Challenge 1. The challenge of 100k a week will need a bit of a push to maintain. This is the second week in a row the challenge has not been met. I can blame this and that and weather (which is true) but next week there must be a focus on cycling the 100k or it risks going the same way as New Year Resolutions – into the bin.
At the beginning of the week I took the Bike E for a diagnosis run. Most things are working OK but there was a ‘clunk’ happening in time with pedalling and it sounded like it is coming from the back of the bike. So I rode and fiddled with the gears, rode some more and fiddled some more and decided that the gears were all working OK. I checked the chain for some sort of malwear – no, it was OK. Maybe the sound was coming from the front and being dispersed by the hollow aluminium frame. Checked the chainwheel. Pulled out quite a bit of gunk but still the noise was there. Gave up and rode on. Then one more check; wheeled the bike slowly and moved the pedals through their circuit and – aha – the left pedal was hitting the metal tube that guides the brake cable into the brake arm – ‘Clunk’! A bit of tape around the tube and the clunk went away.
Challenge 2. The Challenge within a Challenge was to get to 2,000 kilometers cycled in the year – and by Sunday this wasn’t looking too good either – but the weather was fine, the Bike E was working and off we went for a local loop to get over that hurdle.
Why not a ride on the Greenspeed I hear you ask? Well, that is a reasonable question and a bit of disappointment there. During the stormy 11th May I had set the boom length to my leg length and made a few other minor alterations ready for a test ride. On the 12th I started on the first Greenspeed Anura test ride in Longford and 3 kilometers in had a puncture. Anura was walked back home (by lifting the front and pulling) and after a restorative cup of tea I set to mending the puncture. Difficulties arose around the tight fitting tyre, a 16″ wheel and older, arthritic hands. It was hard to get the tyre off and almost impossible to get back on and in the process I scratched the nice black finish on the wheel. A total piss-off. Worse, if I can’t mend a puncture then any sort of decent touring on the machine will be in doubt. The repaired inner tube was finally fitted and pumped up and immediately deflated! So, I have to return to the Sisyphean task and see what happens next. I understand the tyres on Old Yella are the original (8-10 years old?) and reckon it’s about time to put a set of Marathons on it. These will ride slower than the Soarers made for Greenspeed but they just don’t puncture (in my experience).
I am looking for a silver lining here – being a silver lining sort of bloke. Yes, there it is – bloody good thing the puncture happened close to home rather than at Black Rocks by Port Phillip Bay when I had to get to the Ferry or miss my ride home. OK, feeling better now!
So, with a few ks on the Brompton, none on the Vivente, 38 on the Yella and 12 on the Bike E for the week, it was time for a Sunday morning ride to make sure the 2,000 k was hit. The Bike E was selected and checked. Tyres OK but the suspension had deflated a bit and had to be pumped back up to 130 psi. Then a loop around the local countryside added 15k and the 2,000 was reached!
Sneaking through the gap onto the quiet Tannery Road thus avoiding the busy main road.
The Bike E performed well and once again coasted down the hills at up to 40kph without the scares of the first ride. It is now ready to return to Ken.
2,000 k. Done. A Kilometre Progress Indicator or KPI success to report at my next major project task review.
Total for week : 80 k Total for year : 2,025 k (happy about that!)
Vivente : 0 k (!) Brompton : 14 k Bike E : 28 k Old Yella : 38
Tony's Tasmanian Cycling Blog 