Frank Kinlan's Blog – Page 10 – A weblog offering firsthand advice to the overweight looking to improve their health and lifestyle through cycling. A link to a pdf of the diet I am following is on the Diet under the About menu.

Weekending 23 Jan 2011

Didn’t quite get to finish of last weeks post but the course is on GarminConnect. First job was to get a wheel magnet for the Cadense sensor. Problem was Wheelbase (Colin Brick) is shut on a Wednesday. Next port of call was Clifton Bathrooms to photograph the shower enclosure I’ve just bought. If you think Garmin instruction are a bit lacking wait to you try shower enclosures, the print out of the pdf was next to useless so it was a trip out on the bike to see it in the flesh.

This led me back to the new Wirral Trail, after last weeks debacle I had to get it sorted. After Rock Park I’d have to say it’s a bit mixed, you get routed through a housing estate on side of Brombough Pool (now a landfill site) and then get routed through a brownfields industrial estate to reach to path along the the coast to Eastham Country Park.

The coastal bit is is nice but a bit short, there was a walking group of about 50 walkers going through the estate. Conversation with like minded holding it all together as there is nothing to recommend most of it. Nice river views though.

You’re at a bit of a loss after the Tap and The Eastham Ferry hotel route wise as there are no scenic routes through a tank farm, Vauxhalls and Oil Sites Road. All a shadow of their former selves. Tankers not giving you enough room being the main hazard. Next stop was the Cycle shop at Cheshire Oaks with some nice kit on display but no wheel magnets. Hope light is down to £59 but next to a MagicShine that I didn’t get a price of, probably RSP @ £129.
There were two old guys from the Eureka there that had done the L’eroica in Italy last year. A mudguard fitting pre-ride did not go to plan as you can’t get the blade under a carbon seatstay bridge on what looks like any of them. Got to the Eureka just after 12 and eventually got talking to 2 chaps about Garmins and eventually the site which one of them had already come across. It’s a small world.
The ride home was back along the Chester High road and it’s not a nice ride at times. Lorries cut you up, vans deliberatly block you from filtering down the inside but today it’s not a problem. I’m out in the sun on my bike and they are still at work.
It’s much the same in Heswall, anyway the destination was the new bike shop in Irby to look at some bling bikes. Not content with a shop full of carbon exotica , Sabbath are dropping of their test fleet today. It’s all Tittanium and looks very nice. I’m in the mood for the September, audax model. It’s a pity you can’t get mudguard eyes welded on to the top of the range models or maybe you can.

I’m just looking for the ultimate winter bike, my Trek is great but from what you read newer, stiffer is not better. The bikes are getting too specific now, bottom brackets are now massive, chainstays likewise. Great on a smooth road, but 0n what I ride on I need a bit of comfort.
35 miles, 1 Cafe stop, 2 Bikeshops. Magnet bought in HALFORDS.!!!!!!

Weekending 02 Jan 2011

Another year has flown by with only 42 miles to show for December. Mind you the average temperature for the month was in minus figures. When off the bike and not at work it was spent in Tex,s morning spinning classes at the Oval including one on christmas eve. Other than that it was a case of making sure my mums central heating functioned. The condensate drain freezing up like many others.

A trip to one class had the temperature at – 9.5 Deg C. The 42 miler was another Wirral ride, picking up a set of SPD cleats on the way as I’ve just bought a pair of Shimmano MTB boots for winter rides. After that ride the chainset and cassette came off for a clean to reveal a problem or two.

Mainly the chainset, it doesn’t change like it did mainly down to having 3 different chainrings on it. The big ring is showing signs of wear, the middle ring is a 7005 straight cut ring with no lifting pins or profiled teeth to aid shifting.
It works but has lost the indexing you get with a new bike with a full groupset.

The first ride of the year was a ride out to the Eureka via Rest hill and Route 56, takes in a statley home with attached village (Thornton Hough), Raby and is by and large a good surface except for the stretch from Redhill to the M53 underpass. It’s now pot holed and the verges have been deliberatley ploughed up by 4×4,s. Throw in a herd of cattle and it’s a mess.

Time to chat about how bad December was at the Eureka before Weaver Valley CC came in en-mass. A ride has to have a destination after all and there aren’t much better than the Eureka. Most were spotless due to a strict mudguard policy at other times I’ve seen clubs come in looking like they have been on a cyclocross through Delamere Forest. The reality being the slurry of the Cheshire Lanes.

Headed back out through Puddington to the Dee Marshes where the birdwatchers were peering through hedges with camera,s with 2 ft long lens,s.
Whatever it was it must have been worth it. Took the Cycle route along the Dee to The Harp where the road resembles The Somme. Walked for a stretch in the new shoes, which by the way kept my feet nice and warm despite the low temperatures. That is without overshoes.

Nearly forgot, purchased some Sealskinz socks at OutdoorWorld on the way back, dumped the packaging and put them in

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the back pocket.

Went through Neston, Heswall along the High road to Thurstaton and down the cutting . Left at the roundabout and just as I’m coming into Calday vilillage the left shoe didn’t feel right, I had visions of me toppling off the bike with the shoe still stuck in the pedal. It came but only just.
Tightened up the offending cleat which was well loose only to find the right shoe was starting to slacken off. The cleats hadn’t bit into the shoe sole enough.
Here the saddlebag zip started acting up so the Multitool went in the back pocket as Ididnt want it bouncing down the road.

Took to the front at Hoylake and then onto the sea defences to Moreton. Here the rythmic clump every time you rode over a concrete joint had the MagicShine light loosen off it’s bracket. Nothing for it but stop and tighten it up.
Kind of expected things like this to happen as you get what you pay for. If it had happened on a Lupine original I’d have been furious.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry is taking their dog out for a walk today, probably been stuck with them in the house for the last 3 weeks. The vast majority seem to have invested to time to keep the dog under control via obedience lessons.
Probably because vet bills are expensive. At the other end is the family with kids, if the kids are running amock you have no chance with the dog.

Anyway further on I reached the new development at New Brighton, now given all the fuss about it, it seems to be coming along very well. The prom surface in front of it is as good as it gets, billiard board smooth.

First stop was Vale Park which was open, leaving here, going down the slope by the bandstand I came to a complete stop. Kids and dogs everywhere going in all directions. About 8 to 10 dogs in all, utter chaos, a little girl says ” Theres too many dogs” , an understatement.

Next up was the trip to the front by the Birkenhead Sea Ferry Terminal and the One O’clock Gun. I took to the path that has bushes to the left and railings to the right. It bends around to the right and the opens up to the entrance of a filled in dry dock. Here the is a transition to what should have been granite cobbles but some thieving bastard has stolen about 50 M squared of them which has been filled in with a gritty sand.
Sand and 700X23C tyres don’t go, the front dug in and down I went.

The side of my knee took most of it and the tape on the bars took a small rip but it could have been a lot worse. It was getting dark, the temperature wasn’t high to start with and was going down and this is the backend of industrial wasteland.

Thought I’d take it easy after that, so had a look at the Priory and took to theback road by Cammell Laird,s. Here I came upon at signs for a new cycle path to Eastham Country Park, blacked out with binbags but worth a follow.

A taster , Magicshine light shook itself loose, cleats came loose, fell off bike, saddle bag zip split tightening cleats, got lost in New Ferry, Edge 800 screen locked up. A great start to the year.

Weekending 05 Dec 2010

Last week only had a ride out to the Eureka on Wednesday doing a Course on the new Edge 800. Routing appeared on the top of the screen while the Coursepoints appeared on the bottom of the screen. I must have spent half an hour trying to get the multi screens to show what I wanted them to show. You can have 10 bits of information on display but it is hard to see that much while on the move. Did a few of Tex’s spinning classes at the Oval too.
Thursday to Sunday was work again so no ride.
This week is much the same with a sprinkling of snow probably ruling out a Wednesday ride. The Magicshine bike lights have finally arrived from DealExtreme after 6 weeks of waiting. I knew there was going to be a delay as soon as the toner bombs were found on the cargo planes. The package had spent a month in Hong Kong post office. Sundays ride home the other week was changed because the much praised Cateye EL530 is useless as a light to ride by.
The MagicShine costs less comes with a battery pack and a charger too, is seriously bright with 5 modes including an insane strobe mode. Just charging the battery up as I write this.
One morning spinning class this week. Looks like any ride on Wednesday will have to be on a main road as side roads aren’t gritted.
Dropped the ride for another of Tex’s spinning classes, then drove to the Eureka. Only a few made it by bike. I drove along route 56 to see what it was like and it’s just as well as there were patches of ice everywhere.

Thursday: Becky’s Spinning class at the Oval.
Looks like the bike is out for the next week or two. I’ve only got to step out onto the pavement to see how bad things are.

Weekending 21 November 2010

I’ll cut to the chase, I’ve spent most of the week in work with an extra shift to pay for the toys. I’ve also spent some time playing with the Edge 800 and reading some of the first reviews of the device.
Sunday proved to be my first outing with the new Edge with it being recognised as soon as I took it in the Eureka. I’ll be doing a page and a dummies guide in due course but first impressions are favourable with a few differences compared to a 705.
iframe> Rode out to the Eureka to pick up a ride. No time for a breakfast just a cup of tea. Ended up going out with the CTC to the Lock Gates Cafe. It was quite a large group with the headcount coming to 28.

http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/57470507

Anyway a fair bit happens on a 5 hour ride, I’ll update the post in due course. One thing that did come out of it is the Edge 800 is going to sell like hotcakes now it has OS mapping. You can download Isle of Man OS map for free from the Garmin site. Had some sync problems with the cadence sensor which may be a bug as it didn’t detect it until I rescaned for it after a stop.

Weekending 14 Nov 2010

Monday: 5 hour trip to Monmouthshire for Sussies funeral who passed away after a two year battle against cancer. The first couple of hours were into rain and spray with a breakfast stop at Newtown.
Having passed the entrance to a Morrisons that looked like it served breakfast I opted for a Little Chef. Now I know they arn’t particular value for money but I mistakenly yes to an added tomato. Well half a tomato, when the bill came it was a quid for the bloody thing.
In true British fashion I didn’t complain. The irritating part was I didn’t even get the other half. There was a series on the TV where Helston Blumenstall was trying to change the menu for the group. He failed and I can see why, why faff around with an upmarket menu when you can get a quid for half a tomato.
Newtown to Llandridod Wells is one twisty road and things were Ok until we met a Jaguar overtaking a tractor where he shouldn’t. It took a while to regain composure from a serious fright.
The next fright was getting buzzed by a Tornado at probaby 200ft, the whole car was shaking and felt like it was falling to bits. It made for an interesting drive. Glad of the satnav even if it did take some odd routes.
Quite a positive service considering.
Another 5 hour drive home up the coast and across to Bala put things into perspective. It’s really quiet with few signs of any life.

Tuesday to Friday: Work, not much to say really, job losses and hour reductions in the pipeline means no one is happy.
Saturday: Keith had phoned me Thursday to say the Edge 800 was in, so it was a ride out to pick it up via the Eureka Cafe. Picked up a puncture too bet only realised it when I came out of the shop. It’s time to put on some winter tyres as the carcass had a few cuts in it that would let grit in and cause another puncture.
Sunday: Jack day. Went to Blackpool and it was closed, literally nothing open. Trams closed , fair closed, Tower is a building site.

Weekending 07 Nov 2010

Trying to get back into a routine with a trip out to the Eureka and then on to the shop. Ordered a Edge 800 which was supposed to be in stock for the 3rd but at the end of the day wasn’t. It ended up as a 50 mile loop around the Wirral even managing to see my dads bench on the Wirral Way.
Friday was spent assembling the wardrobes that finally arrived 6 weeks late.
The planned evening rides didn’t happen as it was throwing it down and the Iceni was at the back of the shed.

A saturday ride out to the Eureka on Route 56 showed up some large potholes between Levers Causeway and Brimstage. It doesn’t bode well for the coming winter. It turned out to be a short 20 mile ride returning via the Missing Link , slowly as I didn’t have any mudguards on. Calling in CycleSurgery revealed all the bikes moved upstairs to display all the ski-ing and snowboard kit.
Sunday spent getting some clothes for Sussies funeral on Monday. Spotted the CTC returning from the AGM at Kinnerton on the way home.

Sep/Oct 2010

Posts will be limited until the end of October I’m in the middle of moving back to Bebington and the house needs sorting in rather a big way. I need to find room for 5 bikes or get rid of one or two.
I’ve only been able to get a 26 mile ride in for September which is pathetic.
Another batch of cycling magazines has been despatched to the recycling bin with whats left under the bed to follow.
14 Oct Apart from a ride out to the Eureka last week I’ve still not got out on the bike. Picked up a knee problem too, spending too much time on the floor working on the new shower installation. It pained me to throw away another batch of Cycle Sport, ProCyling, Cycle, Cycling Weekly and even the quaint Arrivee from the last 2 years away. Pick up most of the news off the net now along with the Realpeloton podcasts which is good to listen too on the way home from work.

Found a Dragon Oil Share certificate in the clean up from 1997. Rang up the new registrars in Dublin to see if it was still valid which it was. My first trade is now a 12 bagger. Pity some of the others haven’t gone the same way. Logging onto the account after a few years out of it I was surprised to see so many delisted having sold out to private equity buyouts.

The move is going OK with the shower tray going in shortly, but been given the run around by B&Q about wardrobe delivery dates. Now 2 weeks overdue and I’ve 2 binbags of cycling clothing to store. The plan being to ease myself back into it over the winter, lack of kit won’t be an issue.

Move is now complete with just the small matter of getting the bikes back.
Tour route is out with a super tough Etape. Was going to try a ride tomorrow but the broadband and cable is getting put in.
The Cateye lights look like the are up to the job for the night rides, the P4 led upgrade doing the job. A fair chunk of the price of fancy lights being the Li-Ion batteries and charger.

The move is complete, not without a few problems, mainly space and where to put all the stuff I’ve acquired.
I can see why B & Q are rated one of the worst online retailers, I’ve been waiting nearly 2 months for a pair of wardrobes, being fobbed off with delivery dates that come and go each week. Found stuff in the move that I’d forgotten I had like a yellow jersey sign by Dave Zabriskie with the tags on it, $129.99. A George Hincappie brand jersey in small, what was I thinking bidding on that.

During the move I found a Bontrager front wheel with a cracked front hub that I can’t explain how it happened as the spokes are undamaged. A Magic Shine light has been ordered from Dealextreme for the night rides. Another review of the Cateye EL530 in Cycling plus gave it 7 but said it wasn’t meant for fast riding on unlit roads. This bloody light cost me a pair of rims after hitting a pothole last year.
Managed to get out to the Eureka on Wednesday for a windy 19 miles, it felt good to be back on the bike after the layoff but the form has suffered as I haven’t any.

Looking to get back into things with an Ice Cream farm ride or two.
They should rename Cycling Weekly, Sportive Weekly as this weeks star letter was a chap overjoyed at paying £32 along with 3000 others to do the Blenheim Palace ride. I don’t know what you got for completing it but it couldn’t be worth £32, that’s a £96,000 take for the day.

Back to tiling the shower to clear some floor space for the turbo trainer.
Managed to get a 50 mile round Wirral ride in on Saturday with a stop at the Eureka then going on to see Keith at Eureka Cycle Sports to order an Edge 800. While I was there he showed me Bryton sport 50 GPS which he is being asked to try. Has a lot of the features of the 705 but for £180. The catch is there is not a method of planning a route yet, the website doesn’t support riders uploads yet,with a bit of luck you could use your Garmin HRM and Cadence Sensors as it uses ANT transfer.
To cut a long story short Edge 800 is out on 3 November in the UK exclusivly to Madison the Shimano importers. This means the prices aren’t going to be competitive as stock is going to be in short supply.
The difference between an Edge 705 and 800 is that you can download your custom OS maps. Ordnance Survey has released 1:50,000 data in the public domain. SJ block which is the northwest is about 900MB. Something to play around with in the future.

Ride wise I’ve had a bleak couple of months but thing are set to improve. I’ve had to throw out a pile of magazines about 10 feet high that must have cost between £1-2000. At £4 for mags and £2.75 for the comic times 52 it mounts up over the years. With the clocks going back, night time riding is going to be part of the plan. I’ve ordered a set of Magic Shines from Hong Kong but whether I get them before Xmas is debatable given the recent air freight bombing atempts.
Just read the Times supplement which says you can get a ride only entry for the Etape(s) now 2 off them from ASO for 75 and 90 Euro.

Weekending 12 Sep 2010

Not been near the bike since the Eureka ride. Bit the bullet about the new shower and had some luck by getting 9 sq/m of tiles to match the bathroom.
Not much luck with the final window to replace though, the firm I bought them from has gone to the wall. The landlord has a letter on the door and a lot of the cars and vans have notices plastered all over them about to get reclaimed.
With a bit of luck I’ll get to see the finish of the first stage of the Tour of Britain at Blackpool on Saturday.
The site has been quoted on the Aldi cycling offers for a review I did on the Winter Cycling Gloves. A lot of this is about Aldi upsetting the cycle industry by discounting their bread and butter. You NEVER see a review of any Aldi kit in the Cycling press.
Hurt my back on Saturday which is ruling out a ride of any description. Just goes to show how powerful a drug Ibruprofen is.
The new roof leaked during Saturdays downpour, right over where the new shower is going. Better now than later when it’s all in place and tiled.

Weekending 29 Aug 2010

Another none riding week with only the Eureka Anniverary Ride on Sunday.
The new Edge 800 got announced during the week and by all accounts looks good.
One problem that I forsee with it is the touch screen, it’s not going to work with a gloved hand if it relies on capacitance like an Iphone.
It’s going to be interesting to see if the “make you own maps “filters down to the 705 too.
Still unsure what’s happening at work but lots of square pegs being put into round holes.

Putting the Eureka ride into the Edge wasn’t a 5 minute job, “Turn right at red sign” is a bit obtuse when trying to plot a course on Google map based sites. I wouldn’t mind but I’ve ridden it before.
The site has a new theme that I’m still playing around with.
A new Dummies guide is in the pipeline too.
More after the ride.
Eureka 81 Anniverary Ride: Desided to do the 81 mile ride to Holt and the 50 mile from Holt to the Eureka.
Swapped the Course with another rider at the Eureka using the ANT option. This was the first time I’ve tried it and it worked quite well. Takes a few minutes but gets there in the end.
Set off at a steady pace only to get passed by the guy I’d given the Course to. Punctures were to play a part in the ride with the Liverpool Mercury having their first at Dunkirk.
Passed another two guys that had just repaired another. This was on the bit that drops down to the canal at the back of Chester Zoo. The climb up the back had me glancing back to see if I’d dropped them on the climb. I had but there was a loud bang from what must have been a pinch puncture exploding.
It started to drizzle with not much sign of it blowing over so it was was time to put the jacket on. Just then the Northend steamed through, no stopping them. The route turned out to be pretty good taking in Utkinton, Beeston and Fardon in a 38 mile stint. Stopping at the lights by the bridge at Farndon there is a shout as a large contingent of Liverpool Mercury screech to a halt behind us.
After the stop at Holt its time to head back on the 50 mile route as its blowing a gale. About a mile out I rode over some glass with the inevitable puncture following. There was quite a large cut in the tyre with the glass still in it which required a patch on the tyre.
Will have to see how it holds out or thats £35 down the drain. Lezyme pump was put to good use, getting up to a hard enough pressure that didn’t have that must put some more air in when I get home feel.
Got to Saltney Ferry bridge thinking the riders walking over it were soft only to dismount myself as the wind was that strong. Not only that, but as I dismounted it blew the bike sideways. There was discussion among the Liverpool Mercury about taking the Dee cyclepath, probably because no-one wanted to be stuck on the front doing 11 mph into a headwind. I opted to take the route back through Blacon and Upton and over the A5117.

Weekending 15 Aug 2010

Not much to report ride wise with too much going trying to get the house ready for central heating installation. The mess this makes is unbelievable, don’t let anyone tell you old houses have character they can be just as badly built as the modern stuff but without the benefit of building control.
Wednesday: Evening spinning class at the Oval, hot and as hard as you make it. Four first times in the class meant it was late starting.
Decided to forego the latest offer of redundancy ( I wouldn’t get it anyway) and ride out another recession.
Turned 51 last week and the thought of having to work another year until 66 or worse by the time this mob have finished does not appeal.
Thursday: If you want to improve the suction of your Dyson by about 100% for no cost: Remove the washable filter. Sucks up most small debris until almost full and thats a lot of dirt. Motor is sealed against wear. People throw stuff away for less than this.
Finished the Bay Windows, looks great but I wouldn’t want to go through it again. A cheaper option would propably be look just as good without the man hours involved.
Hot water tank removed so there is no going back.

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