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Glentress.

Despite the remains of the snow, chris and myself managed to get a ride in down at glentress on monday. With the crispy snow adding resistance the climbing was hard work. Balancing the required torque and the traction meant smooth riding was key. The downhills were ridiculous. At times dips had filled with snow, leaving you hub deep before you could say "oooof!". There's been the addition of some swoop to the lower sections of the red route - nice.



After 2 hours the build up of filth was a sharp reminder of what winter mtb is in scotland...messygoodfun. Yo!



The glentress huts are almost ready by the looks of things. Perhaps another jockstock is brewing?

Hotness.

Up near 11.

Entry.

entered so far:
Ae Avalanche Enduro.
Bristol Bike Fest.
Kielder Montane 100.

On the probably list:
Brighton Big Dog.

On the maybe list:
10 Under the Ben.
24 hours of Finale.
Skye Sportive.

Module.

You can read a little more about it here.

Metal work.

Been busy doing some more metalwork. That is an 11-34 shimano xt block. I have limited metal working tools, so i didnt do the cleanest job. It ain't bad though.

Initially i clamped the block lightly in my small vice, on the plate for my pillar drill. I'm not sure if it is just the quality of the tool, but it seemed to be very sensitive to where the end mill hit the alloy carrier as to how easily and cleanly it took off material. It slipped a couple of times, as can be seen from the scarring on the alloy carrier, until i hit upon the idea (d'oh!) of wrapping a section of chain around the teeth of the ring to allow me to hold the block more solidly. I then proceeded more easily.

Once i got close to level, i transferred the block to a bigger vice (thanks dad!) and used a dremel with a grinding head to take the carrier down to a constant level as best i could. I used the bevelled sections of the teeth that engage on the freehub as my guide. Its not perfectly flat, like you might get if you used a lathe, but it is pretty neat, and with a 2mm washer behind, and after some work with the file to reduce the height of the chain catching sections on the back of the 34 tooth cog, i have a pretty good 6 speed block.

Next time, i would need to pay more attention to how the end mill hits the alloy. I think it needs to touch it close to the edge, rather than centre onto it. Need to do some reading!



Fun. If you likethat sort of thing....

Wide-o.

My boys are in Strathpeffer. I'm building wheels...

Imelda May.

Going to go and check out the rockabilly songstress on 29th jan in glasgow....recommned checking her out. This is footage of her playing with acclaimed guitar tweaker Jeff Beck. Enjoy.

They see me rollin'

So, the snow melting followed by a further freeze meant riding today was not going to happen.

I hit the rollers again. 1st power test, after a warm up and a stretch was a 12 second max power output - my power meter goes up to 999 watt and my output was somewhere over that. After a recovery spin, i did my first 6 minute test. The idea here is to get some idea of velocity (which is estimated in this case from power) at V02 max. In other words, it is the max power output/velocity you can maintain without going anaerobic. Improvements in this = going faster for longer. The idea is to get this level higher as a percentage of the absolute V02 so that you become more 'economic' with your oxygen.

Waste not, want not. Much, anyways!

So for 6 minutes i punted out 365 watts. I think i could put out a little more, maybe close to 390 or maybe even 400 watts (see later). Which would be pretty good, really. Clearly, the thing that really matters here is the variance over time, not the actual numbers...which is good, because the power meter i am using is not super high tech. Having said that, in comparisons with SRM meters it was pretty good, so im happy to use it.

Later, i went back and did some 440 watt 3 minute intervals, with 4 minutes of active rolling in between. 5 times. The 4th hurt pretty bad, but otherwise it was ok ish....hence why i think i could do a little more over 6 minutes.

So where next? i need to do some more power tests: 3, 12 and 30 mins. Then a graded heart rate test. This will allow me to graph my *current* power outputs, and indicate my lactate threshold respectively (the point at which your heart rate jumps up out of sequence with increasing work).

From there i need to do exactly what i *didn't* do last year - climbing!

I did loads of miles, but in an effort to do different rides and not drive so much, and because its all relatively flat around glasgow, i never got the volume of steeper, off road climbs in that you need to do well at endurance races.

The future starts today.

950g

950g.

DT440, 20mm with supercomps, alloy nipples and flows. Yo. Bomber, wide and light where it counts. Disc side tension 98kgf. Variance is less than +/-4kgf. Thats pretty nice. The non-disc side is 81kgf +/-8kgf. Still within the necessary 10% for a good wheel build. Not sure why its more 'out'. Overall, pretty happy.

I'll build the rear tomorrow as we are still under snow and ice (its minus 8 degree c here) so riding is confined to the rollers.

Session 1: 15 min warm up, 30 minutes at 30kmh 180watts or so with a 30 sec interval every 10 minutes at >999watts up to 70kph (at which point a reverberation through the rollers made the floor boards hum). 'Distance' covered - 16.65km.

Session 2: 15 min warm up, then the same but ramped it up to 215 watts (i used a taller gear). 15 minute warm down. Distance (with 15 minute warm down) 22.2km.

Next i need to do some joe friel inspired 'tests'. A 6 minute max power trial, and max power achievable for varied time scales to get power zones, and a lactate threshold test. This is much easier to do with a geared road bike and rollers than a fixed gear on the road.

Who loves ya, baby?

Telly savalas. Say it loud. Its black and its proud.

Give 'er.

Singlespeed worlds, rotorua, NZ.

Get some.

End of days.

Getting some riding in. Feel like a storm has been raging for a while. Maybe it will clear soon. Its heartening to spend some time communing with nature. Even if it leaves a tattoo on your shoulder to remind you of a bone shaking impact on a new trail...

R.A.W

Been talking to sean. Seems we have some numbers worked out...thanks to cy and dave for additional advice.

104Bronson.

If you are not already reading 104 Bronson, you probably shouldnt. But just in case....

Tinker.

Been tinkering. That there is a DT Swiss 440 freeride hub. But it is a little odd, not that many were made (apparently). For my uses it is damn near perfect. It usually comes with a 9 speed free hub body and needs some dish. This one has equal flange spacing (so no dished wheel). Hand serviceable and will take 6 speeds. It came as a 150mm wide 12mm axle. With a little tinkering, i now have it set up 10mm 150 RWS thru skewer.

Not bad eh?

Have i said before how ace DT stuff is? its all pretty much interchangeable in terms of end caps for 10mm or 9mm thru axle or RWS, quick release skewers or up to 20mm for the front, with adaptors for 15mm, and 142/12mm a la the Syntace system. All beautifully made with exact tolerances, durable bearings and quality finish.

Project Avalanche.

So i had a chance to have a chat with Sean Chaney at Vertigo Cycles. Looks like i have a project to work on. I have no expectation to see this within 6 months but its going to be a good one.

Concept: 29er am hardtail. Influences first and foremost my Jones. Basically i want the same ride characteristics with a 120mm fork. Use is going to be alpine and down grade looning.

83mm bb, with single ring to 6 speed rear on a 150mm bolted axle. I've picked up a hub that makes the whole thing click and allows a dishless rear wheel. (pic is curiaks, hub is the same)



There is a lot of details to sort out, but i'm aiming at a 20mm reba with 120mm travel at present.

For those about to rock....

Roady: tales of misadventure.

So i bought a road bike. After much deliberation and some sideways looks at ebay, i decided it would be best to test ride and then make a decision. With the help of Dave-chops-optional at Alpine Bikes, i was fitted tirelessly on several bikes and given the opportunity to ride them to check for fit and comfort.

In the end i went for a cannondale caad 8 Tiagra, size 54, with triple chainring. Having not had a geared bike for 10 years, and never had a proper road bike, i was impressed that a low-of-the-mid end bike could be as light, function as well and have as many features as it did. I guess thats progress for you.

I then decided to get out for a ride to check this road riding thing out.

Glasgow on a frosty morn led to views as i climbed out to Mugdock and then onto Aberfoyle. First mistake: there is no road from here west...when i have done this previously i have gone off road albeit on flat dirt road. Oh well, over the Dukes Pass it is.

Good climbing. Getting used to the short wheelbase (relatively) and the stiff bb area. I cant see me ever going into the small chainring tho' not in the uk at least. We'll see. It can't weigh that much...

Then click up into top gears and tuck for the decent. Weight distribution good. As was noted when i was trying them out, the 54 cannondale seems to have plenty reach and excellent steering and weight distribution for my size, even though on paper it seemed small.

The road past Brig O'Turk is partially flooded and there is a new trail following the road into Glen Finglas...Hmmm.....

Thence to Calendar, a quick sausage roll and irn bru (its very cold now) and onwards. My plan was vague, i wanted to duck off south back to glasgow shortly, but had forgotten the road that does so led straight back to Aberfoyle. So, onwards to Doune and Stirling. Would i have enough light? maybe....it was a clear day after all.

With a tail wind, the road passed easily as i sped to Stirling. I.m not sure normal reach bars are my thing. I like the length of the stem to the tops, but the hoods seem maybe a cm too far....and i'm not sure i want to move the saddle forward. We'll see.

At Denny it went dark like someone turned the lights out. Again, i had not looked in detail at a route, so even though i wanted to return directly to Glasgow, infact i had to go via Kilsyth. The roads i had been on for the last hpour and a half had been unpleasantly busy. I guess the M80 road works were responsible for the back-road traffic, but i wanted off. The road to kilsyth approaching rush hour, in the dark, with no pavement and lots of winding up and down was horrific. Yes drivers screamed at me with their windows down to get lights, get off the road etc, but what were my choices? i had made a mistake and just needed to bash on, pull off when it got too busy and just try and stay safe.

A puncture in Kirkintilloch as the temperature was plunging meant my plan to take the canal back to Glasgow, and thus be off the roads, was deemed insensible. "trina! help!" i tried to warm up in the Stables pub as trina rushed to my rescue, but i had to hide under the duvet to get my core temp up.

So: what did i learn. Road riding is more than just riding. Planning routes is going to be important.

75 miles took me way longer than anticipated. 5 hours in point of fact. Either my legs are slow, or the gears don't necessarily mean average speed is huge.

Heavy traffic and bad roads are not fun.

I think i want compact short reach bars.

There we go, it isn't straight from Roleur, but its the only tale i have - so far.

Kiwi fruit.

Go register at sswc10nz for updates.

Cold storage.

So last night we came home and the cat was chasing a wee wire coil around. It shot into the bike room and under a set of shelves. Attached to which there are one or 2 bikes i'm quite partial to. I noticed that the shelving was leaning over at a pretty messy angle. Ooops.

Seems as though my old ikea shelves are overloaded and it is time to research some better storage options. Fortunately, it seems to be a pretty good time to buy old warehouse stock...