bennytheegg
Active Member
- Location
- Brighton
Hello cyclists, I am delerious with fatigue and malnutrition, and would like to share my ramblings with you for no reason whatsoever. I have highlighted the interesting bits incase you're in a rush.
I'm an absolute newbie, quit my job a couple of weeks ago, and I've decided to cycle to Munich (via Luxembourg City) arriving in time for Oktoberfest - which I feel is as good a motivation as any!
When I say newbie, I really mean it: It's hasn't been out in about 6 months, and was only used occaissionaly. Had an undersized Decathlon racer, or "road bike", as I have now learnt. I'd never heard of "touring" until I came on this site recently, and the more I learnt, the more dubious I got about how capable my bike would be...
so I bought a new toy:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/newest-20-2009-road-bike-ec018089
I put a better saddle on it, and then got a speedo, decent lights, toolkit etc, and some lycra (which my girlfriend thinks is hilarious - but nothing a swift elbow to the face didn't sort out - now she thinks it's great)
Did a 23 mile run the other day, which was fun, and the most I'd done in about a year. I plan to do 50 miles a day, and I was feeling that it was quite a manageable distance after I'd done the run.
And then today...
I just got back from an 80 mile bitch of a run!! took me 8 hours and it meant leaving at 6 am. 35 miles in, I started to feel it in my legs, 40 miles in I was considering getting the train back. I'd planned to do between 60 - 100 miles, but stupidly thought I'd carry on going until I got tired, rather than saving energy for the return leg. Twat.
Ended up in some village called Catsfield where I found a farm that sold fruit. It also sold Solero's. Bonus. But sadly, no crack, so obviously I smashed the place up and burnt the remains. Shame really it was a lovely farm.
SOooooo, I eventually got back and I absolutely stink. Seriously. I actually smell so bad that there are foxes and rats trying to get into the house, but as yet I don't have the energy to have a shower.
But to get to some kind of conclusiony questiony bit:
Have any of you cycled to Munich from England before and do you have any tips? ie don't travel through stuttgart with a red hankie hanging out of your shorts because of serious gang issues, or don't say "Bless you" after a Belgian sneezes, because it sounds exactly like the Belgian for "your mother plays right wing, unsuccesfully, for West Ham and rumour is she's getting loaned to Scunthorpe at the end of the season, the pumpkin faced horse botherer" That kind of thing.
Will I be able to bivvy bag/tarpaulin sheet "wild camp" it? I could be like the cycling Bear Grills, but without all the homoerotic shower scenes. I think that was Bear Grills.
My spokes came loose every 2 miles and I had to keep stopping to sort it out. Really annoyed me. Got the Blackberry out and tinterweb told me roughly how tight they needed to be (tap all the spokes with the spanner, listen to the highest pitch, and try to match that by tightening the low pitch ones) but different spokes kept coming loose and obviously this shouldn't be happening... I then noticed that the wheel was now noticeably un "true" ie not perfect, looked wobbly - in fact it was so untrue it was positively false. When I had to release the front brake cable, I was a bit pissed off that this was happening on a bike that hadn't even done 100 miles. My incredible grasp for all things channel Dave, lead me to believe that the 2 must be related. I thought that because the wheel was a bit wonky, every time I tighten spoke x up, spoke y and z became loose. This gave me the fear. I had visions of the wheel instantly morphing into a hexagon as spokes popped out all over the shop, probably all going into my eyes resulting in me going tibula over fibula.
Now I normally bomb it on downhills - in fact, you look familiar... I think I overtook you once - and I'm so fast my girlfriend has nick-named me speedy - which is odd as she's never seen me cycling?? Anyway, I couldn't go too fast due to the impending doom and had to keep it below 200mph the whole way back, just in case. Boring.
So, was I indeed correct with my assumption, or are the 2 unrelated?
If so, which came first: the chicken, or the egg shaped wheel?
Also, on my signature bit, how do I put the horizontal through line on my target distances? Some other people have done that on here and it looks cooler than smoking or even carrying a knife.
And finally, I can tell from the morose look on your face, and the damp patch on your trousers that you've really enjoyed reading this. Where is a good place for me to do some kind of travel blog to keep my fans/probation officer up to date on my travel/fugitie run?
ben
I'm an absolute newbie, quit my job a couple of weeks ago, and I've decided to cycle to Munich (via Luxembourg City) arriving in time for Oktoberfest - which I feel is as good a motivation as any!
When I say newbie, I really mean it: It's hasn't been out in about 6 months, and was only used occaissionaly. Had an undersized Decathlon racer, or "road bike", as I have now learnt. I'd never heard of "touring" until I came on this site recently, and the more I learnt, the more dubious I got about how capable my bike would be...
so I bought a new toy:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/newest-20-2009-road-bike-ec018089
I put a better saddle on it, and then got a speedo, decent lights, toolkit etc, and some lycra (which my girlfriend thinks is hilarious - but nothing a swift elbow to the face didn't sort out - now she thinks it's great)
Did a 23 mile run the other day, which was fun, and the most I'd done in about a year. I plan to do 50 miles a day, and I was feeling that it was quite a manageable distance after I'd done the run.
And then today...
I just got back from an 80 mile bitch of a run!! took me 8 hours and it meant leaving at 6 am. 35 miles in, I started to feel it in my legs, 40 miles in I was considering getting the train back. I'd planned to do between 60 - 100 miles, but stupidly thought I'd carry on going until I got tired, rather than saving energy for the return leg. Twat.
Ended up in some village called Catsfield where I found a farm that sold fruit. It also sold Solero's. Bonus. But sadly, no crack, so obviously I smashed the place up and burnt the remains. Shame really it was a lovely farm.
SOooooo, I eventually got back and I absolutely stink. Seriously. I actually smell so bad that there are foxes and rats trying to get into the house, but as yet I don't have the energy to have a shower.
But to get to some kind of conclusiony questiony bit:
Have any of you cycled to Munich from England before and do you have any tips? ie don't travel through stuttgart with a red hankie hanging out of your shorts because of serious gang issues, or don't say "Bless you" after a Belgian sneezes, because it sounds exactly like the Belgian for "your mother plays right wing, unsuccesfully, for West Ham and rumour is she's getting loaned to Scunthorpe at the end of the season, the pumpkin faced horse botherer" That kind of thing.
Will I be able to bivvy bag/tarpaulin sheet "wild camp" it? I could be like the cycling Bear Grills, but without all the homoerotic shower scenes. I think that was Bear Grills.
My spokes came loose every 2 miles and I had to keep stopping to sort it out. Really annoyed me. Got the Blackberry out and tinterweb told me roughly how tight they needed to be (tap all the spokes with the spanner, listen to the highest pitch, and try to match that by tightening the low pitch ones) but different spokes kept coming loose and obviously this shouldn't be happening... I then noticed that the wheel was now noticeably un "true" ie not perfect, looked wobbly - in fact it was so untrue it was positively false. When I had to release the front brake cable, I was a bit pissed off that this was happening on a bike that hadn't even done 100 miles. My incredible grasp for all things channel Dave, lead me to believe that the 2 must be related. I thought that because the wheel was a bit wonky, every time I tighten spoke x up, spoke y and z became loose. This gave me the fear. I had visions of the wheel instantly morphing into a hexagon as spokes popped out all over the shop, probably all going into my eyes resulting in me going tibula over fibula.
Now I normally bomb it on downhills - in fact, you look familiar... I think I overtook you once - and I'm so fast my girlfriend has nick-named me speedy - which is odd as she's never seen me cycling?? Anyway, I couldn't go too fast due to the impending doom and had to keep it below 200mph the whole way back, just in case. Boring.
So, was I indeed correct with my assumption, or are the 2 unrelated?
If so, which came first: the chicken, or the egg shaped wheel?
Also, on my signature bit, how do I put the horizontal through line on my target distances? Some other people have done that on here and it looks cooler than smoking or even carrying a knife.
And finally, I can tell from the morose look on your face, and the damp patch on your trousers that you've really enjoyed reading this. Where is a good place for me to do some kind of travel blog to keep my fans/probation officer up to date on my travel/fugitie run?
ben
haha