed in 1hr 33 on the Brommie.

Last Saturdays ride home through Hyde Park with a friend using his Cyo R light really lit up both my mind and the Park in comparison to the ridiculously little battery powered beam I was using.

I have been considering a dynamo hub and light for my road bike so that I can do away with the hassle of recharging lights and batteries - let alone carrying spare lights and batteries on rides at night.  Top of my list are the Busch and Muller Cyo R light 

using either a Son or a Shimano Dh380 dynamo hub Apparently the extra effort involved in having a hub is teency in comparison to carrying the extra back-up batteries and paraphernalia.

The downside of a hub of course means a new wheel.  And if you buy a new wheel for the front do you need one for the back to match?  Bikes with the same amount of spokes in each wheel tend to look better but I shall see!  I am looking at having a rear light as well which isn't that expensive (£20 apparently) and can be powered from the front hub by cable.

This afternoon found me in  Bike Fix in Lambs Conduit Street London WC1.  They are a pretty relaxed sort of place - with a wide range of bicycles - and I say relaxed not least because their specialist subject is recumbent bikes!  

Whilst I was there the guy noticed that my pivot pin was very loose!  My eyes came out on stalks! "Yes, it is - it needs tightening rather urgently" I concurred!  At which point he gathered up some tools, removed the crank and duly tightened the pivot pin.  What excellent service I thought.  I will go back and have it looked at again, apparently it may need replacing.

He told me the owner of the shop had been at a Recumbent Day at Hillingdon on Sunday and had come third!!  Respect!

Later on in the afternoon, I was carrying my Brompton through a department store when I heard something drop and found that three pieces had fallen from my bike!  Not good. I worked out that they were from the front wheel attaching the clip to the frame when folded. As they hadn't fallen from somewhere important I put them in my pocket and carried on with my day.

Once home I put the question as to which order and which way round should they be on Cyclechat - the friendliest and most helpful gang of cyclists I have ever come across.  Within a minute I received reply with the answer.  Excellent!! A few more messages later and I had returned the items to the Brompton and all was well. 

More proof that the cycling fraternity is a very friendly place!  This even includes the comment from a friend of mine who is not just a very strong cyclist but who also taught me the importance of keeping bicycles clean.  Needless to say he noticed that the Brommie needs a clean. And it does!

As a sort of Post Script, seeing as it is Day100 of 2013, I see that I have cycled 1600 miles this year! 1600 miles!! That's 1,600 miles of fun, fun, fun on two wheels. How lucky am I?!

To all the fab peeps or rather friends who have led, laughed, accompanied and encouraged me on rides all over the place - thank you. Big time!  And it's only 10th April!

Fuelled by Porridge not Petrol

Mice Log Star Date 99. A pootle around the West End including Hyde Park.  18.35 miles, 11.7mph average speed, 21.3 max in 1hr 23. On the Marin.

My how things change!  For a zillion years I have been a car owner and for the past 10 a Vespa as well.  It never entered my head that I could exist without petrol-fuelled engines.  London, Scotland, France - I have driven to all of them in the car keeping the Vespa for local London trips.   

 Over recent years, the cost of filling the car has gone from £30 to £70 and the scooter from £4 to £9. But there was no alternative (thought I!).  Then three years ago I was introduced to cycling by a friend.  

Last year my car sat outside, unused, for three months. That was a bit of a hint so I got rid of it. I cashed in the tax disc, the parking permit and the insurance policy.  I have no idea how much I have saved in petrol.  Meanwhile the scooter has sat outside unused since early December 2012.  The time has come to get rid of it. So for the first time in my adult life I shall be powered by porridge, not petrol.  And I can't wait! 

And if the last three years are anything to go by there should be a bit of this,

 this 

and lots of this!

I love riding my bike!

Ode to the Road on 8th April 2013

@30daysofbiking 10.69 miles to Little Venice. 

This was my day 8 # 30daysofbiking but for a fellow cyclist it was their last.  What a shocking loss of life.  There has to be an effective way of stopping this tragedy.

I am putting a poem I wrote here. 

Ode to the Road by Lucy Frith  

Lights at amber,  the driver's ready

The car is in gear, he holds it steady

On two wheels at the Advanced Stop Line 

Commuting cyclists bide their time

They hear the engine revving  at full throttle

Let's hope they  keep both their balance and their bottle

Balance and bad weather, wet roads and drizzly rain

These are constant hazards needing riders to ascertain.

Strong winds, deep puddles, wet paint and misty visors

Along with the possibility of pedestrians surprises

Whether with or without engines, two wheeled machines alike

Should prompt a conscious and frequent thought "Please Think Bike".

Broken glass and sharp stones brings the puncture fairy

Losing air in tyres when on the move is very scary

Oooh! There's a pothole more like a cave

"Thanks for the space mate" as I give the car a wave

Swerving outwards the gap was quite sufficient

"Thank you driver for being so proficient"

Drivers of large vehicles, lorries and the like

Never seem to see the viewpoint of the road from a bike

High up in their cabins these drivers should know

What is all around them - but with blind spots that's not so

And no amount of mirrors, cameras or hindsight

Will show two-wheeled travellers tucked alongside tight.

They remain big, dangerous and far too close for comfort

The three feet rule should be extended not extinguished  - there's a thought

But  their turning curve is a learning curve to all of us near it

They have to pull out one way to turn and avoid the pavement

So on two wheels keep your distance, well back or far ahead

The devastating results of neither - well, enough said.

Pedestrians on pavements in their own distracted state

Eyeing shop windows, lists and reviewing what they ate

Immersed in talk and texts and tasks and things they think they need

Without a clue of those using the road all travelling at speed

Head down, eyes wide shut  they are so busy talking

Not a thought to the effect and danger of their impromptu walking.  

The road is enticing but not to be predicted 

Please share it well and stop bad things being inflicted

Whether on wheels or on foot  it is something that we share

Whatever mode you use, do look around you, be aware 

Enjoy each trip, look out for others with kindness and with care

Because it is full of loved ones absolutely everywhere.

(c) Lucy Frith April 2013