Another slack week ride wise with Monday , Tuesday spent on the house.
Finally got out on Sunday and seeing I was about to see 50 out I’d chance my hand by going out with the Northend.
Not been out with them for over a year now and it shows.
The ride out to the Eureka was at 19mph with a tailwind with the ride to the Saighton road race at a similar pace.
Fell off the back at Beeston on the climb from the Shady Oak to the bottom of Beeston Castle.
Got back on and then the ride headed back to the road race finish.
Headed back to Chester after the finish and was going to ride around the Roodee but it was closed as Chester races were on. It meant a trip through Chester to the Dee cyclepath coming off it to go through Blacon.
Stopped off at the Eureka for a drink and a chat. As it was still early I headed back via the Missing Link only to find the Willaston to Hooton road closed to traffic.
More later…..
Weekending 25 July 2010
A bit of a soft week, been doing spinning classes at the Oval and West Kirby witha a ride out to the Eureka on Wednesday that turned out to be a wet one.
Dodged the rain by calling in at Ness Gardens on the way home with the rain hammering down on the plasic roof. The road at Neston was flooded so it was a trip around the back of the church to avoid it.
There is a new spinning instructor at the Oval, Barbara, who used to be one of the class.
Friday: Another trip out to the Eureka, been chatting to a chap with a Kuota Kharma that he has repaired himself. Was time to test the shortened Nokon cables, look great but living with the squeaks on every turn of the bars is a nightmare. Next up is to sort the creak which appears when honking out of the saddle. Wheels are holding up well, no brake block rub when you load them up on a climb.
Signed up for the Eureka ride at the end of August while I was there. Had a stop at Parkgate where there was a brisk trade in Ice creams. Back in time to see Cav take another stage win.
Nike shoes scratched by the front mech cable that I hadn’t cut back so time to look out for a new pair.
Saturday: Was going to go out but watched the time trial on Eurosport. It was really close at times but Contador held out in the end for another Tour win. All bodes well for next year.
Tour 2010
Moving into to the final week this has got to be the best Tour in a long time. Contador taking yellow when Schleck had a mechanical doesn’t do justice to to what has gone on in the previous week. This is as good as it gets.
Lifes on hold at the moment, Etape was yesterday, be interesting to see how they faired.
6888 finished out of 10,000 with various comments about it being tougher than last year.
Back to the Tour Stage 16 another cracking day and it’s not over yet.
Stage 17 Schleck beats Contador up Tourmalet by a wheel in what has been another great stage. Still 8 seconds behind with the time trial to come.
Torn between Eurosport and ITV4 for the coverage, Eurosport on a lot longer bit harder to differentiate between the commentary.
Weekending 11 July 2010
Monday: Work
Tuesday: Work but got off early to marshall at the Northend 10 mile Time Trial.
Bloody scary watching lorries an cars thundering through the roundabout with a rider trying to get onto the dual carriage way. Lots of fast times set as it was windy on the way back. Talk was of Steve Cummings being in the break today on a hard stage.
Wednesday:Work, Following the Tour on Twitter. Split the Edge only to find I’m not going to be able to do anything about the cardreader fault.
Thursday: Worked on the house.
Friday: Cycled out to the Eureka for breakfast, a shower forcing us inside for what was a quiet day. Home to watch the tour and Cav get a second win. Picked up the comic from the Local store as Tesco did not have it this week.
Saturday: Should have had a decent ride but opted to change the oil on the Mini .
Sunday: Took Jack to Southport to the minature railway that had other clubs running engines this weekend. The first train we went on had only been around the track once before and was quick.
81st Eureka Anniversary Ride
Brought forward to Sunday 29 August due to there being no Wild Wales.
There are 3 rides available, 81 miles, 50 miles and a new 33 mile ride.
81 miles : Start at 9:00 with lunch at Holt
50 miles : Start at 9:30 with lunch at Holt
33 miles : Start at 10:00 lunch at the finish, the Eureka Cafe.
Every year a mile gets added to the route, I started on the 50 mile route on a mountain bike a few years ago when 50 miles seemed a lot even if it was flat.
Entries from the Cafe. I’ll try to do a Garmin Course nearer the event.
Weekending 03 July 2010
Monday: New arrival Benjamin Stuart Kinlan entered the world at 02:18. 8 lb 14 ounces. Work was pretty hectic with tank overflowing and a high level switch getting submersed in water which didn’t do the electronics any good.
Tuesday: Work but got off early to go and see the little fella with Val.
Tour De France is uppon us and at the moment I’ve no plans to see any of it. Promises to be a good race, rooting for Team Sky hence the replica kit I’ve bought.
Followed a few of the links that come in to the site and resolved to tidy the site up.
Wednesday: First day off, paid off some bills, played about with the site and I’m just about to head out to the Eureka for breakfast.
Thursday: More work on the house.
Friday: Out to the Eureka for Breakfast , explained FourSquare to Anne and how it worked. Dave (The Mayor of the Eureka) logged in later.
Anne gave me details of the 81st Eureka Anniverary ride as I promised I’d put it up on the site. Chester for Mini bits, Eureka Cycle Sports on the way back and then back to the Eureka for another chat. 30 miles, was going to do more. Washed and cleaned the car.
Saturday: Rode to Chester via Missing Link, Capenhurst and the gated path to come out at Mollington. Picked up the paint for the car and rode back via the Dee cycle path and Saugall.
It was nice to sit outside in the sun chatting about bikes, rides and the Tour.
Another cyclist killed on the A5117 near where I had just ridden with another injured going to work. The police told Anne he wasn’t wearing a helmet, as if that would have made any difference. Keith Boardman turned up in sandals as he’d left his shoes in the car so no waving to him. Rule 43 a roadie shall not be permitted to wave or acknowledge another cyclist who wears shorts and sandals.
Weekending 27 JUN 2010
A really short post this week as I’m doing a course in Manchester.
Monday was a day to forget as it was an early start with a hectic schedule with 4 hours of travelling.
I’d have been quite happy to call it a day after Tuesday having completed the part of the course that is most relevant.
Wednesday meant missing the England game to try and catch up on the fault-finding exercises we were falling behind on. Cheers and groans echoing through the building when England scored and missed.
Wednesday evening was spent revising to make sure I don’t blow up in the practical exam.
Work at the weekend so that’s 12 shifts on the bounce.
Missed the Tour Series at Chester and missed the TV prog on ITV4, damn.
Thursday was a bad day, I’ve always prided myself on being able to work things out on my own, but like life things are better as a team. There was a practical Profibus network faultfinding exam that I litterly blew up on. Things did not bode well for Friday so at the end of it I asked what my options were. Spent that evening working through the exercise, the trouble being if you make a mistake there is no one there to correct you.
Friday: Haven’t got to pick anybody up so save about 40-50 mins of travelling to the course. It’s not an excuse but it has been a factor.
Had a good go as the other option was not siting the exam or worse. At least I had avoided a complete meltdown. As it happened I turned up at 10 to 8 for 8:30 start.
It was to no avail as despite Andrews efforts the tutorial was just too much a gap to bridge.
The thing was Andrews lad and Paul are part of the same network on the internet, it’s a small world.
Saturday: Work.Logged on to find out I’d failed both sections of the Course. It’s not the end of the world as this is not my primary field of work. But for some it is.
Then get told this is a tough course by those that do it for a living.
Watched the US go out of the World Cup but prepped the bike as I have got Sunday off thanks to Ian at work.
Sunday: Ride day, If I don’t stop writing this blog I’ll miss it so more later.
Went out with the CTC’s A ride but suffered a blowout on the cyclepath at Upton. This was on the new wheels so I ended up using my only tube. Called in at the Bikefactory for a replacement. Headed off to the Ice Cream Farm at a great rate of knot’s only to realise I am front of the group. Got there about 15 minutes early. After splitting with the group 3 of us rode on to The Pheasant at Higher Burwardley.
This proved to be an excellent location with superb views over the Cheshire plain.
Had a nice pint of Spitting Feathers and then it was back to the Eureka via the Roodee and the River Dee cyclepath.
Lots of summer cyclists out today, typically on mountain bikes they have taken out of the shed or garage.
Eureka and then home for the match, missed 30 mins and 2 goals for Germany.
Wished I hadn’t bothered only good thing was Keith Boardman told me the National Champs were on Eurosport 2 and it was going to be hard.
True to his word it was hard with Team Sky getting the first 3 places.
Only about 12 finished on the same lap. Millar blew up too boot.
The ride was great, had the front tyre explode when it popped off the rim while out on Brian’s ride, had to stop at the Bike Facory for tube and then headed off the Ice Cream farm at a greatrate of knots. Thinking Iwas behind proved not to be the case and I ended up 15 minutes early. It proved to be very quiet out with everybody staying in for the match. 60 miles but it didn’t seem like it.
One other thing, it was a day for replica kit races, I passed team Astana ( two guys on Treks and Astana kit) on the way out to the Eureka. Saw more replica kit out there and passed a chap in 2010 Garmin Kit on the way back to the Eureka. Broke a couple of “Rules” mainly not having the right replica socks.
Nice weather a great day and another grandchild due.
Pages
Page submenu,s are not working yet at least not in the way I want them to work. If your coming in from a link it shouldn’t be a problem. I’m working on it.
30 Jun Still editing bits and bobs around the site, deleted the Garmin page as there was no content on it. Same with maps, looked good to see all the rides when you start but 4 years down the line it’s not what people come to the site for.
Weekending 20 June 2010
Monday: Restday, did Barbara’s Spinning class at West Kirby as I’d booked it the week before. A full class.
Tuesday: Tex’s spinning class at the Oval followed by a few weight machines. Tex’s classes are instructor led with you rarely getting a rest, usually getting told to push harder. Bought a pair of wheels from the Bike factory, Mavic Ksyrium Elites got them for a stonking price too, far better than anything you can see on the net.
Put the Conti Attack and Force tyres on them ready for a ride.
I had tried to buy a rim for the Bontrager Race Lites but was told it would be a different colour thus breaking the unwritten rule about not riding a bike with different colour wheels. Deeply ingrained in cycling are the Rules:.
Wednesday: Ride day, brilliant weather It was a hard job to leave the Eureka after chatting about bikes with Dave and Maurice. Headed out to Walk Mill and came back via Chester and the River Dee cyclepath. Stopped to take a picture of the A380 wing being loaded at high tide. Pics in due course. Played around with the 705 trying to recover Sundays ride. Saved it as Course from earlier misshaps. Caught the sun so Rule: whatever won’t be broken. 56 miles.
Wheels are good, found out what was causing miss shifts on the rear mech. It has Nokon cables on it and if moves it alters the position of the rear mech.
Thursday: Various bits and bobs to do. Managed to recover 70 odd miles of Sundays ride thanks to TCXconverter. Cleaned the Mini and picked up the missing pump and slime for the tyres. An oil change is £180 or I can wait till 15000 miles and have it done on the TLC plan for free.
Friday: Work.
Bob Clift Memorial Ride 2010
Third time I’ve ridden this event but the first time I’ve entered on the line. This proved to be a bit of a problem later on as I was riding a two year old Course.
It wasn’t until the day before that I realised the start had changed.
Phil was at the sign on again entering on the day, been on some fast rides with Phil and he’s looking for something else as the Chester Road club rides are faltering. He had some common sense and downloaded the Course off GarminConnect.
Phil told me about Stan having to cancel some of his rides due to lack of entries which is a pity as they are damn good rides. Phil is looking for an early finish so stays with the club guys up ahead.
I fall off the back and start following the 705 course from 3 years ago. Climbed the switchback at Delamere Forest Ok and all went fine until I went down this lane to find it closed. No problem just carry the bike around it. Re joined by a pub further up the lane only to see a group I’d passed earlier come into view, so I’m going backwards.
A
t Aldford Bridge we stop to watch the roadrace come through with the break at 20 seconds. The finish line is further down the hill, a small group of riders formed waiting for the race to go by and then it ws off to the first control at the Ice Cream Farm at Great Budworth. Pity they can’t make it car free but it’s been a nice ride up to now.
The control point had a voucher for tea and a cake but also had the dog above who would sit up and beg for food. Janet of the Two Mills section came in just as I was leaving for the next section up to the Wizard of Edge.
As I was following a previous ridden course I took no notice of the Road Closed signs again thinking I could slip through a gap again. This was not to be as the picture above shows. Beyond the barrier is a main railway line with no bridge so I had to follow the diversion signs.
This resulted in an 8 mile detour trying to get back onto the old course.
More worringly I had a major scare when a nutter overtook a long line of cars after a long section of double white lines. He must have been doing over 70 and I’ve got my head down on an empty side of the road.
Back on Course I finally get to climb up to The Wizard of Edge. The climb isn’t too bad once you’ve done it a few times
Lot,s of nice places around this neck of the woods, in fact the whole ride has been nice.
After the hill at Redway it’s all downhill so to speak. The next control at Scotswood Nursery. Here they couldn’t do enough for us, bacon barms sausage barms, cakes and tea.
No more pictures after this one as it started to rain and finishing became a concern.
A trip through Macclesfield down hill with a car on my tail the rear tyre became soft I finally stopped on an unmade section of road not wanting to cause any more damage.
It turned out to be the valve parting company from the tube. The carbon fibre pump got the tyre up to a rideable pressure but isn’t great. Rain clouds finally broke and the Aldi jacket got pressed into service.
It didn’t come off for the remainder of the ride. Before Lock 57 control I bumped into 2 riders coming the other way looking for a sign, turned them around as ths was definetly the right way. The bigger guy was getting dropped by his mate on the climbs.
At Lock 57 control the heavens opened and I resisted the Cafe as once inside you wouldn’t get me out. As it was I hid under the M6 for 10 minutes waiting for the rain to die off.
Next stop is the Jessie Hughes Institute at Eaton. On this section the Gamin 705 started to play up. First it would Auto stop and then restart a second or two later. Then it lost the map for some reason but still showed the course which was just as well as the route sheet was a bit sodden.
No shoes allowed in the Jessie Hughes institute as cleats would damage the floor.I didn’t stay long as time was getting on and I left at 5 past 5 with the check closing at 5:30.
The others in Lock 57 aren’t going to make this control as I’d set myself a target of an hour to do the final 15 miles. The route back goes around Beeston Castle and drops down to the canal over the hump back bridge that has been hit by a car. Everywhere is deserted with a steady drizzle to keep you company.
You can see the church at the finish a few miles away and hear the bells, I’m still wondering if the were real bells or a tape.
The stats 102 miles, 7 hrs 23 minutes, 13.89 average.
Data is still locked up in the 705 so no GarminConnect link yet.
Thursday: Still trying to recover the ride data, got about 70 miles of it now. It has got me thinking about how quiet the roads and lanes are midweek or just generally. Off an A or busy B road there is next to no traffic at off-peak times. Most of my rides have been on deserted roads and lanes.
Frank Kinlan's Blog 