FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast April 15th Manchester to Blackpool 2011

[dellzeqq]

do you want me to go down there and give them a bit of a hard stare? I'll pass by this afternoon.

 

[Aperitif]

And, Miranda, to be serious, if anything more had been wrong with your gears you would have been noticing trouble long before the Asda stop. Of course get the whole kaboosh checked out, in the light, and be confident that the result is good... perhaps by getting the mechanics to run through stuff with you if there is the slightest bit of puzzlement in your mind. No point to walk away without fully understanding, as they are the experts, others just do it for fun!

Forget the pie plate too. Get the wheel trued. Check there is not a 'dented' link in the chain as that can cause the chain to be thrown off the cassette if teeth and suspect link coincide during a changeover - but not noticeable during 'normal' riding? Maybe nothing to do with the limit screws if it was a vigorous changedown and something else was involved. Who knows? gws.

 

[Mice]

do you want me to go down there and give them a bit of a hard stare? I'll pass by this afternoon.

I guess I should go back to them, I have slightly lost my nerve - as I am expecting to be told it was my fault (which you are all kindly making abundently clear it wasnt) - that's probably the pain in the arm affecting my psyche!

At least I now have a concise list of issues (as in things to be checked) which is great.

And in a minute I'll see another magic bespoke line from monsieur Aperiteef - or others of that ilk! so that'll cheer me up!

M

Edited to clarify my use of the word issues - to be a checklist as opposed to a complaints list!

 

[Aperitif]

So.
Back to Manchester - Blackpool. It was a story, as always promised, about how the moonlit night cedes to the dawn, with the sun inviting celebration, and culminating in the arrival.

 

[dellzeqq]

wowser! Them's some great shots 'Teef.

Miranda

I have spoken to Lincoln at Brixton Cycles. As you can imagine he was shocked. His first concern was for you, and he sends you his very best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Anything that the bike needs the bike will get without charge. I'm happy to take it in for you.

Lincoln said that they would have to inquire within BC to see what went wrong, and to make sure that it never, ever happens again. As far as he could recall this was a one off, but he said that one was one too many times.

(later edit) Did you have an off before this ride? Lincoln recalls that there was some damage to a chainring (the big thing with teeth at the front end). When he asked me about this I said that the derailleur looked in line to me, and I'm not sure how any deflection within it would allow the chain to overshift if the stop bolt wasn't in place...

Anyroadup - BC are not going to do a Halfrauds slopeyshoulder thing.

 

[frank9755]

Good response from Brixton Cycles

'Teef - great pictures; your first shot is a true Dutch Master

 

[Christopher]

get well soon Miranda! Ouch indeed.

 

[CharlieB]

MirandaMice - hope all goes well both with the fracture clinic and the bike.
GWS. C

p.s. For what it's worth, I still have a dork disc/pie plate!

 

[CharlieB]

Teef: Picture no 2 - I love the ogee curve in silhouette of the tree on the left, contrasted against the much larger mass of the rh one.

 

[Andrew Br]

Rather belatedly; that was really a fabulous night/day out.

Despite the pressure of being asked to lead the way, it was an enjoyable pootle up the A56 to Bury although I was nearly left-hooked on Deansgate at the 3rd traffic light. It was as close as I've ever come..............
My shout of "No" as he started indicating as he overtook me on the white line at the junction, thankfully, stopped him turning.
I was pointing holes but it seemed that some that I deemed not worthy of comment were being shouted out further back. I lowered the threshold after that and started pointing out more. Are the roads really that bad up here ?
Our peleton was noticed by Helen (GF) as we flashed through Whitefield. She was on a night out and was in a bar on the A56. At first we were cheered by the people outside the bar and then by everyone inside as well !
It was heart warming to get a similar reception going through Bury after we were reunited with our glorious leader Simon.
I was still charged with leading the way as we hit the hill out of Tottington although, understandably, many people rode past as I investigated the double whammy of a Rohloff in the hills; a) it's heavy b) the lower gears are less efficient.
I believe these are cyclist excuses 34 and 47 respectively. Excuse 1) is I'm not very good on hills and excuse 2) is I'm still not very good on hills.

When we hit the rollercoaster en-route to Blackburn I managed to swoop past quite a few people on the dips by virtue of a reasonable lighting system and knowing where I was going, although I then became a bit of a mobile chicane on the ascents.
The desent into Blackburn was as hairy as I remembered it plus it was very cold after waiting at the summit while Miranda's mechanical (as we then understood it to be) was dealt with.
The Asda was a lovely haven when we reached it. I'm pretty confident that I'll never say that again about an Asda.
It was then that the full story of what had happened to Miranda became apparent and she set off for Manchester in a taxi. It was a real shame. She steamed past me in great style on the pull out of Tottington.

The swoop down into Ribchester was as delightful as ever; smooth tarmac, (who'd have thought ?) and a downhill that went on for ages. It was matched or even exceeded by the welcome in the cafe in Ribchester.
The drag out of the Ribble valley towards Longridge seemed much less onerous than I'd been expecting and then, after the regroup, the ride just got better and better.Our glorious leader Simon came to the front, the hammer went down a little and we were off. I'll cherish the memories of swooping through the cold pockets of mist at 18-20mph as the sky lightened, for a very long time.
Even the dreaded (by me) hills into Blackpool slipped by without being noticed. I started thinking "Is that it ?" but it was, we were there.
After a brief excursion along the Prom (no brass band playing.....), Quilligans really delivered the goods by serving breakfast quickly and with very good humour.
After getting my bike released from (my words) "the lovely Bob Jackson and the Ti bike" John (Yahuda Moon), Brian (Brian) and I set off for Preston. I'd made my apologies about speed in advance and they were very patient although Brian's afterburners kicked in as we neared Preston and it became a bit more of a struggle for me. Apparently he'd digested his breakfast . Our moving average for this stage (including some walking up the streets and through the station) was 15.6mph. Being hard men, they pressed on for Manchester. Being a wuss, I bought a train ticket.
After a 10 minute wait, I got onto a train for Manchester and met up with Kim and a CCer from Sheffield. The journey passed without incident although I think Kim valued the feedback as I got off at Deansgate that she had to change in two stops.
I cycled back to Chorlton and went to Marble Beerhouse for an hour where I read the paper with a pint of Ginger Marble (OK two pints).
The final bit to home was slowed by the traffic chaos caused by the car parking at Chorlton's "Big Green Festival".

It was lovely to meet so many of you for the first time and to catch up with Brian and Jogler again and I was pleased to be able to make a small contribution to the ride.
Another memory that will stay with me for a long time is the good humour and the shear joy of the whole group with the enthusiasm of CL and Susie, particulalry, making me smile.

 

[Mice]

wowser! Them's some great shots 'Teef.

Miranda

I have spoken to Lincoln at Brixton Cycles. As you can imagine he was shocked. His first concern was for you, and he sends you his very best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Anything that the bike needs the bike will get without charge. I'm happy to take it in for you.

Lincoln said that they would have to inquire within BC to see what went wrong, and to make sure that it never, ever happens again. As far as he could recall this was a one off, but he said that one was one too many times.

(later edit) Did you have an off before this ride? Lincoln recalls that there was some damage to a chainring (the big thing with teeth at the front end). When he asked me about this I said that the derailleur looked in line to me, and I'm not sure how any deflection within it would allow the chain to overshift if the stop bolt wasn't in place...

Anyroadup - BC are not going to do a Halfrauds slopeyshoulder thing.

Dellzeqq that's great - thank you.

Initially I had a few clipless moments - but not recently as I thought I had that under control until Friday(!) - but I did have some clanky moments during my several trips up to Highgate - and three of the teeth on the large front cog had to be straightened - which they were. Would that affect the rear derailleur?

I dont really want to go down the blame game route as ulitmately I am sure that a competent and experienced cyclist would have preempted this from happening, so there will always be an element that I was at fault - and indeed as I was the one riding it, probably was.

Am just keen to make sure that the bike is as good as perfect so that the only thing making mistakes is me and not the bike!

Tis s@@@s law that all the preparation I made for this trip (tyres/me being re-measured/airpressure/chain oiling/batteries/extra lights fitted - and all the other fnrttc blog requests under the "it's all about the bike" ethos) wasnt enough to avoid this incident but on the other hand, if I hadnt then I may not have even made it as far as I did. And without the fabulous kindness of the fnrttcers I would absolutely not have made it to Blackburn. That in itself is a priceless experience that will stay with me for a long time.

If lovely Lincoln and the BC crew are happy to see my bike again that is great. It may not be imminent but I can plot a plot once my arm has calmed down. Your very kind offer to do this is duly noted but quite frankly you have done more than enough already - well above and beyond the call of - and besides, you should have your hands full plotting this Friday Nights FNRttC!

Hopefully by this time tomorrow the fracture clinic will have dispatched me to physiotherapy whereby lifting 8.5kg of carbon is prescribed as the perfect remedy for my arm!! And my sense of humour will return - it is being a little patchy or should I say intermittent today. (For which I apologise).

Big thanks!

M

 

[Aperitif]

Sods Law Sods Sods Sods sods sodo sod it sods law Sods LAW SODS LAW... I'm trying to think what all those ampersands are...

Note to self: Get measured before the next ride - I might need to borrow User's sports bra. .

 

[Aperitif]

Andrew wrote about the lack of 'oompa' to greet him on arrival at Blokepool.

The 'Famous Five' were spotted helping the GNP of Quilligan's and given a ceremonial Andean exit march as we rolled out of the piazza toward the promenade.

They weren't playing the trumpet voluntary - they asked for a donation to take a photo...

 

[Wobblers]

I dont really want to go down the blame game route as ulitmately I am sure that a competent and experienced cyclist would have preempted this from happening, so there will always be an element that I was at fault - and indeed as I was the one riding it, probably was.

Miranda, on a properly set up bike it shouldn't be possible to shift the chain off the cassette into the spoke - that's what the stop screw is there to prevent. In the dark, it's impossible to see which gear you're in, so eventually you're going to end up trying to change down into a gear you don't have - I did that several times myself last Friday! You're not to blame.

Good luck with the fracture clinic tomorrow - and it probably is a good idea to ask about what physiotherapy you'll need, else you may not get any!

 

[Wobblers]

They weren't playing the trumpet voluntary

Which begs the question: just where did you threaten to shove the trumpet if they didn't play???