Posts Tagged ‘Colnago’

Size Does Matter

Posted: June 2, 2013 in COPD, Cycling, training, Travel
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Sometimes, you can go too large. I found this out today, to my cost. Those reading my recent entries will no doubt smile (again) at the number of punctures I recently endured. Well yesterday I found the cause: there was a nick in the side of my Continental Four Season Tyre which just large enough to let the tube squeeze into and subsequently burst. Pleased with my discovery (I was beginning to think the rim itself was at fault) I changed the tyre. The only spare useable tyre was a tyre labelled as an All Conditions Armadilo 700 x 25mm. Well, I’m sure I run 25 mm tyres before on the Colnago so on went the tyre. Pumping the tyre up to 120 psi I was so pleased to note that nothing burst and the tyre stayed hard I put my trusty steed away for the night all ready for the next day’s ride.

Morning came, and route all mapped out off I went tot he Hungerford Library Car Park to meet up with Charles before setting off on our epic route. After about half a mile, we meet our first climb, a climb I always find tough but today was particularly tough and I remember thinking just how am I going to get through today if I struggle like this at the first hill. Anyway, hill conquered, on we went, down hill and having to pedal: Surely I can be this bad I thought. During the next couple of miles, on I struggled as cyclist by the dozen (I may be exaggerating the numbers) flew past me most likely who was the fat wheezer on the Colnago: well, if any of those cyclists are reading this, you now know the answer, it was me.

Turning left in Little Bedwyn we went uphill past The Harrow [too early for a refreshment stop and they’re shut on Sundays anyway :-(] and ran out of gears with the first 100 yards. Eventually I stopped and checked the bike out. I’m used to struggling for the first five miles of any ride (COPD seems to do this), but this was ridiculous. It was then that I found out that the new tyre on the rear was just a little bit too wide and any strain on the pedals was pulling the wheel just enough to pull the tyre against the rear stay thereby providing me with a third brake that I really didn’t want or need. I released the wheel, reset it and off we went again. Onwards we climbed and still the tyre rubbed. But, after last week having three false starts I was determined not to stop and kept going. Actually it was probably quite good as it was like resistance training: every mile was equal to two as a consequence.

Inevitably however, I had to cave in. If I’d continued the tyre would have been reduced from 25 to 23 mm and with it would come the risk of a blowout and I real didn’t fancy too long a walk home. Also, all the rubbing can’t have been doing my frame any good at all. And so after just 15 miles, we head back into the comforting arms of The Downgate, open by now for a quick top up of fluids before going home in a big sulk.

So, my 58 miles became 15 but being home earlier than planned did mean that I could order some new tyres before tackling any chores in the garden.

Maybe I’ll get out later in the day on the De Rosa.

Slow Podge, Slow

The Pressure is On

Posted: June 1, 2013 in COPD, Cycling, training, Travel
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So, today is the 1st June. With the WheelsForRotary scheduled for July, the pressure is really on for me to be ready for the event. The question is: Will I be ready?

I really hope so. I really want to prove to those doctors that COPD or no COPD, I can still ride a bike.

Last week was 52 miles: 52 tough miles but I did it. This week, tomorrow, it will be 58’ish miles – I may plan the routes but until I actually ride them, I never know the final distance. Navigational errors (going the wrong way) can cause the overall distance to increase or decrease although experience tends to suggest that an increase is more likely than a decrease.

So, I will be at the Hungerford Library Car Park at 10:00 for a 10:15 depart if anybody wants to tag along. The route can be found here:

Question is, do I ride the Colnago or the De Rosa?

Go Podge, Go.

Of Course I Made It!

Posted: May 27, 2013 in Cycling, training, Travel
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How could anybody doubt that His Podgeness would not make the ride. He did but not without a couple of false starts as the trilogy of mishaps of the previous Sunday continued into a new Trilogy.

Having spent Saturday sprucing up his beloved Colnago and clearing all excess weight (Swiss Army Knife, scissors, the off multi tool, etc.), all was ready for the Sunday Training Ride. This was to be the biggest ride sol far with a massive from 40 to 50+ miles and so with some trepidation, His Podgeness along with Master Nicholas set off for the Library Car Park. As the rode in they espied Mike Howie (must get a better name for Mr Howie) whose initial greeting was hav you got an allan key? I’ve left mine at home and my saddle is at the wrong height. Master Nicholas was immediately despatched to source said tool to return with much haste. During this time Charles arrived and set up his 23 year old and looking all its age Peugeot mountain bike by which time Mr Howie was all set to go.

Just before the off however, His Podgeness did look down upon the Peugeot Mountain Bike and did decree that perhaps the steed was not really up to the job and suggested that perhaps a road bike, loaned from his own stable, would be more appropriate.

At the allotted time, the ‘famous’ four set off. “Arn’t we going the wrong way?” asked Mr Howie. “Don’t think so” said His Podgeness. Just then, there was a bang and the sound of escaping air emanating from one certain Colnago. With home being only half a mile away, they all set off to ‘Podge’s Towers’ to change the tube and set off again but then a brainwave was had. Why don’t we just change the back wheel altogether (just in case the wheel is at fault). Withe brainwave recognised, the wheel from the De Rosa was inserted into the Colnago and off they set: this time in the direction that Mr Howie believed to be the correct way.  But, the Colnago was slipping its gears and was unrideable and so after half a mile they returned to Podge’s Towers  to reinsert the back wheel back into the Tango and so, on the third attempt, they set off in the original direction which was as it happened the right direction.

After this series of false starts, all went well and although the Tango did occasionally clunk it’s gears, it was adequate for the day. The original intention was to head off through Little Bedwyn and then across to Kintbury, Newbury and then south to Whitchurch. Having lost 45 minutes through false starts though it was decided to just go for a ride and see where the roads went. Well, apart from looping around Newbury via Highclere, the ride went as planned. It was just after Highclere that the back wheel of Master Nicholas Colnago (yes, another Colnago) started to develop a horrid rattle although, while off putting didn’t ‘seem to affect’ the performance. And so, the four continued to a crossroads where Mr Howie said “here my friends, we turn right back on to the original route”. “Oh bother” said His Podgeness, “this takes up Watership”, “Yep” said My Howie, “but then, you did put it in the route Podge”. “Drat” said His Podgeness. And off they set, down then up, and up, and up and up until Hid Podgeness once again revised the ‘Push Bike’. Once at the top however, it was down hill virtually al the way to Whitchurch through some of the most amazing countryside. Then it was time to turn north and head for home towards the dreaded Faccombe Hill. This was where Mr Howie’s gears started to clunk and click whenever he needed to find just one more lower gear (his Podgeness had run out of gears well before 🙂 ). It was then that we realised and recognised the irony. On this ride were three state of the art bicycles made of the latest carbon fibre with the snazziest wheels and best indexed gears on the market and the only bike that was ‘sound as a pound’ was the 23 year old  Peugeot Mountain Bike.

Ando so, with pride just a little dented and newly found respect for the elder of the bike world, they all made their way to Downgate Club Hut for their well earned , now traditional, end of ride drink during which all carbon bikes were hidden, in shame, beneath the only bike that held out though the whole ride. But at least they all made the 52 miles.

Next week, who know but all did agree that the 16th would be the Great Western Sportive to which all would attend. Yeah.

Go Podge, Go

That Was The Summer That Was…..

Posted: June 9, 2012 in Cycling, general, training
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Back in April, and full of hope, I posted that I had decommissioned the Tacx iMagic Turbo and put back Colnago Bling Machine back on the road. Well, unfortunately, this was never going to work out, and in truth I should have known.

With the long awaited arrival of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Weekend, I (His Podgeness) decided to make a week of it and took the rest of the week off, which by the way is why there have been no joy of travel updates :-). The intention, as I’m sure you will have guessed was not just to enjoy the Jubilee Celebrations (which I did) but also to get in lots of carefree cycling miles. How naive could I have been. Having basked in glorious sunshine the week before, most of which I either spent on the train [of which i wrote plenty] or in the office, I was greeted with a week of blithering wind and rain and then more rain and wind and then some more.

So, I’m sad to report that His Podgeness did NOT get out in the road at all :-(. So, there I was feeling very picked on and generally in a sulk I decided that I was going to play bikes one way or another and looked to tinker, but this achieved little. In the end, I bit the bullet and dismantled my old Ribble Stealth and built my new De Rosa Tango Stealth [check it out here]. That done, and looking at the weather forecast going forward, I gave in and brought out the iMagic and reinstated the Colnago back to the role of chief turbo bike while retaining the De Rosa for general road use.

Buoyed on by the  knowledge, and subsequent envy and pride of course, that Swifty Matt Conner has just spent the same week in the Alps and thought they while there, he’d just pop out and complete ‘La Marmotte‘ route as part of his training. Given that the route takes in the  Col du Glandon, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier and finishes on the Alpe d’Huez this is no mean feat, so cracking job Matt: well done and yes, I really do envy you. But, you have spurred me on. I have the Ventoux route on the iMagic, and yes, I will do it, maybe not this week but it will be this summer. So now, I’m off to the turbo.

Look out for my next post on how I ended up in the raging torrents of the Shalbourne Brook. 🙂

Go Podge, Go.

Cyclist Reborn, or, Cyclist Recycled

Posted: April 23, 2012 in Cycling, training, Travel
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The trouble with packing away a turbo for the season, especially if it’s a Tacx iMagic is that sometimes, just sometimes, some of the ‘bits’ go astray and putting it back together ain’t so easy. In a flash of inspiration however, it did occur to me that with three cyclists in the household, there are three turbos (only my one is an iMagic) and that of those three, two are the right size for me. So, with much appreciation to the Mole Man (Nick) I can leave the iMagic for another day. 🙂
I have to say, it will be weird as the bike on the trainer is my old Giant which I passed on to Nick a couple of years ago so it will be a kind of reunion I suppose.
Naturally, switching to another bike & trainer (the Colnago is staying off Turbos) does mean that I’ll need another pair of shoes as Nick uses Look and I use SPD. Why do I use SPDs? It’s because it’s easier to walk up hills with mtb type shoes than with Look and for those that know me, I don’t like hills. I do hills. I cuss hills. I even look for hills but I don’t like them. And with my advancing years and my shrinking clothes!, getting up some hills does cause me to realise the term ‘Push Bike’ :-).
I’ve ordered a new pair of wheels for the Colnago by the way, just to add to its blinginess and will post a new photo when she’s ready: so that’ll be something to look forward to.
I’m now looking to acquire an old hack as I’ll be looking to cycle to the station in the future rather than drive the three quarters of mile each day. Better still, I’ve worked out I can cycle to the next station which is about 9-miles on which will give me my mileage quota and save me money. Of course I won’t be so smug when it’s blowing a gale and chucking it down with hail / rain but I’ll just have to deal with that as and when it happens.
As I seem to running out of pixels, I’ll finish here and switch to work mode now 😦 Byeee.
Go Podge Go.

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