tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33478507593885179672024-03-13T16:42:37.173+00:00CycleSwimRun
A blog about cycling, running and swimmingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-25860970967219142182013-08-06T10:53:00.000+01:002013-08-06T10:53:25.561+01:00Post 50 mile malaise <br />
We got round the Lakeland 50 fairly comfortably; we weren't fast, but we finished with some energy to spare. I'm sure we could have gone further, or maybe faster, but I'm not sure that it would have been as much fun.<br />
<br />
So the effect it seems to have had on me has come as a bit of a surprise. I'm really tired. And really hungry. All of the time. Even more hungry than I usually am, and craving carbs.<br />
<br />
It seems a strange sort of deep tiredness, almost like a fog; the first word that comes to mind is weary, and then maybe torpor...<br />
<br />
The tiredness may have been enhanced by my almost sleep free 32 hours volunteering at the LEL (London Edinburgh London 1400Km audax) control in Brampton, and I may be getting a cold, but it feels like more than that.<br />
<br />
It may be post-event blues; I had been so focussed on the Lakeland 50 (and so convinced that I was going to struggle to get round) that now that it is over everything seems a bit flat. The downside to a high driven by anticipation, adrenaline and endorphins.<br />
<br />
I suppose all that I can do is wait and see what happens next. I'll keep sleeping a lot, and eating a lot of cake, and I'll avoid any hard exercise (and the bathroom scales) for a few more days and then I'll try to take myself in hand...<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-91276588221506233382013-08-05T11:16:00.003+01:002013-08-05T11:16:44.024+01:00The perfect trail shoe? Inov8 TrailRoc 255 - long term reviewA few months ago I published <a href="http://www.cycleswimandrun.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/my-left-foot.html" target="_blank">a blog </a>about my apparently endless quest for the perfect trail or fell shoe. This boiled down to a shoe that was either wide enough to comfortably accommodate the bunion on my left foot, or soft enough to conform to the shape of my bunion, while at the same time strong enough not to split.<br />
<br />
In February I bought a pair of Inov8 TrailRoc 255 shoes from Pete Bland in Kendal. As I commented in a <a href="http://cycleswimandrun.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/resurrection.html" target="_blank">blog post</a> at the time they appeared to be promising, but after training in them regularly since then, and running the Allendale Challenge (26 miles) in April, the Swaledale Marathon (23 miles) in June and the Lakeland 50 in July I thought it was a good time to review their performance.<br />
<br />
I bought the TrailRoc because it is an Inov8 with a "natural" fit, so based on my experience of other Inov8 shoes I expected it to accommodate my bunion. I chose the 255 with a 6mm drop (2 arrows in the world of Inov8) rather than any of the lighter models (zero drop 235 and 150, 3mm drop 245; the numbers refer to the weight of a single UK size 8 shoe) because I was looking for a more rugged shoe that would protect my feet and give me a little support in a 50 mile event. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWablAnzTWH80aTZd3TMr69hMzHvODSyjfPheU_CAZQ2yeBu0iQEayv5lPe0yEF2DZWvBG6UP1EQ4K4ACpHu_JhQranu3N3P8RLfsbZ0z0GhLj6nOIJGP_df-TIyRzIlYxTxCIaGYkba0/s1600/trailroc-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Inov8 TrailRoc 255" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWablAnzTWH80aTZd3TMr69hMzHvODSyjfPheU_CAZQ2yeBu0iQEayv5lPe0yEF2DZWvBG6UP1EQ4K4ACpHu_JhQranu3N3P8RLfsbZ0z0GhLj6nOIJGP_df-TIyRzIlYxTxCIaGYkba0/s320/trailroc-1.jpg" title="Inov8 TrailRoc 255 - sole" width="320" /></a>This shoe also has a strip of stronger material (presumably this can be described as a rand) running right round the front of the shoe above the sole, a couple of centimetres (or an inch) deep, starting in front of the heel. This makes the shoe stronger, although less flexible, less prone to damage from sharp rocks, and, most importantly, protects the foot from sharp projecting rocks.<br />
<br />
In terms of my experience of the shoe, I found the upper to be very comfortable, and suffered very few blisters. Of the blisters I did have, most were between my toes, caused by my toes rubbing together. I don't think that this was shoe specific, and I seem to have resolved the problem by wearing Injinji toe socks.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWUgrZQoWHhI5uublDnDs4pHvZpwRLiVjjMNbBK32wpbjmoKOhwN89E4GI86rqafOfcRvYxY8ROL0ol6nWY3-A0sY6CreabweGv5nJ1teYtvLKYtuVFqL1nxjQit0wYw6Byj6DaTAMOI/s1600/trailroc-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWUgrZQoWHhI5uublDnDs4pHvZpwRLiVjjMNbBK32wpbjmoKOhwN89E4GI86rqafOfcRvYxY8ROL0ol6nWY3-A0sY6CreabweGv5nJ1teYtvLKYtuVFqL1nxjQit0wYw6Byj6DaTAMOI/s320/trailroc-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The toe box is wide enough to accommodate my bunion without re-lacing, and the rand didn't cause any problems even though it clearly prevented the material from deforming around my bunion. The rand is excellent at protecting the foot from sharp stones, and seems to have helped prevent the splitting I have experienced with other Inov8 shoes.<br />
<br />
The grip isn't quite as aggressive as I might like, especially on wet rock, but it handles most other surfaces adequately. The rock plate protects the sole of the foot well, and on the very rough trails of the Lakeland 50 my soles (that is the soles of my feet) survived quite well.<br />
<br />
The combination of the welt and the slightly more padded upper does retain water more than other Inov8 shoes I have used, but not to the point where it becomes an issue.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWC_FGdCn04rmdg8Se-4ipQZC3Nuxt-twgQOxXOqFj-uh7N8FeY7aucOaXy7dWsmZsZQkZ3Wq4MSM2dihC6rpwhNi6PxSE0IK9lwtISfwZaTTbWvyUxmFbHoBNVD_Ekyi7egzymGFves/s1600/trailroc-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWC_FGdCn04rmdg8Se-4ipQZC3Nuxt-twgQOxXOqFj-uh7N8FeY7aucOaXy7dWsmZsZQkZ3Wq4MSM2dihC6rpwhNi6PxSE0IK9lwtISfwZaTTbWvyUxmFbHoBNVD_Ekyi7egzymGFves/s320/trailroc-2.jpg" width="320" /></a>To summarise, I like them; maybe the grip isn't perfect, but at least I haven't destroyed them yet. They are comfortable when worn for long periods over very rough ground and they seem to be robust enough to survive for a good few hundred miles more. They aren't superlight racing shoes, and they aren't very aggressive fell shoes, but for long rough trails and general off-road training they are great.<br />
<br />
Perfect? Probably not, but really quite good. <br />
<br />
If you don't believe me, there is an excellent review <a href="http://www.irunfar.com/2012/11/inov-8-trailroc-255-review.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-36251353771997753112013-08-03T19:39:00.000+01:002013-08-04T21:45:01.630+01:00Cold porridge<br />
It seems to be the consensus amongst runners and cyclists that a big bowl of porridge is the breakfast of choice before a long run, a long day in the saddle, or a race. Since I eat porridge almost every morning whatever I am doing, I find it hard to argue with this position.<br />
<br />
However, in the summer I find that I don't always want a bowl of steaming hot porridge, but I still need the slow release carbs to get me through the morning. I came across the solution a few years ago (actually 8 years ago now I check) in a copy of The Times, a newspaper I never read, which had a recipe by Jill Dupleix for "summer porridge". I would give you a link to this as I know it is still on The Times' website, but unless you are willing to pay up, it is safely buried behind their paywall.<br />
<br />
The idea is not really original, it is simply another reworking of Bircher muesli, and once you have the basic idea it can be easily customised to meet your preference. My version is very close to the Jill Dupleix version, and the main difference between this version and most of the current versions of Bircher muesli is that the oats are soaked in water and not in fruit juice.<br />
<br />
For two medium sized servings, take a cup (250ml) of large oat flakes / porridge oats / jumbo oats (weighing about 100g or 3 3/4 oz) and soak in some water (say 300ml or 10 UK fluid oz) in a large bowl for 20 to 30 minutes. Then drain off the excess water and add the following:<br />
<br />
3 generously heaped tablespoons (maybe 70 - 100ml) yogurt - I use full fat Greek style, use low fat if you enjoy being disappointed<br />
1 dessert spoon of runny honey (about 10ml), more if you have a sweet tooth<br />
1 banana - sliced thinly<br />
<br />
This is my basic recipe, to which I add some (usually one or two fresh fruit, one nut or seed and maybe one dried fruit) of the following:<br />
<br />
Fresh raspberries or strawberries<br />
Fresh or frozen blueberries (I just add them straight from the freezer)<br />
Sultanas or chopped dates or chopped dried apricots<br />
Pumpkin seeds<br />
Chopped nuts - almonds, pecans or brazils<br />
Chopped pear or peach<br />
A grated apple, unpeeled<br />
<br />
Mix it all up and put it in two bowls. That's it.<br />
<br />
Eat it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-23417201543038068132013-08-02T12:32:00.001+01:002013-08-02T17:05:32.124+01:00Montane Lakeland 50 2013 - FoodRunners obsess about food and drink. Sometimes they make this sound more important by talking about "nutrition" and "hydration" "strategies", but it does come down to food and drink.<br />
<br />
We had a plan, a strategy, perhaps even a philosophy about food and drink for the 50, based on experience of eating and drinking in marathons and in training; but even so, at the point of starting the 50 we had never covered more than 30 miles in a single session, so whatever we did was purely experimental.<br />
<br />
The plan was simple; eat lots of food, often. Since we weren't going super fast we decided to take quite bulky real food, and chose not to rely on the food at checkpoints. Apart from water, when we set off we could have done the route entirely self supported (at least in terms of food, we may well have got lost!).<br />
<br />
The real food versus sports / energy drinks / bars / gels discussion was straightforward. Most of those things seem to make me feel sick if I eat them in quantity, or in isolation for any period of time. I'm starting to think that although sports drinks and gels give me a short term boost (in a fast half marathon, for example), they tend to make me crash shortly afterwards, and from experience of very hot marathons, I am fairly convinced that the very high sugar concentrations actually prevent my stomach from absorbing water. So, we were expecting to be out for 14 hours or more, so no sports drinks, gels or bars. Easy.<br />
<br />
What to take instead? First of all, we were required to take emergency food we didn't intend to eat, so I bagged up a big lump of shop bought marzipan and a handful of dates and dried apricots and hid them in the bottom of the rucksacks. For an emergency boost equivalent to a gel, we took a pouch of banana baby food (essentially, just mashed banana - very expensive mashed banana, but easy to carry). Apart from that, we took the following:<br />
<br />
Cheese and pickle sandwiches<br />
Home made flapjack - the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/24/halva-flapjacks-recipe-dan-lepard?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487" target="_blank">Dan Lepard halva ones</a> with figs and pecans<br />
Chocolate and sea salt sticky rice and oat balls (recipe from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feed-Zone-Portables-Cookbook-On-The-Go/dp/1937715000" target="_blank">Feed Zone Portables</a> by Biju Thomas )<br />
Dates and dried apricots<br />
Salted boiled potatoes<br />
Salted almonds<br />
Nuun electrolyte tablets<br />
Water<br />
<br />
Yes, I realise that was a lot to carry, but we wanted to be sure that we had what worked. Having a choice meant we didn't need to eat anything we didn't fancy, or eat all the same thing until it caused a problem, and if something plainly wasn't working, we could have something else. And nutritionally it seemed to cover all of the bases; slow release carbs, fast carbs, protein, fat, salt...<br />
<br />
Of the things in the list, we ate some of everything, and all of the rice balls and flapjack, most of the dried fruit and quite a lot of the sandwiches and almonds. The potatoes might have been a bit of a mistake, they were nice, but a bit messy and fiddly to get at, and too heavy. The salty almonds were great, and encouraged me to drink more; I was definitely dehydrated as a result of the hot climb out of Fusedale.<br />
<br />
I also ate and drank a few things from the checkpoints; a flapjack and a fig roll at Howtown, a cup of tea at Mardale Head, more tea and a couple of bits of apple (delicious; quite a revelation) at Kentmere, tea and a cheese sandwich at Ambleside, tea and a bit of bread at Chapel Stile, and finally more tea at Tilberthwaite.<br />
<br />
<br />
At the end, all I really wanted was a cup of tea and the remaining cheese sandwich.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-75990558028916766962013-07-29T23:21:00.001+01:002013-07-29T23:21:11.245+01:00Montane Lakeland 50 2013 - A grand day (and night) out<br />
Following on from my last post... <br />
<br />
...we arrived at Coniston on Friday evening, found the event headquarters, parked and pitched the tent in cloudless, still conditions.<br />
<br />
We did the weigh-in thing, signed in and had kit checked, then collected numbers, maps and road books, got some free stuff, and had dibbers apparently permanently welded to our wrists.<br />
<br />
Back at the tent we ate a couple of sandwiches and some rice pudding, then had an early night.<br />
<br />
Next morning I was awake early, and surprised to see so many others up and about. I was a little dismayed to see that the sky was still cloud free, and promising to be warm.<br />
<br />
After breakfast I sorted out the food I was taking with me, and added a change of socks and a vest to my rucksack. I stuck some magic tape onto my shoulders to help stop my rucksack rubbing (thank you to the neighbour in the camper van for the loan of a pair of scissors; the magic tape resisted my teeth) and A did some similar last minute faffing.<br />
<br />
After a last minute cup of tea we went to the briefing in the hall, already full of sweating runners. Then we were on the coach and off to Dalemain to wait for the start.<br />
<br />
And so it began with a quick dip of the dibber and a jog round the fields at Dalemain, in the blazing heat, then off towards Pooley Bridge. Once we were through Pooley Bridge we were soon out onto the track above Ullswater. It was still very warm as we dropped down to the first checkpoint at Howtown. Once we had dibbed, topped up water bottles and grabbed a piece of value flapjack, we were back off up the hill, pausing only to point out to a couple of competitors that they were about to head off up Fusedale without bothering with the first checkpoint.<br />
<br />
And so to the first climb of the day; it was hot, humid and airless. Everybody seemed to be suffering, not just me, which was some consolation, but not much. At the top we ran over the soft bouncy turf, and actually found the correct cairn, and footpath straight down to Haweswater. A bit of a drag along the lakeside path and on to the second checkpoint at Mardale Head for a cup of tea and a sit down on the tarmac.<br />
<br />
It was still warm on the drag out of Mardale Head to Gatesgarth Pass, but once we over the top there were ominous grumblings and rumblings of distant thunder, accompanied by one or two huge spots of rain. A few hundred metres further and it was pouring, it didn't last long, but it was worth putting on waterproof tops for. <br />
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There were more showers off and on all the way to the next checkpoint, making it difficult to decide whether to keep the waterproof on, and steam within, or chance taking it off, only to replace it again almost immediately when the next downpour started.<br />
<br />
A more unusual side effect of the rain was the deluge of dilute sweat and sun cream finding its way into my eyes and causing some discomfort, as a bonus my steamed up and rain spattered spectacles weren't helping over the loose and rough surface of the descent. I had a choice, take my glasses off and see vague shapes, or leave them on and see a wet blur.<br />
<br />
But still we managed to arrive at the Kentmere checkpoint for another cup of tea and a small piece of apple (don't worry, we were eating more than this, but the food deserves a blog post all to itself). We had been going for 7 and 3/4 hours and had covered 27 miles; not fast, but that wasn't the point, we wanted to be sure of getting round, and given the lack of training we didn't want to take chances.<br />
<br />
Once the tea was drunk, we left the throbbing techno behind and we were back out into more rain. Waterproofs back on, we set off up over Garburn Pass. We met a few of the people we had overtaken earlier, and assumed that they had resisted the lure of the checkpoint, but apparently we just faffed more than anybody else.<br />
<br />
We got over the top of the Garburn Pass fairly easily, and chatted to a hundred competitor, clearly not a local, who seemed to think the weather was just crazy, one minute warm, the next cold, then raining and then thundering. He was fed up with putting his waterproof on, then taking it off again, so he was leaving it in his bag.<br />
<br />
On to Troutbeck, then to Ambleside, stumbling through the woods as it began to get dark. The checkpoint was packed, and steaming hot. We grabbed another cup of tea, and I had a cheese sandwich while trying to get a blister plaster to stick on A's Vaseline covered feet. We didn't stay long as it was too hot, but more faffing with head torches was required once we were back outside and realised that it was now dark. <br />
<br />
It wasn't a great surprise that it was dark, but it was earlier than we had been expecting. It was only 9:40, and we had been hoping not to need the headlights until 10:30 or so. Never mind, at least the rain had stopped.<br />
<br />
The next section to Chapel Stile, was relatively easy. Mostly runnable after the initial climb, even by the light of our torches. And we got to within a few miles of the Chapel Stile checkpoint before the rain became heavy enough to warrant putting the waterproofs back on; this time they stayed on until the end.<br />
<br />
The checkpoint at Chapel Stile is clearly best appreciated after dark; lit by blazing scented logs, it is a bizarre apparition in a tent pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but we tried not to get too comfortable, even though the offer of tea once more proved irresistible.<br />
<br />
Now properly dark and properly raining, A took the opportunity to change out of shorts and into running tights, in a somewhat indiscreet manner. Then I took the opportunity to show my inability to navigate in the dark by leading a group past the stile I was looking for, despite A having pointed it out to me. I kept trying to explain to people not to follow me, but they wouldn't listen. Somewhat chastened, we fell in behind those who knew better than us, but for some reason we let them get away, and once more I was at the front. This time it worked out a little better, and we were soon heading down past Blea Tarn; but of course we couldn't see the tarn in the dark and my confidence was a bit shaken by now, and I had to get a grid reference from my GPS to confirm we were on the correct path. <br />
<br />
Another group caught up with us, and following some debate over whether we had strayed to far away from Blea Moss, we turned to head directly to the distant light on the self dib on the road. Entirely to everybody's surprise, this turned out to be about 20 metres away, when a moment before it seemed to be about half a mile away.<br />
<br />
On towards Tilberthwaite the rain got heavier, the wind was blowing and A's headlight was fading. We stopped to change the batteries, but it wouldn't work. We could have tried another spare set, but the cold was starting to affect me and we agreed that she would take my headlight and I would manage with my (awesome Hope) hand torch. <br />
<br />
The checkpoint at Tilberthwaite was a disappointment. This wasn't anybody's fault, it just didn't provide enough cover from the rain, and we were craving a dry spot to allow us to put on every additional piece of clothing we had; waterproof trousers (have I ever, in my life, worn waterproof trousers?), buff, extra Helly Hansen thermal shirt, Buff, hat, gloves...<br />
<br />
And then back out into it, for the final stretch. It was now after 2 in the morning, and we had been out for 14 and a half hours, but we now had less than 4 miles to go. We weren't giving up, even with a horrific climb up the side of the quarry in front of us, with everything awash, and streams pouring along the paths. But it went reasonably well, we kept to the path and at the top found a safe way over the stream above the waterfall, now in spate. Then past the tarn, and very slowly down the very rough path down to the cottages and the track back to Coniston.<br />
<br />
And so back to Coniston, still running, and into the school to be greeted like heroes... when in fact we had taken 16 hours to achieve what others had done in less than 8, and if we had only gone a bit faster we would have missed all of the rain and the dark. Although I'm not sure I really would have wanted to miss all of that.<br />
<br />
Epic.<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-60840286115204313622013-07-29T16:16:00.000+01:002013-07-29T16:23:18.964+01:00Montane Lakeland 50 2013 - getting to the startWay back in September we entered the Lakeland 50; a 50 mile jog in the English Lake District from Dalemain near Ullswater to Coniston. It is open to runners and walkers, with the winner coming in somewhere around 8 hours and the last competitors completing the event just within the 24 hour cut-off. This generous cut-off time, and the fact that it is run in conjunction with the Lakeland 100 (almost a complete loop around the Lake District, 100 miles long) make it seem less daunting than it really is. <br />
<br />
It is <em>only </em>50 miles (only 50 when compared to the 100), and only 3100m of ascent, and back in September it seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to consider entering. And besides, it was filling up fast, so if we wanted to do it, we had to commit. So we entered, and then had 10 months to worry about it, and even do a wee bit of training.<br />
<br />
Training didn't really go well. My partner in all things, A, had been injured since the Swaledale marathon in early June, and was just beginning to run again. After a horrible experience in the heat at the Windermere marathon, and then an enjoyable Swaledale marathon, I had pretty much abandoned running. Without A's encouragement, and the bike and wetsuit competing for my attention I had done as little running as the injured A.<br />
<br />
Still, we had 10 months, so that was OK.<br />
<br />
Then it was the new year and only 6 months to go, but the winter seemed to have almost run it's course in a fairly benign way for once, so we would start serious training in the spring. Then of course the snow came, later and heavier than I can remember it, and by the time of a slightly shortened (25 miles) and rerouted Allendale Challenge (on April 6th) we still hadn't really started any serious training. In June we ran the Swaledale Marathon (23 miles) reasonably comfortably on a warm day, and completed an official recce of the Lakeland 50 route from Pooley Bridge to Ambleside on a wet and windy day.<br />
<br />
Then we had a heat wave, a couple of long hard walk / run days in the Lake District, a reasonable amount of cycling (including a 100Km sportive on the tandem), and an unofficial recce of the remaining part of the Lakeland 50 route from Ambleside to Coniston. This final recce was less successful than the earlier recce. With the combination of the logistics of bus travel to the start from Coniston and the car journey from home, we finally started this at midday on one of the hottest days of the year. While it was beautiful, it was also very, very hot, and we struggled. The result was that although we got to see the route, our confidence was seriously dinted. <br />
<br />
We did do a bit more training than that, but I think we only managed one month between September and June with more than 100 miles in the month. Definitely lower volume than we had intended; and the longest run was barely 30 (very hilly) miles.<br />
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When the Lakeland 50 finally came around, we set off in the car to Coniston with a sense of trepidation bordering on dread. But at least the weather forecast looked OK...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-21807413072418027752013-03-24T17:59:00.001+00:002013-03-25T17:41:29.877+00:00Counting teeth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJrTzg2bYpor2yIiIRC8cv5M2YwJge1uD8H5rImvZ-Bu36xOBUFVrCJ2eqBJSLZmkjQl8B2i1la8gBTJrRBiGKoMZ8KsDCswSlOaF0TtslpONVJGKep4256RUt-cTKGtJ8wxjV-xF9mG4/s1600/hybrid+gears+-+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJrTzg2bYpor2yIiIRC8cv5M2YwJge1uD8H5rImvZ-Bu36xOBUFVrCJ2eqBJSLZmkjQl8B2i1la8gBTJrRBiGKoMZ8KsDCswSlOaF0TtslpONVJGKep4256RUt-cTKGtJ8wxjV-xF9mG4/s320/hybrid+gears+-+small.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
Sometimes I talk to cyclists (by this I mean actual, real people who are cyclists, and not the imaginary people in my head who I address in this blog), and they demonstrate their superiority in all things bike by attempting to discuss with me the number of teeth on the sprocketty things at the back of our respective bikes. These people always know the number of teeth they have on each sprocket, and I never do. Sometimes I have to look to check which bike I am riding.<br />
<br />
Obviously these people are geekier than I am about bikes. That people even exist who are geekier about bikes than me might come as a surprise, but it is true, they do (and when I say people, I don't really mean people, I mean men).<br />
<br />
I think these people actually consider the gearing of their bikes before they buy them. I tend to buy a bike because I like the colour, or the shiny bits attached to it are aesthetically pleasing in some way, or the man in the shop tells me that it's really great and it's just what I need (they often say that). I have been known to discuss the merits of triples over doubles or compacts with bike shop assistants, but we can usually both tell that neither of us really knows what we are talking about, our eyes glaze over, conversation peters out and I buy the bike anyway just to end the embarrassing silence.<br />
<br />
So in an attempt to satisfy my inner geek, to bolster my male pride (seriously dented now that I have admitted in public that I choose bikes entirely on the basis of the colour), and to maintain the impression that I understand these things, I have decided to perform a survey of the number of teeth on all of the sprockets on all of the bikes in the house. <br />
<br />
I also think it could be useful to know which gears I use, which combinations I like, and maybe even, why. All of this valuable research will lead me to the conclusion that I need a new bike. Probably.<br />
<br />
The result of all this oily tooth counting is summarised in a table. This shows the number of teeth on the chainset, whether double (or compact) or triple, and the number of teeth on the cassette sprockets; these are labelled "front" and "rear" in the table (respectively) for simplicity, and possibly clarity.<br />
<br />
The "Gear inches" columns show the gear inches for each gear combination, calculated in the following way:<br />
<br />
Gear inches = (F / R) x D<br />
<br />
where F is the number of teeth on the front ring, R is the number of teeth on the rear sprocket and D is the wheel diameter in inches, including the tyre.<br />
<br />
This is explained, and can be calculated <a href="http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.bikecalc.com/wheel_size_math" target="_blank">here</a>. Wikipedia has a good explanation of gear inches, and its origins for those interested. Although it dates back to the days of the high wheeler (AKA penny farthing), the usefulness of the measure is that it allows you to directly compare gear combinations on different bicycles with different sized wheels.<br />
<br />
I've done the calculations for all of the gear combinations, even though I realise that some of them are never used, or at least aren't really sensible to use; big ring at the front to big sprocket at the back being the obvious example.<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: currentColor; margin: auto auto auto -22.95pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-table-layout-alt: fixed; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 822px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 15.8pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="background: rgb(221, 217, 195); border: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 15.8pt; mso-background-themecolor: background2; mso-background-themeshade: 230; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 78pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bike<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(221, 217, 195); border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15.8pt; mso-background-themecolor: background2; mso-background-themeshade: 230; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gear
manufacturer<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(221, 217, 195); border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15.8pt; mso-background-themecolor: background2; mso-background-themeshade: 230; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 49.6pt;" width="66"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Front<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(221, 217, 195); border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15.8pt; mso-background-themecolor: background2; mso-background-themeshade: 230; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 134.65pt;" width="180"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rear<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(221, 217, 195); border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15.8pt; mso-background-themecolor: background2; mso-background-themeshade: 230; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 2cm;" width="76"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wheel
size<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(221, 217, 195); border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15.8pt; mso-background-themecolor: background2; mso-background-themeshade: 230; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 219.75pt;" width="293"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gear
inches<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 33.35pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 33.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 78pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Best road bike<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 33.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Campag<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Veloce / FSA – 2 x 10<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 33.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 49.6pt;" width="66"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">50<br />
34<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 33.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 134.65pt;" width="180"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">25/23/21/19/17/16/15/14/13/12<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 33.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 2cm;" width="76"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">700c<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 33.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 219.75pt;" width="293"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">52.6/57.2/62.6/69.2/77.4/82.2/87.7/93.9/101.2/109.6<br />
35.8/38.9/42.6/47.1/52.6/55.9/59.6/63.9/68.8/74.5<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 27.45pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 27.45pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 78pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Old steel<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>road bike<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 27.45pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Shimano RX100 – 2 x 7<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 27.45pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 49.6pt;" width="66"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">52<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">42<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 27.45pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 134.65pt;" width="180"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">23/21/97/17/15/14/13<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 27.45pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 2cm;" width="76"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">700c<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 27.45pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 219.75pt;" width="293"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">59.5/65.1/72.0/80.5/91.2/97.7/105.2<br />
48.0/52.6/58.1/65.0/73.6/78.9/85.0<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 40.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 40.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 78pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tandem<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 40.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Shimano Deore / Sugino – 3 x 8<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 40.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 49.6pt;" width="66"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">48<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">36<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">26<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 40.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 134.65pt;" width="180"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">30/24/19/17/16/14/12/11<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 40.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 2cm;" width="76"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">26”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 40.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 219.75pt;" width="293"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">50.5/54.9/60.166.4/74.3/84.2/90.2/97.1/105.2<br />
40.0/43.5/47.6/52.6/58.8/66.6/71.4/76.983.3<br />
29.5/32.0/35.0/38.8/43.3/49.1/52.6/56.7/61.4<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 43.3pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 43.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 78pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hybrid<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 43.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Shimano Altura – 3 x 7<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 43.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 49.6pt;" width="66"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">42<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">32<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">22<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 43.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 134.65pt;" width="180"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">28/24/21/18/15/13/11<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 43.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 2cm;" width="76"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">700c<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 43.3pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 219.75pt;" width="293"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">40.5/47.3/54.0/63.0/75.6/87.2/103.1<br />
30.9/36.0/41.1/48.0/57.6/66.5/78.6<br />
21.2/24.8/28.3/33.0/39.6/45.7/54.0<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 49.55pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 49.55pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 78pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Modern MTB<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 49.55pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Shimano Deore – 3 x 9<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 49.55pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 49.6pt;" width="66"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">44<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">32<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">21<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 49.55pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 134.65pt;" width="180"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">32/28/24/21/18/16/14/12/11<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 49.55pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 2cm;" width="76"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">26”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 49.55pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 219.75pt;" width="293"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">35.1/40.1/46.8/53.4/62.3/70.1/80.1/93.5/102.0<br />
25.5/29.1/34.0/38.9/45.3/51.0/58.3/68.0/74.2<br />
16.7/19.1/22.3/25.5/29.8/33.5/38.3/44.6/48.7<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><br />
Once I had counted all of those teeth, tabulated them and calculated the gear inch values, then I needed to think of something to say about them. And I'm not sure what that something is, so I may just be waffling from this point.<br />
<br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
The tandem</h4>
From what I have read about tandems, especially touring tandems, most people agree that the widest range of gears possible is a good thing, and I haven't seen much convincing evidence for the use of doubles or compact doubles on tandems anywhere that has hills. Some racing tandems are almost certainly excepted. <br />
Given that this isn't a racing tandem, and that I have ambitions to tour, and that I am surrounded by hills, the gear options on my particular tandem look well thought out and appropriate (but purely by chance as I only bought the tandem after I happened to see it in the shop window <em><strong>from the car</strong></em>). There aren't quite the low gears you would get on a true MTB, but I'm not sure I could keep the tandem upright with any lower gearing.<br />
<br />
<h4>
The road bikes</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlFVmW09Wxw7RYgF6161obydIrQST08l0-n-NnWOSqJimoKo7qfxg7X4nnLLZELYdZxz8cF9GgKwvELala50GgPQkLWGwfNQo7nRBgtNwkpJkaXJeC5-MuVFtqZ8vy2Oc7KaCL0PpaRU/s1600/orbit+cassette+-+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlFVmW09Wxw7RYgF6161obydIrQST08l0-n-NnWOSqJimoKo7qfxg7X4nnLLZELYdZxz8cF9GgKwvELala50GgPQkLWGwfNQo7nRBgtNwkpJkaXJeC5-MuVFtqZ8vy2Oc7KaCL0PpaRU/s320/orbit+cassette+-+small.jpg" width="263" /></a> </div>
I think that I already understood the difference between the road bikes; the old steel bike (an Orbit America from 1991, pretty much as new in terms of build) has an old school double and a 7-speed rear, meaning that the gearing is limited and there are no easy options uphill. A bike for flat country, or more likely, proper hard men. I do love this bike, but I might not quite be up to it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IICYh3uM5GlSwbY8zCQBWvoN-96DVueAnD0KAwaJgr7NrlfuEum2V_P-nfobbpxD_nMHQH6GvJpCQ4YXc_DdndJmhWBeHbY49fxXkDtIAZha4LoYZj1uqF1ai5aCapQIRmHZwuA-I4A/s1600/bianchi+cassette+-+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IICYh3uM5GlSwbY8zCQBWvoN-96DVueAnD0KAwaJgr7NrlfuEum2V_P-nfobbpxD_nMHQH6GvJpCQ4YXc_DdndJmhWBeHbY49fxXkDtIAZha4LoYZj1uqF1ai5aCapQIRmHZwuA-I4A/s320/bianchi+cassette+-+small.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
The new road bike (an alloy Bianchi from 2009) has a compact double, and from the numbers you can see that you get a wider range than the Orbit, both because it's a compact (50/34 compared to the Orbit's 42/52) and because it's a 10-speed. But what makes better sense to me now is why I seem to be changing gear so much, and why those changes are often changes at the front and the back at the same time. The gears are just too far apart and there are often no easy routes between those gears that are close together in terms of gear inches. So that might well explain why on rolling ground, for example, I never seem to be in quite the right gear... And why I don't think a compact double would be my first choice in the future no matter what the marketing men want me to believe.<br />
<br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
The hybrid</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlUQbd8glFi8n-3a0n3Bf963FV-QXbAWojZzFSa5JyLMz50hNxBopwvUK-WMq18pp1t0CiT-496D9Y2cup2ufl1f8j1waRt5t3gufqHxtxuDJZwKDtq0el3eV4p6PJPA__bDhaNyfVJw/s1600/hybrid+gears+2+-+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlUQbd8glFi8n-3a0n3Bf963FV-QXbAWojZzFSa5JyLMz50hNxBopwvUK-WMq18pp1t0CiT-496D9Y2cup2ufl1f8j1waRt5t3gufqHxtxuDJZwKDtq0el3eV4p6PJPA__bDhaNyfVJw/s320/hybrid+gears+2+-+small.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
This is geared pretty much like a mountain bike, but I guess the big wheels make a difference to the gear inches. To be honest it is fine; probably the gears are a bit low, as I spend more time in the big ring than on the other bikes, but given what I use it for, it is OK.<br />
<br />
<h4>
The MTB</h4>
This has some very low gears, the kind you struggle to move your legs fast enough for. This seems to sum up the difference between roadies and offroaders. With a road bike the cooler you are the bigger the gear you can push, with an MTB the smaller the gear you can turn without the bike falling over, the cooler you are.<br />
<br />
I'm not very good at spinning my legs that quickly, but apart from that this has all the gears I need, and they always seem to be in the right place.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Summary</h4>
I'm fairly certain that my perfect all-round bike, for the terrain I currently ride on, would have a triple somewhere in the region of what I have on the tandem.<br />
<br />
The obvious alternative, the compact double, looks great on paper, but not so good in real life. <br />
<br />
The downside of a triple is the increase in weight, which is small enough for me to live with, the alleged increase in maintenance overhead, which I am not really convinced by, and the sheer unhipness amongst the wannabe racer crew, who I don't care about (especially when they are walking and I'm not).<br />
<br />
I wonder how many others would come to this conclusion if they gave it some proper thought and could get away from the attitude that only old men and weaklings needed triples? Or just stopped buying what they were told to buy.<br />
<br />
And maybe I should have thought this through before I bought all of those bikes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-12256291201049275102013-03-17T18:31:00.002+00:002013-03-17T18:34:37.109+00:00Banana flapjack, golden plover & chicken pie <br />
<h3 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0AK_YOLwUvPtUyzSIRK7ziPKLPvNFKUzi2kmV_9ZTHr-DuVb8jQ0Mr0JJWY3jyA7Q-vWpy59esURBgII3I2GCrilvhOHEKplGQS0Zie38lwrNvbbhg68bTiRKFfQQDlq977Nf5dZDkSk/s1600/banana+flapjack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<img alt="Banana flapjack" border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0AK_YOLwUvPtUyzSIRK7ziPKLPvNFKUzi2kmV_9ZTHr-DuVb8jQ0Mr0JJWY3jyA7Q-vWpy59esURBgII3I2GCrilvhOHEKplGQS0Zie38lwrNvbbhg68bTiRKFfQQDlq977Nf5dZDkSk/s320/banana+flapjack.jpg" title="Banana flapjack" width="320" /></div>
</a>Banana flapjack</h3>
Snow was forecast to fall overnight again, but there was barely an inch this morning. Rain first thing, followed by sunshine meant that what little snow there had been was mostly gone by 10:30. <br />
In the meantime I took the opportunity to chuck together some flapjacks to eat while out running later that morning. The basic recipe was deliberately less buttery than a typical flapjack to make it easier to eat when running. I turned out to be short of oats so had to eke out the posh big organic oats with some dusty looking oats from a mystery bag tucked away in a corner of the cupboard and of uncertain vintage. They smelled OK, so in they went. Still not quite enough oats, so a handful of rye flakes to make up the oats to 8oz.<br />
<br />
I added half a banana to stop the flapjacks being too hard or too chewy, again to make them easier to eat when running, especially on a cold day. The banana makes the flapjack a bit cakey and probably not quite as flapjacky as I might like, and more banana flavoured than a flapjack should ideally be, but today I was more interested in eatability and digestibility, so the banana had to go in.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Recipe</h4>
8oz oats, crushed a little by hand if very coarse (to make a denser flapjack)<br />
3oz butter<br />
1.5oz sugar<br />
3tbs golden syrup<br />
1/2 a banana<br />
<br />
Melt butter with sugar and syrup, but don't overcook. Mix in oats and mashed banana. Press into baking tray and bake for about 25 minutes at 180C, until golden.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Golden Plover</h3>
We ran up the riverside path to Allendale and then up towards the moor. There were large numbers of lapwing and curlew calling in the rough fields below the moorland edge. The weather was surprisingly good; the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the valley seemed to be sheltered from the wind making it fell almost warm. <br />
<br />
Once on the moor proper there seemed to be golden plover calling from all directions, but no visible sign of them. Red grouse, by contrast, whirred about, noisily proclaiming their presence.<br />
<br />
There was almost no snow on the ground here, and the rapid thaw had produced streams of water. The ground was wet, but strangely seemed to be too wet to be properly muddy. The tops across the valley were still covered in snow; probably simply down to the greater altitude.<br />
<br />
We did about 6 miles across the moor, mostly on good tracks, plus a couple of miles at each end to get to and from home, making a fairly easy 10 miles or so. And one stop to sample the banana flapjack, which wasn't bad at all...<br />
<br />
<h3>
Chicken pie</h3>
Home to chicken pie for a late lunch, and chicken soup to make for supper from the bones of the chicken.<br />
<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-69555240104444969592013-03-15T17:37:00.000+00:002013-03-15T21:02:58.565+00:00How do I get there from here?Another bike entry. Sorry. I will get round to writing about swimming at some point. I might even get round to swimming...<br />
<br />
But for now I am still thinking about cycling. And that may be the problem. I think a lot about cycling; in fact I think about cycling a great deal more than I actually cycle.<br />
<br />
So where is it that I want to get to? Well, I want to get to the point where I can cycle 200km in a single day. Surely that should be possible? But I think that I might be a bit scared of the very idea of cycling so far, because I never get anywhere near to addressing this goal.<br />
<br />
So I am trying to formulate a plan. If I were aiming for a goal weekly mileage for running I could find endless plans and suggestions, most of which boil down to "increase your mileage by no more than 10% each week, and periodically back off a bit before building up again at no more than 10% a week...". But cycling isn't like running; there doesn't seem to be such a rule of thumb. <br />
<br />
I am hoping that this is because if I increase my running mileage too quickly I will break, but I can increase my cycling mileage at any rate that I like, because cycling doesn't break you. At least, provided that you don't fall off.<br />
<br />
I think this means I have to invent my own plan and see how it goes, hope that it doesn't break me, and back off if it gets too hard. <br />
<br />
So here it is, a 3 month plan to get me up to 200km. It is very simple; I assume one big ride at the weekend, and some background rides of about 30 miles in the week. <br />
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: currentColor; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 42.05pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 42.05pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Week<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 42.05pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Total
miles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 42.05pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Long
ride – distance<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 42.05pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Long
ride – time<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">60<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2 hours 30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">66<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">36<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">3 hrs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">3<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">73<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">43<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">3 hours 30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">4<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">80<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">4 hours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">5<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">90<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">60<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">5 hours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">6<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">100<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">70<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">6 hours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">7<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">110<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">80<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">6 hours 30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">8<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">120<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">90<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">7 hours 30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">9<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">132<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">102<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">8 hours 30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">10<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">145<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">115<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.45pt;" width="161"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">10 hours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.8pt; mso-yfti-irow: 11; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 55.05pt;" width="73"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">11<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 18.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 77.95pt;" width="104"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">160<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">125 (200km)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">11 hours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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By increasing the total mileage at a rate of about 10% a week, but keeping the background volume the same, I get to increase the long rides a bit more than 10% a week. Now whether I should drop down a distance or two every 6 weeks or so, then start increasing again, I'm not sure, so I will see how much this hurts. I may also miss a few rides because of other commitments, so some pauses may be added that are out of my control. I also need to bear in mind that I am entirely incapable of following any training plan...<br />
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The other point is that I'm not interested in speed, so I'm not doing any speed specific training. Which flies in the face of convention; but I'm not planning to race.<br />
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And the answer to the question posed in the title of the post is obvious. How do I get there from here? By getting on my bike and riding instead of thinking about it...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-28506388680328509352013-03-14T17:49:00.001+00:002013-03-14T17:52:45.353+00:00The weather - part 2<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LnAe7y08FmB4j4kQP5szoj8S83qyPIGvVtEnFSMXxRIyV-QnL3r8UyWcj3YoLCXvFmcDSRXByiAtbgkJi1XZzHLIklidAq2_6Mn-AfgUYji0h1TnI1AwGkdSjOumQjLQxUrfYMQzi2k/s1600/croissant+cooked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LnAe7y08FmB4j4kQP5szoj8S83qyPIGvVtEnFSMXxRIyV-QnL3r8UyWcj3YoLCXvFmcDSRXByiAtbgkJi1XZzHLIklidAq2_6Mn-AfgUYji0h1TnI1AwGkdSjOumQjLQxUrfYMQzi2k/s320/croissant+cooked.jpg" width="320" /></a>After the fog and wind on Friday, the weather forecasters were now promising snow and ice for Saturday. So we did the sensible thing and stayed in the house eating home made croissants.</div>
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The snow didn't come, so we ignored Sunday's forecast (more snow and ice) and planned a long(ish) run, mostly off the road.</div>
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When I got up on Sunday morning there was no snow. Then it started snowing, and an hour later there was about an inch . And then it stopped. So we ate breakfast (more croissants!), digested for a bit, then got ready to run. </div>
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We left the house, a covering of fresh snow on the ground, but the sun shining from a blue sky. By the time we got to the edge of the moor it was much greyer, and a strong, bitterly cold wind was blowing. The path was covered in two or three inches of frozen snow, topped with occasional deeper drifts of light dry snow, sculpted into delicate waves by the wind. Then it started to snow again, and the wind was blowing it horizontally. Who would have guessed that the snow would only start falling heavily once we were on the most exposed bit of ground on the entire route? Well, I for one would have put money on this happening...</div>
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We carried on past the chimneys, the drifted snow was deeper over the next part of the track, and finding areas of shallow or frozen snow to run on was difficult. Occasionally, our feet went through the snow and the ice below into deep muddy pools of icy water; sharp on your ankles as you go through the ice and surprising (to say the least) when your shoe fills up with cold water. Still, it gave us something else to think about.</div>
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We got to the road on the other side of the moor and headed down to the next track. Once we had removed the ice from the baler twine securing the gate, the track down, although covered in a few inches of frozen snow, made for good running. And so long as we kept moving we were warm enough.</div>
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Back on the road at the bottom of the track, a banana eaten, and then a run down the steep road and then up to Ninebanks. Still on the road, we were looking for a footpath we didn't really know, to take us back to the Carrshield to Allendale road. It was signposted through a farm yard, then the signs disappeared. We set out in what seemed like the right direction, but it quickly became clear we were off the path. We carried on regardless, climbing steeply through deep frozen snow and tussocky sedge. After scrambling over one gate we reached a second (padlocked) gate onto the road. Oh well, we got where we wanted to be (about 500m below the finger post for the path we had been looking for), and it is all access land, so no harm done.</div>
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The road was covered in ice, and the wind was blowing hard, cold in itself but carrying fine blown ice. Wrapping buffs around the bits of our faces that were the only remaining exposed skin we headed back up the road. Again the snow at the side of the road had been sculpted into waves and peaks; quite lovely but the wind that was creating these effects was a bit unpleasant.</div>
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Astonishingly we then saw a bicycle coming down the road. With skinny tyres and drop bars... and staying upright on the ice, despite the wind. I was quite impressed.</div>
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We got back to the track across the moor past the chimneys, and now the wind was blowing hard, creating a blizzard of blown snow (it wasn't snowing) about 6 feet high, making navigation difficult, and making forward progress difficult. We pushed on, past the chimneys, where the snow on the track was less deep, and then finally back to the road.</div>
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Going down the hill the conditions quickly became benign once more, making it hard to believe how severe they had been just a short time before. </div>
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Only a total of 14 miles, but definitely a small adventure.</div>
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Oh, and the Inov8 TrailRoc 255s mentioned <a href="http://cycleswimandrun.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/resurrection.html" target="_blank">here</a> got their second outing, and were great in the snow. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-31515834690003856722013-03-14T16:21:00.000+00:002013-03-14T16:23:17.193+00:00The weather - part 1I know it is a terrible cliche, but I am English and the English do like to talk about the weather. Perhaps not quite as much as they once did, but the weather is still at least the second most popular subject for aimless small talk among strangers.<br />
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The reason that the weather is the subject of endless speculation in England is probably explained by its entirely unpredictable nature. Other countries are colder, have more snow, are warmer or have more rain, but it is usually predictable. In England it is sometimes a bit cold, or snows a little, or rains, or even (but very rarely) it is quite warm. Often it is all of these things in a single day (usually in August); but it is never predictable.<br />
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So, in case you haven't already guessed, this was my half-hearted attempt at an introduction to a distinctly weather-themed post. Sorry.<br />
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Last Friday I managed to sneak out at lunch time for a quick ride on the Bianchi. It didn't seem too bad when I left the house; cold and a bit windy, but not bad. But I wasn't starting from the house, because I only had a couple of hours and I wanted to ride on a road I hadn't been on before. So I had engineered a lift to a suitable starting point that gave me a route of just under 30 miles back to the house.<br />
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We went up over the moor at Plenmeller and it was foggy. And I hadn't brought a light for the bike (I don't really own a light for the Bianchi, but that isn't really the point). Or a hi-vis vest thing (and I do own one of these). So I just assumed it would clear by the time we got to where I planned to start.<br />
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When we got to place where I planned to start cycling I decided that the fog was bound to clear once I had gone a mile or two. When I got out of the car I noticed how cold and windy it was; this surprised me as I assumed "foggy" meant "still", because shouldn't the wind just blow the fog away? But it was hard to deny that it was very windy, quite cold and foggy. So, obviously I set off anyway.<br />
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I went up the hill, and then down past Eals to the Alston to Brampton road, and at last the fog cleared a bit. This road seems quite flat in the car, but is actually "rolling", and it seemed impossible to find the right gear, or to get into a rhythm. I was quite glad to get to Alston, but the turn onto the cobbled and steep main street was hamperd by two cars attempting U turns (or something). I thought the first was parking, so went to go past it, and it pulled out to drive up the hill. I had to unclip as I thought I might need to stop, and what with the new pedals and cleats, couldn't clip back in. I came to a halt, tried to set off again, failed to get momentum and clip in, and had no choice but to walk up the polished cobbles in my ludicrously slippery new cleats.<br />
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I was then forced to buy a hot cross bun from the Moody Baker to make amends for this inglorious performance. I ate it while trying to look less of a prat than I was feeling, and it was good.<br />
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At the top of the hill I got back on the bike without incident and headed towards Nenthead. I have never cycled up this road, but the section beyond Nenthead is always populated with walking C2Cers in the summer. These people usually have nobbly shod MTBs, which on the one hand might mean they will have lots of low gears, and if they have to walk then I will definitely be wearing down the rest of my new cleats. On the other hand it might mean that they don't really know what they are doing.<br />
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Surprisingly I rolled through Nenthead and up the other side quite easily, then turned off towards Allendale via Carrshield, and into the fog. This time it wasn't clearing, and I was probably completely invisible. But I just had to keep going, despite the lack of visibility from the fog and my misted glasses, and the wind, now blowing hard.<br />
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I managed to get home in one piece, mostly this was luck; there weren't many cars about. Descending was genuinely scary, I couldn't really see, but I know the road was full of potholes, and it is steep, and bendy. So I went very slowly, and in the end it was fine. I might not choose that route again in the mist, though...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-61150080280859657162013-03-07T21:39:00.000+00:002013-03-08T08:52:08.963+00:00I've never done a sportive<br />
The thing about cycling is that I never get to do it as much as I intend to. The more I think about this the more I realise that there are several really good reasons why this happens. <br />
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Firstly, my plans are always essentially vague; I must cycle more this year, I say emphatically (actually, probably not say, just, well, think, but emphatically, definitely emphatically...). I don't say "I must cycle 100 miles a week", or "I must cycle 3000 miles this year", or anything at all specific, I just say "I must cycle more". And then, obviously, I just don't.<br />
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My second excuse is that I don't do any cycling type events. If it was running we were talking about here I would have signed up for 10 events by now, and then I would have to get out the door and train to avoid turning up at a race I was entirely unprepared for, and having to walk most of it. And I don't underestimate the word "race"; if you run, at whatever standard, you will eventually enter a <strong><em>race</em></strong>. Not an event, a race. <br />
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Then there is my training partner (who is also my wife), who doesn't really cycle much. If we go out running, we tend to go together, and if we go swimming, we do that together. We usually enter the same races, and sometimes we even run them together. She does go out on the tandem with me, but doesn't currently cycle on a solo bike with me (or at all really). This means that when I cycle, I go on my own, and although she is quite encouraging and probably doesn't really hold it against me, I have this sense of smouldering resentment in my mind. And while I am out she usually does especially useful things like earning money or even hoovering the rugs, and this just makes me feel more guilty (sometimes she does less useful things like rearranging her collection of nail polishes in order of the colour spectrum, but this is obviously just scary).<br />
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So this year I have a plan to address those very issues.<br />
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First of all, I have a goal: a rather conservative (and therefore eminently achievable) cycling target of 2000 miles (or 3220 km to be more traditional).<br />
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Secondly, I have entered an event. <br />
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At this point I need to digress a little once again. I have never, to date, completed (or even started, although I did once enter) a cycling sportive or an audax, or a race or a time trial, and to be honest races and time trials are entirely out of my league.<br />
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As for sportives, I'm a bit put off by sportives as I have a slightly biased view of them as being full of "middle aged men in lycra", comparing their latest shiny carbon fibre "steeds" and "weapons of choice" and discussing the merits of leading brands of energy gel. And then they would all humiliate me by being faster than me.<br />
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I'm also a bit put off by Audax events as I have a slightly biased view of them as being full of mildly eccentric bearded blokes, on outlandish recumbents, saddlebags bulging with moth eaten windcheaters and lemon curd sandwiches. And then they would all humiliate me by being faster than me. Even the 84 year old on a "trice".<br />
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But at least audax events are cheap; with a sportive I may well have to pay 75 quid to ride the same public roads I could ride any day of the year, the sole difference being that if I choose to do the sportive I get a "free" banana and an out of date energy bar half way round.<br />
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Anyway, to return to the point, I have entered an event... and it is a sportive. It is only 60 miles (100 km), but it does give me something to train towards. And I need to see if my prejudices are justified in any way. I also need to be sure about the audax things, so I have one or two of them on my radar, but I may need to enter incognito given my comments about the lemon curd.<br />
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So I think I have finally arrived at my plan to address the third and final problem; how to stop feeling guilty about Mrs JD. And the answer is.... I have entered an event, but better still, so has she, and we are going to do it together on the tandem. Which means we need to train together on the tandem... and so harmony is restored.<br />
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Footnotes; <br />
(1) We have entered the <a href="https://virginmoneycyclone.co.uk/CycloneChallenge.asp?ShowPage=549" target="_blank">Virgin Money Cyclone Challenge B ride</a> on the 29th June, and are considering the <a href="http://www.swaledaleoutdoorclub.org.uk/cycling/planned-trips/future-trips/704-annual-soc-audax-event-saturday-8-sept-2012.html" target="_blank">100km mini Dales tour</a> audax on the 8th September.<br />
(2) I was only joking about the lemon curd.<br />
(3) I am still fairly sure most people at an audax event would be able to humiliate me by being faster than me over any distance greater than 500m.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-48533343662937784352013-03-01T12:24:00.002+00:002013-03-01T14:27:58.476+00:00My left foot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgi5sMyC77DWlbj1oBVTSRDlPx-90g34g5k4wocUz4zg5mkWy00MgVMYcRUj42Qc8K44yjB2sXLTfwbrl5EBUahGfRZ7upHDOnn251yeCD07e9o8MFKJ3_8OUt8HA_ljXSxSxh2fyfPSk/s1600/shoes+with+holes+-+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bunion causes fell and trail shoes to split photo" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgi5sMyC77DWlbj1oBVTSRDlPx-90g34g5k4wocUz4zg5mkWy00MgVMYcRUj42Qc8K44yjB2sXLTfwbrl5EBUahGfRZ7upHDOnn251yeCD07e9o8MFKJ3_8OUt8HA_ljXSxSxh2fyfPSk/s400/shoes+with+holes+-+small.jpg" title="Bunion causes fell and trail shoes to split photo" width="400" /></a></div>
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I have a bunion on my left big toe. Properly known as a "hallux abducto valgus deformity" according to Wikipedia. <br />
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I am fairly certain that this is the result of genetics and not the result of wearing excessively pointy shoes, but whatever the cause, a " lateral deviation of the great toe" (and not apparently an enlarged or deformed toe joint - thanks again to Wikipedia) makes my foot a funny shape. I can't help but think that having "Morton's Toe", that is a big toe that is shorter than my second toe, in a world where all shoes assume that your big toe is your longest toe, has assisted in the development of my bunion.<br />
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But, whatever... I have a bunion on my left foot and the significance in the context of running, swimming and cycling is that it has an impact on the shoes I can comfortably wear. And to be fair it isn't much of a problem with swimming. <br />
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Because I need to comfortaly accommodate the bunion I need wide running shoes, and preferably ones that are made with quite soft fabric. This seems to be most difficult when it comes to off-road shoes which are often narrow and often have rigid protective welts directly over where my bunion goes. If the fabric won't stretch over my bunion, it is going to hurt. Sometimes some convenient stitching goes directly over my bunion; this won't stretch even if the fabric will, and it has the added benefit of often being abrasive.<br />
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So unless a shoe is really wide (and they may now exist, but as such shoes are a recent innovation, time will tell), it must be made of a soft stretchy fabric, with no welts and no stitching or seams in the area of the bunion. And that is the sort of shoe I buy for trail running or fell running.<br />
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But all of this comes at a price; fell and trail shoes aren't made of strong fabric with welts and narrow fitting by chance. In particular the shoes I choose give little protection to the parts of the feet most likely to come into contact with sharp rocks (especially, you guessed, the bunion), they may also reduce precise control on very technical running sections, and most importantly they are not resilient. <br />
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Softer fabrics, stretched to an unusual shape, soaked with acid bog water and scraped against sharp rocks don't tend to last long. And if you look at the picture at the top of the post, the result is clear. All of the shoes have split at the point of the bunion, some after less than 100 miles use. The shoes in the picture are, from left to right, Inov8 f-lite 230, Inov8 x-talon 190 (both great shoes, but just too narrow), Saucony Peregrine, Inov8 terrafly 303 (disappointing as this is Inov8's new wider "anatomic" fit) and the New Balance 101.<br />
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I need to make it clear that I don't really blame the shoe manufacturers for failing to produce shoes suitable for one person with unusual feet, but I wish I could find comfortable, long lasting off-road shoes both for short technical blasts on the fell and longer days out on trails. Any suggestions?<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-83796531497623793732013-02-28T17:12:00.001+00:002013-03-01T10:43:39.442+00:00What I might do with the hybridI currently seem to be suffering from a fortuitous combination of elbow tendinitis and a flu-type virus. The result is a lack of energy, slightly dubious sense of balance and discomfort when I try to grip anything. This means that I don't really want to cycle, run or swim, and even messing around with a screwdriver seems to to be off limits. But I can just about manage to type gently.<br />
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This gives me the opportunity to at least think about what I'm going to do with the hybrid, and in what order.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5RyJvVxaHZtEI2gIxC7Yzik4xgywfjVmn4GnzOTZuZysePMI8ZQM47LceTdCmHS91xPaHcqSo2sucdURWdxtZUoSdzUSpmbwrgvMs3yetCKNkLn8zXpmn9IKrFaB-zaTTF0l56Sd6zM/s1600/Hybrid+-+entire+bike+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5RyJvVxaHZtEI2gIxC7Yzik4xgywfjVmn4GnzOTZuZysePMI8ZQM47LceTdCmHS91xPaHcqSo2sucdURWdxtZUoSdzUSpmbwrgvMs3yetCKNkLn8zXpmn9IKrFaB-zaTTF0l56Sd6zM/s400/Hybrid+-+entire+bike+small.jpg" width="400" /></a>It currently looks like this:</div>
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First of all I plan to strip it back down to a bare frame and forks, and have it powder coated, probably in pale blue.</div>
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Then I will build it back up with the current components, except for the headset, front brake, and possibly cables, which will need to be replaced.<br />
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Once it is all working again, I plan to replace the existing butterfly bars with some new moustache or Northroad bars like <a href="http://lovelybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/upside-down-north-road-bars.html" target="_blank">these</a> or <a href="http://www.ecovelo.info/2009/11/23/nitto-north-road-v-nitto-albatross/" target="_blank">these</a>; and I may also fit a new stem at this stage. I do quite like the butterfly bars, but not quite enough not to replace them. They were on the tandem, with the brakes in the more conventional position (at the ends), but I wasn't happy with this. On the tandem I like my hands close to the brakes most of the time, and on the butterfly bars this gives the least sense of control and stability while also losing all of the useful hand positions. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-MunenJBCrNgBEPm-5VYvHGstWXVYlM4a69LblL4kPZoWiUc7_D498A_XC-mslKQliI2fQWhHft8F65DYbJCmn061DOVEDgOs9hf6NcHD7XGAffI7-1BbqW_kjoPGtRAV-zMCfwtpUE/s1600/Hybrid+-+Butterfly+bars+-+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-MunenJBCrNgBEPm-5VYvHGstWXVYlM4a69LblL4kPZoWiUc7_D498A_XC-mslKQliI2fQWhHft8F65DYbJCmn061DOVEDgOs9hf6NcHD7XGAffI7-1BbqW_kjoPGtRAV-zMCfwtpUE/s320/Hybrid+-+Butterfly+bars+-+small.jpg" width="320" /></a>When I put the bars on the hybrid I put the brake levers in the less conventional position you can see in the picture, near to those places where I most often have my hands. This is definitely an improvement, and I can't help but think people choose the other position simply because it is much more difficult getting the levers round the bars into my preferred position.<br />
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I will also replace at least the front wheel (but probably both wheels if finances stretch that far), with either proper handmade touring wheels from Spa in Harrogate or a pair from Rose Versand in Germany (cheaper, possibly handmade and probably with a dynamo hub). If I decide not to replace the rear wheel then I will need a new rear cassette (7-speed); If I do replace the rear wheel I will need a new rear cassette (7- or 8- speed, but 8-speed might require a new set of gear levers and maybe even a new rear mech).<br />
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By then it will be summer, so I will put off fitting new mudguards (and maybe a rack) until winter is looming once more.<br />
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And then it will be complete... unless I maybe get some thumb shifters and then maybe...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-81796480805763892352013-02-24T22:56:00.002+00:002013-03-01T10:57:26.960+00:00The great hybrid bike conversion projectI have a Ridgeback Adventure 502 GS hybrid from the early nineties. I bought it new, to cycle from home to the railway station when I lived in Sheffield (and foolishly worked in Nottingham). I chose it mostly because it was cheap, and not having owned a bike as an adult, I wasn't sure that I would use it at all.<br />
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I can't really remember how long I used it for, but it must have been at least a couple of years, almost daily. Then it was off the road for a while having various bits replaced, and it was never quite the same again. I also was expected to wear a suit more often, so the bike became much less convenient than the bus.<br />
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Then I passed my driving test at the grand old age of 33, left my job in Nottingham and moved up north where I travelled to work by car.<br />
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The bike lived in the shed mostly, and occasionally went to the shops, but no further. Then one day when I rode it to the shop I realised that it wasn't just the weight that was slowing me down (we are not talking about a light bike here, it is heavy steel), in fact it seemed to be like cycling through treacle.<br />
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And so the project began. Without me knowing that it was a project really. The problem seemed to lie in the transmission, and more specifically the pedals... or the bottom bracket. So I bought tools, did some reading, removed the BB and found the source of the treacle. I cleaned it, re-greased it and reassembled it. Lovely.<br />
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Then I looked at the chainset (crankset) and thought how nasty it was, a bit rusty with the chain rings spot welded together. It was thin and light and sharp. So I replaced it with an Alivio one... a bit better, but not, unfortunately, compatible with the existing BB. So I bought a new cartridge style BB and fitted that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVBOC938MWrPAs_z-5kEN7HGmgSRMC9bSi1ZNItWhZ4XXWnObthUlLfiEkrvrHACHd603EGkcThz4r-DRvwF-nHNOT9zwDyRHHtSXtbS0wscDosS5orjVO_Psz5A0-1-16ZE3A9DT9vA/s1600/Hybrid+-+drivetrain+-+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Hybrid drivetrain picture" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVBOC938MWrPAs_z-5kEN7HGmgSRMC9bSi1ZNItWhZ4XXWnObthUlLfiEkrvrHACHd603EGkcThz4r-DRvwF-nHNOT9zwDyRHHtSXtbS0wscDosS5orjVO_Psz5A0-1-16ZE3A9DT9vA/s320/Hybrid+-+drivetrain+-+small.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a>And then I couldn't get the front mech to change properly, so I replaced that with an Alivio one. <br />
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Then I replaced the tyres, decided that I needed a new front wheel (at least) replaced the original straight bars with some butterfly bars I had previously on the tandem, and added some funky (or perhaps not) yellow bar tape. Oh, and a new rear canti brake.<br />
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Then I realised I had a bike I could use... and a project.<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-91051123891054603492013-02-24T22:02:00.000+00:002013-02-24T22:57:20.606+00:00ResurrectionI have decided that it is about time that I resurrected this blog, mostly so that I can document the great hybrid conversion project (see next post), but also to add a few running and cycling training notes.<br />
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The big goal for this year is the Lakeland 50 in July, which will be the furthest we have ever run. We entered a 50 mile ultra last year, but failed to even start let alone finish; hoping to at least reach the start line this year.<br />
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So far, as part of the build up we have the official Lakeland 50 recce at the end of March (and for some reason I have no idea how far this is), then the Allendale Challenge (26 miles) a week later in April, and then the Swaledale Marathon (22 miles - ish) in June. Beyond that, the training is still a bit vague beyond get some long days on the hills under our collective belt; I'm working on the assumption that time on my feet is the key, and not the number of miles covered.<br />
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More importantly I now have the shoes I plan to wear on the big day. This is absurdly optimistic as most fell and trail shoes last me about three weeks before the uppers split, or my feet are shredded. This is entirely the result of the bunion on my left big toe; if the shoes are soft enough to accomodate the bunion I split them, if not, then they are too uncomfortable to wear.<br />
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Shoes have become a bit easier with the latest Inov8 shoes now being made on a foot shaped last, rather than the narrow last they previously favoured... but I still split my Terraflys in about 100 miles in the same place as all the others (and to be fair, not just Inov8, but New Balance and Saucony...).<br />
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So the new shoes are Inov8 TrailRoc 255; the same shape as the Terraflys, but with a more aggressive sole, a 6mm drop, and a bit more protection than the other lighter TrailRocs. On paper they look like the right shoe for the job.<br />
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On their first outing today the TrailRocs were great; we did about 10 miles on track, footpath and road, in snow and ice and they were pretty much faultless.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-64256524527328209362012-08-19T22:20:00.000+01:002012-08-19T22:22:26.591+01:00A week of swimming and stuff<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Monday</strong> – an unusually grumpy swim in Talkin Tarn; the weather was a bit nasty and there were youths fishing. The sky and the water were both grey, and it seemed that nothing was going to cheer me up. Still, it was another 2K at a not unreasonable pace, so probably useful if not really much fun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Tuesday</strong> – a run! On the moor! The first run since the Swaledale Marathon in June, so quite significant, and really very pleasant. The heather is just coming into flower and there were even a few butterflies. It was only 6 miles or so, but it was good to be running again, even if I did end up with a sore knee (this seems to have started a week or so ago, so not strictly a running injury).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Wednesday</strong> – we nipped over to Ullswater first thing on Wednesday morning for a sneaky 35 minutes in a lake best described as lively. Probably not the fastest swim ever, but certainly a good workout trying to get through some fairly impressive waves. Not exactly warm and relaxing, but definitely invigorating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Thursday</strong> – 10 miles on the tandem with A on a beautiful (and hot) sunny evening. We really must do this more often; perhaps more sunny evenings might encourage us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Saturday</strong> – back in Talkin Tarn for another 2 – 2.5K, but this time in sunshine and lovely flat water. Unusually, another couple were swimming at the same time as us, but even this failed to dampen my enthusiasm. I think I have forgiven Talkin for Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Sunday</strong> – a sunny morning took me up onto the moor with the mountain bike, while A ran the same route. It was strangely busy (cyclists, walkers, even runners!), given that we rarely see a soul up there. I suspect that this might be explained by the time of year; in most (normal) years the heather would be in full bloom by now, but this year it is still not quite there. Even though the heather might not be at its best it was still beautiful, and if not quite <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">filling</i> the air with perfume, it did smell nice, and the bees were buzzing their approval.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The cycling was hard, as my bike handling skills off road are lamentable, especially when climbing over loose rock. It often seems OK until I have to stop! And then there are the weathered channels through the heather that aren’t as wide as the pedals. And maybe I should consider some different tyres? And am I supposed to lock the fork out on the uphill sections? I’ll probably never know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had assumed it would be easier in the summer without the ice on the ground, but the slippery mud and overgrown tracks seem equally bothersome. I’m starting to think that it is easiest over crisp dry snow… but then the days are short and cold…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But back to today... following the lovely sunny morning, the rain poured down all afternoon...</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-69566961952759924182012-08-17T15:37:00.001+01:002012-08-17T15:38:06.702+01:00A short summary to provide a little context<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">And yes, I know that nobody is reading this, but that’s fine because it’s probably a bit rubbish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Running… We (me and A) have been running regularly (“seriously”, you might say, in the entering races definition of seriously) since completing a half marathon in 2004… which is about eight years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Cycling… I’ve been cycling (as an adult) off and on since about 1990 when I started commuting to the railway station in Sheffield on a daily basis. I currently seem to be developing an obsessive passion for bicycles which I (perhaps fortunately) can’t afford to indulge at the moment. A isn't really a cyclist; she didn't learn as a child, so I taught her as an adult, but it never quite 'took'. We do tandem together, and she is now planning a road bike as she wants to complete a full ironman triathlon - you should never set your sights too low.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Swimming… Following a break of about 26 years the swimming began again in 2003 (I think) encouraged by a fall from a canoe into a cold November lake. It suddenly seemed a good idea to be sure that my rusty swimming technique was brought back up to date. So we swam regularly in the pool for a while; it got really quite obsessive, learning front crawl and following the Total Immersion books for guidance and inspiration. And losing quite a bit of weight. But, surprisingly, given that icy baptism in the lake, I didn’t really start to love swimming until we started to swim outside. We signed up for the second Great North Swim in 2009 and haven’t looked back. Planning a 5K next month.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">And despite what you might assume, I still haven’t entered a triathlon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3347850759388517967.post-80388489867305489102012-08-15T22:46:00.002+01:002012-08-15T22:46:07.347+01:00But mostly about bicycles...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0