I've decided to try taking my RA consultant seriously for a change.......

[ryan1835]

Not according to the description or the reviews or What Mountain Bike magazine!

It is what it is, something that will deter the casual bike thief, it clearly isn't going to stop someone with a pair of bolt-croppers! But I really don't think I'll need that 9 times out of 10

It's the expense, weight and bulk if the D locks or chain locks that's putting me off.

im probably being over cautious after having a bike nicked XD that had a thick cable lock in a public area 

[DaveK]

Well I ended up with a helmet as SWMBO nagged me.

So, we did our first ride - The Tissington Trail in the Peak District and have just returned. We thought we'd start out easy, and did a 27.3 miles according to the GPS

My arse hurts.

[ryan1835]

only 27 miles XD thats a pretty big ride to start off with

[DaveK]

Yeah - it probably is, but meh

It's mostly flat, which helps obviously, apart from a detour we made for lunch - 2 miles downhill to the pub, then.......    But we made it

Took a couple of pics on the iPhone during a water-break:



SWMBO on the bike that I worked all day yesterday on!



Maxpedition Lunada on my handlebars!

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Oh your so gonna feel that ride tomorrow mate

[ryan1835]

heh were see how much longer the love of cycling will last soon mike  ....

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Nah you watch, he'll sell that bloody Landy and get himself a Moulton soon

[DaveK]

Oh your so gonna feel that ride tomorrow mate

Oh yes. I'm very grateful that I'm working from home tomorrow, and have a nice soft chair I predict I'll sleep well tonight though!

07.05 flight on Tuesday though - not looking forward to that much atm 

heh were see how much longer the love of cycling will last soon mike  ....

"Love" was never really a factor here, I have a perfectly good car if I want to go fast, and a perfectly good (well, ok - functional at least) pair of legs if I want to go slow. This is more about necessity than love.

On the other hand, I haven't cycled for a long time, but my bike was my only means of transport until I was in my mid 20s, so I'm no stranger to the concept. I reckon I've got about 25 years as a cyclist under my belt

[ryan1835]

seems most people here do a bit of cycling, ill be off to work on mine half seven tomorrow gonna be a shock to the system after a week off XD

[DaveK]

Well, I'm glad I'm not!

[ryan1835]

i got my provisional through yesterday so if i didn't spend a silly amount of money in the week id be learning to drive before the end of the month

[nuphoria]

Please report back tomorrow with how sore your arse is Dave!

[ryan1835]

^ thats if he can get up to reach his phone or pc XD

[DaveK]

I'll be fine

[GraysonK]

That's a heck of a distance for just getting back into it, but good for you!  Is SWMBO feeling it too?  I bet she is.  Sit bones will eventually toughen up as I'm sure you remember.  Good job Dave and thank you for agreeing to the helmet...SWMBO is a smart woman...you can tell her I said that.  LOL!

[DaveK]

Lol.

Actually, I'm feeling fine, which is a bit of a surprise.....

[ryan1835]

where's the fun in that  , do you feel worse after hiking?

[DaveK]

Not really. I can pretty much walk until I've run out of water / it gets dark these days.

The ride yesterday was over all too soon really. On the outward leg, Fiona was really learning what gears are all about and I quickly realised its kind of hard to coach someone on how to make best use of them, you kind of have to figure it out. For me it was a case of getting back into it, for her she'd hardly ridden a bike ever and was really starting from scratch. Lol, she must have pedalled 3 times for every time I did, and of course we didn't get any real momentum going so it was much harder than it should have been.

But she sussed it pretty much as soon as we turned back and the return journey took just under a third of the time it took us to get there - she was flying

I should stress that the trail is an easy one, an old railway line, so there are no steep climbs. It was probably perfect to start out in fact. The detour we took at the end of the trail for food had her scared to death when we had the long ascent back onto the trail, but she did it

I joked with her when we got back to the car that if I'd asked her if she wanted to do it again at the bottom of that big hill, she'd have told me to p1ss off, but by the time we got back to the car she was wishing there were a couple more miles

[Screwtape]

Well I ended up with a helmet as SWMBO nagged me.

So, we did our first ride - The Tissington Trail in the Peak District and have just returned. We thought we'd start out easy, and did a 27.3 miles according to the GPS

My arse hurts.

Do you have any padped cycling shorts?  Make's a big difference and you can wear them discreetly under some more fashionable baggies 

[DaveK]

I may look into that - cheers Chris

[DaveK]

Well, it seems that SWMBO is up for some more of the same.

She has Sunday all planned out, we're doing the "Cloud Trail" locally. I couldn't determine whether its a 13 mile circular route, or 13 miles before turning around. I'll have to check it out I guess.

[AHB]

Well, it seems that SWMBO is up for some more of the same.

She has Sunday all planned out, we're doing the "Cloud Trail" locally. I couldn't determine whether its a 13 mile circular route, or 13 miles before turning around. I'll have to check it out I guess.

Either way, have a great day..     

[DaveK]

We ended up doing 32 miles (ish) in the end. And it rained, literally all the way back.

What a stupid mode of transport, no roof, no heater......

[Screwtape]

Your rain has just arrived with me while I was digging the rhubarb patch,

you have my sympathy for your ride back 

[DaveK]

Looking at these:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Schwalbe_Land_Crusier_MTB_Tyre/5360042609/#more

I wonder if anyone can advise me on this little dilemma I have.

I purchased two of the above tyres in the link above back in early June and they have been just fine. However, last weekend during a rest-stop, I noticed that the tyre seems to have split along the length about 7 or 8 inches. It looks as though the rubber has sort of split, rather than some sort of damage.

The "split" doesn't go all the way through, I'd say it like a valley in the tyre exterior that goes about half way through. If I had to guess, I'd say it was weakness in the mould or something.

I ordered a replacement as I want to use it tomorrow and have just fitted it. I was going to get a pic to explain what I mean, but without an inflated inner tube stretching it, I can't get it to show up on a pic. Hopefully my description is good enough to envisage the problem.

The question is, should I go back to the people I bough it from for a replacement do you think? Or an I supposed to grin and bear it?

Any advice on whether this is common, whether it should be warrantied etc gratefully received by this old newbie! TIA