matthew said:
What a difference a month makes.
That was one of the slickest FNRttC yet. 5 punctures, (2 at HPC, 2 in sight of the finish and one somewhere in between), dry weather and a tail wind meant that was the fastest Whitstable ride yet. The front of the ride finished before the chefs had arrived at the cafe!! (7:15).
Thanks Simon and all your helpers.
+1. A very pleasant night out, after a somewhat alarming start for me. Having had problems with the Jetstream's shock losing pressure quickly (100+ psi down in a few days when left or in a few hours riding), I've taken to bringing my shock pump along for FNRs and other long outings. On the train in the vicinity of Godalming (if memory serves) I'm giving the shock a top up (according to the gauge it had already lost 30+ psi) when there was a bit of a bang and the connector- which has looked a bit ropey recently, admittedly- broke off from the remainder of the pump. I thought the shock was pumped up full, and hoped (a) it would hold for at least a while and (
someone else might just have one. As it turned out, and I only realised this afterwards, the (more than acceptable) ride quality wasn't down to the shock being nice for once and staying inflated, or for losing pressure gradually- it didn't sag at all during the night. The reason was simple- no air in it at all. Which is good to know. Yes, it doesn't handle big bumps quite as well, but there's no loss of power (as I've found when the shock isn't kept well-inflated), no sagging ever...and as there's no replacement option for the shock should it ever be unrepairable, the bike would still be more than useable, just as good as it is now in fact. Hurrah!
Getting a puncture visitation on HPC must be a new record. And there was that further delay in the City. Apart from that, it was, all run, seemingly smoother than Silky the silkworm's favourite silk pajamas. We were flying- my (total, not rolling) average for the night was 10.4 mph (!!). Perfect weather for it, the chain drop fairy didn't visit me at all (perhaps the shock thing had a bearing there), seemingly no incidents for anyone else either (even better). That last run into Whitstable was almost as much fun as last time (I can't have been much slower, lack of Viner notwithstanding- barely dropped below 15 mph, most of the time nearer 20). Yet again, top work from Andy's & The Waterfront, and of course our own esteemed cast & crew, hopefully all those unfortunate absentees will be back ASAP.
And three weeks to go until Yorkshire, yippee! And Bognor the following week. Hopefully, n+1 (AKA backup Paris bike) will be up and running for the northern expedition. As I said to a couple of people this morning, don't want to give details just yet, tempting fate after all the recent problems with the existing fleet (I will have at least one day with NO BIKES this week, aargh!). But looking good, at least to my layman's eye.
Train station has one way system with entrance and exit, and I was being a bit dopey. Cycled right past entrance and was busy trying to make snap decision on whether i could make it via sharp turn back on myself or to turn into the exit. Chose option 2 and turned straight into an exiting taxi. He wasn't happy but at least checked I was ok before he swore at me
Came down hard on my left side, arm and hip sore, front wheel rather buckled, rest of bike seems ok, I'll know better tomorrow.....pratt springs to mind right now!
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