Saturday 16 April 2016

Niggles And Some Retail Therapy.

Another ride in the bag yesterday, so time to look back at that, but it wasn't the only ride I had this past week.

Things were a bit out of sorts for me at the start of the week, the culprits being anxiety and a bit of 'depression lite'. Not a full blown depressive episode, I wouldn't be writing about it so soon if it had been as I'd still be in bed or sat staring at some random telly channel for hours, but the first few days weren't much fun, a not unusual state of affairs to be honest, but still.

Trying to get my my head on an even keel I did get on Fatso on Tuesday and headed off down my beloved Tregassow Lane for some bimbling. Sometimes a good bimble does wondrous things for the general mood, sometimes it doesn't, and Tuesday it was the latter that prevailed. It wasn't a bad day weather wise at all, and the lanes are getting very spring like now in colour and warmth, but I just couldn't relax, nor find my riding rhythm. Everything seemed a bit niggly, although I was still enjoying being on Fatso, the bike wasn't the problem, it was my head that still wasn't playing ball. I did still get a couple of photos though, including a ride past selfie, which took some doing given I wasn't really in the mood for faffing about, so it wasn't a complete disaster. But on the whole, it wasn't a ride to look back on with satisfaction.

Fatsoing Tregassow Lane. General grumpiness and excess of glums not shown.

The banks along Tregassow Lane are thick with Primroses in places, and really light the lane up with colour.

Meanwhile, I had indulged in a little retail therapy to cheer me up, and from mid week onwards, a few things started to arrive in the post.

First up was a pair of full finger mountain biking gloves from Aldi. Along with their rival Lidl, Aldi do some half decent stuff in their bike related range, the workstands for £25 being a particular bargain. My yellow cycling jacket cost £20 from Aldi back in 2013, and it has done sterling service, with there being absolutely nothing wrong with it after some fairly robust use. All the zips work, none of the pockets have holes etc. I only got another jacket as I've lost weight and the Aldi number was getting a bit baggy on me. Their stuff may not be up to Rapha standards of quality and desirability, but for the money, it ain't bad at all. 
The only issue in the past has been their gear has only been available in store, and then mostly only on certain dates. So I was very pleased to learn they have started selling online, and even better, to begin with, goods are sent postage free. Reading some posts on a couple of forums about it, the MTB gloves seemed a good bet for a penny under £7, as I need something between the full on cosyness of the winter gloves, and my shorty fingered jobs for the cold mornings.
So a pair duly arrived by courier (one of their smaller packages to carry I imagine) and they aren't bad at all. I take a medium glove, and these are tight in the cuff, so getting my hand into them requires a little wriggling and pulling, but once on, they feel fine, although there is a seam at the ends of the fingers, but so far it hasn't bothered me in my only ride with them. They also do some with gel pads, but I'm wary of the pad being in the wrong place for me and causing discomfort so just opted for a plain pair. Build wise they seem pretty good for the money, but we'll see how they stand up to use. I've found I can operate my camera ok with them on which is always good, but wouldn't like to say about a touch screened phone, and I don't own such a device of the devil, so can't comment on that angle. On the whole though, they look a decent enough buy, and were certainly warm and comfortable on my ride yesterday.

Aldi MTB gloves. A good commuting glove too I'd say, they are quite warm to wear and wrap themselves around the hand nicely to fit... well, like a glove really.

Now in the photo above the gloves are seen resting on top of a box, that arrived almost at the same time. That box came from Merlin Cycles who are fast becoming another fave of mine for bike stuff online, and contained a rack for the Jamis. I've long harboured thoughts of adding a rack and panniers to the 29er, and finally decided to get the deed done. 

A chap I know on Flickr often does tease photos of new gear he's bought, just showing little corners or details of things before the big reveal a few days later. So I was going to do that with the rack and panniers, but didn't try very hard, as this shot is a bit of a give away as to what this is part of. I also haven't photographed the panniers yet anyway... doh...

Now here begins a minor rant. Rack manufacturers do themselves few favours with their vague product descriptions. Just look at the questions and answers to staff/customers on the web sites and see how many questions are asked relating to the rack in question's suitability for disc braked bikes. So many racks I looked at gave no clue in their blurb as to whether they would fit the wider mounts of a disced up bike, which is pretty dumb given how the brakes can be found on so many types of bike these days. But Tortec have seen sense, and trumpet the discability loudly and clearly of their Transalp rack. 

Now this is what we like - Clear details of what this rack is intended for and will fit. Other manufacturers, not just of racks mind you, but of anything, please note.
This rack seems well made, (5 year guarantee too) the finish looks hard wearing, and that separate pannier rail below the top rail is a great feature. Mudguard bodge not yet thought of...
Another maker's rack was advertised as being 29er disc specific, which is great, well done them, but was just a triangle down to the drop outs, and didn't have the extended rear sections to keep panniers out of the back wheel. Doh... Uh uh... 1/10.

For £19.95 it's not a bad deal at all, although it doesn't have a platform on top if that is important (it's not for me). Furthermore, fitting it was an absolute breeze, rather than the skinned knuckle swear fest of a gruesomely bitter bout with a rack I had in the past. I had hoped the floppy seat post mounted rear guard could be squeezed beneath the rack, but it wasn't to be. So, not to be outdone, I removed the guard from its mount, butchered it by boring some holes in it and mounted it beneath the rack using the bodgers favourite tool - cable ties. Not pretty, but with panniers in place it'll be largely hidden, and hopefully will keep some crud off my back. I'm debating whether to go for full touring mudguards though, but they can wait until later in the year I think. 

And now an info fail from me.

For some daft reason, I haven't taken a photo of the panniers, (yet),  but they turned up on Thursday afternoon, not bad given I ordered them on Tuesday morning. Oh, and they came from Germany. So hats off to Bikester from whom they came (they're a trader on Amazon), and also DHL. I've had stuff posted in Truro 4 miles away take longer than that to arrive.

The panniers were £55 a pair including shipping and seem decent enough. They're not as big or made from as tough vinyl as Ortliebs, but don't cost as much either to be fair. They have a roll top closure beneath the lid, and are apparently fully waterproof according to reviews. They are available in all black, or black back and ends with red front and lids, but having seen how the pair of Avenirs on the Carrera have faded I opted for all black. 
Buying these new bags was pure vanity really, the Avenirs would fit in seconds of course, but they just look rather disreputable now, while the rest of the bike is clean and tidy.
I've yet to try these bags out as I haven't ridden the bike, and I've also decided on another couple of changes for which I'm waiting on the parts, so photos will follow once all the mods are done.

I also did some shoppery on another online fave - Decathlon. Nothing too major, just a pair of black cargo type trousers (£13, not bad at all), another baseball type hat for on the bike (£4) and a pair of very cheap and cheerful sunglasses (also £4). 

So where are we up to now? Ah yes, coffee. Now I like a drop of coffee, and drink more than is good for me, especially given one of my ailments, but still.  Coffee is the elixir of life itself. Well coffee and ketchup, ketchup is right up there as well. 
Where was I? Oh yes, I also want to improve my stamina on the bike for longer rides (although I'm still going to be a bit limited by other factors but there we go) and a review in a mountain bike mag of some Truestart Performance Coffee caught my eye. 
The folk behind Truestart say that regular coffees contain varying amounts of caffeine, hence how sometimes a mug of your fave brew will see you buzzing sometimes, while on other occasions, another jar of the same coffee won't. Truestart say they maintain a consistent 95mg of caffeine per scoop, and the whole deal is aimed at sporty types wanting to make sure they are alert and up for going harder and longer from the off, which sounds good. So three sample sachets duly arrived (go on their Web site if you want to try them yourselves) and yesterday was my first go with some (yay! We're almost up to date!)

Hmmmm... Road testing some coffee? Yep, I'm up for that.

Feeling a bit more balanced by now, and with decent weather forecast, I had to get out on a bike. So yesterday morning I supped a steaming mug of this turbo coffee and headed out on the Voodoo (I'd just cleaned Fatso...again...). The sachets of coffee are quite small, and it's sort of hard to tell how much of a boost it gave me, but I was certainly awake and enjoying myself, so it may well have played a part. 

The Voodoo was clean on setting off as well, but I'm not so fussy about it as I am with Fatso...

Yesterday was certainly a nice morning to potter about in the lanes.

"Mornin'..."

"Awright mate? Coming through..."

And there he goes... I don't think I was the only one using performance enhancing chemicals yesterday, this snail was clearly on a mission and going straight as an arrow, though not quite as fast, up the road. 

Thursday night had seen rain a plenty, and indeed the skies still looked like they could dump on me at any time, but the sun was also in and out like a Fiddler's elbow, warming these old bones nicely when out, leaving them to feel the freshness of the cold northerly wind when it went behind a cloud. But the countryside is really a bit special in these conditions - the air is clear and with the ground wet, and the sun shining, the colours are saturated and the views distinct and contrasty. 





With no set plan for the ride in mind, I just got bimblesome on some of my regular routes, heading down to Boswiddle Ford to annoy the crows in the tree tops and to listen to the roar of the water dropping off the road and into the stream. Soon it'll fall silent as all the water passes beneath the road, but for now, there is still an invigorating roar to enjoy.

Leaving Boswiddle on the road to Ladock.


Boswiddle Ford. I don't think I've ever ridden straight through here without stopping for a good linger. It's a spot I enjoy poking about and just taking in the surroundings.

A quick blat along the Ladock main road, a bit of a slog up to the hamlet of Trendeal and once again up to Carland Cross, and then home via a bit of a hoon along the old A39 saw the ride knock up 12 miles and the niggles of earlier in the week all forgotten. 
Actually, I think that coffee really did give me a boost, as on that hoon I hit 34mph - not bad for a broken old giffer on a 26 inch wheeled mountain bike. I was pedaling like an Armstrong being chased by a dope tester mind you, but maybe I will invest in some more of this octane booster... Look out roadies, I'm coming for ya!

 Ladock Cricket Club clearly don't like dog bombs on their pitch, and quite right too.

Those cheapo sunglasses have quite large lenses and the frames wrap around the sides quite a lot too, so they keep out eye watering draughts and pesky insects as well. They are a bit like looking through a big ND filter though, and keep revealing detail in the sky for example which on taking them off, disappears, annoyingly enough! I also often found myself pulling them down a bit and peering over them to see just how sunny it was at that given time, they are that effective, yet seeing where I was going in the shadow of dense trees was no problem.

They do look darn sexy on me though... (ok, ok... I can dream can't I?)

Map of the bimblage and potterage. 

The bigger interactive jobbie (well you can enlarge it, and find out what elevations I gasped up) can be found Here





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