Bicycles , ebikes , dirty pics and other stuff.

[nigel s]

Ta for that, I sometimes head over to Saffron Walden, looks like a detour is in order.
May have to wait for a warmer day mind, I should be used to it by now but I have been outside moving boats around all day and have only just warmed up
Still ...thankfully no snow like further north...yet.
Brrh
Ho Hum

[Asmith61]

Yes the gritters were out on my way home from work today 😠
Yea bloody freezing today I am outside everyday unloading & loading lorry’s on the forklift Brr indeed 🤣

We don’t want that bloody white stuff !!!!!

[nigel s]

Cold indeed, when moving boats about the yard it is always the forklift driver that feels the cold the worst, at least the shovers/ pushers are working up a BIT of sweat moving about , he is stuck there  freezing and still gets the blame when something gets dinged..even if  shover / pusher number two was watching ( or was supposed to be ) that corner
Brrh.

[Asmith61]

My forklift only has a plastic cover on its roof,  and that’s it and when it’s raining you end up sitting in the water all day !!  (Poxy job in the winter)

Being a boat builder must be a very interesting and rewarding job Nigel ?
Not far from me we have Bradwell marina and Not sure if they are boat builders but BOATS are down this way as well.

[nigel s]

Boatbuilding can have its moments, but like my previous job (Farm worker) ,  don,t go into it if you expect to get rich or keep clean and warm
Behind our yard is Trend , they make marine glass, and they have maybe 6 forklifts. They recently replaced an old one with a spangly new electric job with not only a roof but glass all round...... and a door!!!!
No heater mind, judging by the number of jackets he is wearing at the mo.
Our main forklift driver has been eyeing it enviously for a while now

[UK_Vstrom650]

I can feel their pain. Went cycling yesterday at Sherwood Pines but only lasted about an hour as it was freezing and the missus wasn't happy riding her bike in the snow (no snow where we live but the trails were covered).
Reminds me even though I have heated grips/jacket/insoles, I'm not looking forward to tomorrow's V-Strom ride 🥶

[nigel s]

After spending the first part of the morning with a drain snake down the kitchen sink fixing a blocked drain 
 A ride out on the gasgas  ( got me a thermal skullcap..toasty ears ) down Weavers Way across Ridlington heath.
Riding on frozen moss is odd, slippy but fun...sort of.
I can see me leaving the strom in the garage this weekend and riding the gasgas more if this weather keeps up.
That will be a new one for me, but ... things change 
Ho Hum

[UK_Vstrom650]

I accidentally went on a 24 mile bike ride today, was only supposed to be out for an hour / about 10 miles, but one bridleway led to another and before I knew it I was over 12 miles away from home. Some good new bridleways found, and managed to miss most of the rain, although I regretted not taking food with me, and given the entire ride back was into a headwind also regret not having an ebike 

Two things I've learned which also applies to motorbikes, if you don't use them to keep them nice, they can end up in a worse state than if you use them (the chain had mild corrosion from sitting in the garage) and you need to keep riding to keep skills/bike fitness up.

[nigel s]

MOO.............
Saw this fine looking beast going up the coastal path on the gasgas.
The building behind is now a "Wellness "     retreat.

It used to be a posh private members club years ago with some VERY rorty  3 day parties involving lots of fine looking women....Allegedly...
At least that is what I heard.... never got an invite so....

Nice out on the bike though.

Ho Hum

[UK_Vstrom650]

First bike ride since New Year's Eve. 11 miles on the full sus to give it a once over ahead of a longer ride on Friday. Need to get back into the habit of cycling again (same also applies for riding the Strom)

Not the best picture but proof it happened.

[nigel s]

Looking good UK-Vstrom650 
Friday you say....nearly forgot.....EASTER....that came around quick.
I have been back on the E bike for commuting now the salt has gone....my old hybrid still going nicely over winter, but glad  to be back on the cheating Ebike   
Had a worry with it last week, a tapping noise while pedaling, that got worse on the ride home. UH OH ..seemed to be coming from the motor!
It was time for a chain swap anyway( I am swapping them every 500 miles , to save the chainset) so opened the quick link to change it and found the front chain ring loose.
It was tight on it's mount ( I had checked that on the road home ) but these mid drive Ebikes have a one way ratchet mechanism that allows you to backpedal for a normal feel. All new to me
The collet ring behind the chainring that holds it in place had started to undo (not something to check on a normal bike )...I tapped it back round GENTLY with a long flat screwdriver and all good since then...PHEW...Panic over 



Everyday on my ride home I get overtaken by a man on a 2 wheel drive  ( yes 2wd ) fat tyre Ebike doing 40 mph 
More than once I have seen him nearly get wiped out at junctions. The driver looks up the road ,sees a bicycle and thinks " plenty of space " not realising he is doing 40 odd.....only a matter of time
I am kind of torn, the rest of the world has unrestricted E bikes , here it IS illegal ( can you imagine a 11 year old with a 40 mph ebike..shudder ), but things pulling out at junctions is something as a biker I get upset about anyway ...don't know 

[UK_Vstrom650]

Good to hear you're back out on the ebike again Nigel, and the mechanical was easy to fix. The wife's hybrid ebike was making a weird noise last time we went out and I spent ages going over the bike and couldn't find anything wrong with it. Was starting to think it'd be an expensive trip to the bike shop but it turned out she'd been wearing different trainers and they were catching the frame as she pedalled 

Have you got a chain checker for the chain swaps? Think they say you can run them to .5 on the indicator then swap to save the cassette.

The folks on the illegal ebikes are crazy - we get them around here (usually delivery folk) who ride on the roads, pavements etc and treat other traffic as dodgems. Similar to the illegal e-motorbikes too and they have zero gear one.

This morning, I dragged the road bike out and did an early 10 mile before breakfast. I can tell I'm deconditioned from riding, but it was good to get out. One thing I noticed was on the MTB my average heart rate 138bph with an average speed of 7.1 vs the road bike at 161bpm at 10.3mph. I keep promising myself to take it easy on the road bike but it's like the motorbike, it's fun to go faster.

[nigel s]

Glad I'm not the only one that makes trainer mistakes..
I got new trainers last autumn and the ferrule? on the lace would make a ting noise on the crank arm. Took me ages to work out what was going on 
I do have a chain checker, I "think " you may have recommended it to me in a previous post in fact , so got one ..Ta if so.
I am being a bit belt and braces  ( OCD ..maybe ) about it . I am changing the chain before it is at the limit every 500 miles and keep swapping the 2 I have in the hope that that way it puts off the time I have to replace the chain set .
We will see , at £150 odd I am in no hurry to find out..

As to speed, while I go everywhere at 15.5 mph on the gasgas, my best time home from work was  actually on my old hybrid . Mahoosive ESE wind that gave me a tail all the way home. I went for it and was F*cked when I got home, blowing out of every hole but the time said I did the 3.75 miles at 20.1 mph...not repeated that mind....That is the problem with an E Mountain bike , when the assist cuts out I am NOT going to go any quicker, unless it is off a cliff