olduns

2nd outing on the Orbea and with the Saturday group. Majority done with no assistance, the odd bit and the last mile or so in Eco mode, Strava says harder than usual effort 😀

Retro Rides ethos.... Nothing positive to say, jog on and ignore

Another of a long line of companies taken over by 'investment' chancers who want a quick return. Very few of the UK logistics chain are now UK owned along with everything else

Absolutely love it 👍 The tight turns are in the trees on the Deer trails and it's a tad heavy to muscle around.... Practice practice practice. I took the battery out and boy is it heavy.... 3.6kgs 😳. Goes down the gravel / fire at a fair old pace 😄 OH thought she was spending £2k 😂 although I did put the other £3.6k plus another £150 or so in pedals and other bits and bobs.... and I need to insure it now

DHL, XPO, GXO et al are really pushing for staff.i'm currently on a project for Dixons Curry's in Newark, massive site which pre Brexit / Covid had 5000 working there, currently running at 3500 at the moment. banners on the fence are advertising rates per hr of £10 - 12.50, double pay for overtime and £1000 bonus for anyone who gets someone to start. no idea on the shift patterns but from what i've seen its not exactly a hard job for £24-26k per yr. as UK citizens don't appear to be jumping at the chance then as this is around the threshold - i think? - for employing EU workers then something has to give 🤷‍♂️

1st outing today, very different to the hard tail 😄 I need to fine tune the saddle height and slide it back a touch, front of thighs aching. Suspension set to middle diddle for now Tyres were too hard, stopped to let some out which went too low, popped some back in and seems about right with tubes, tubeless when I return from France late October. Ran mainly in eco mode so still got a decent workout HR wise. I need to get used to the sudden kick when on tight single-track as you hit the pedals, very off-putting at first.

New BSO picked up today, Paint Protection fitted, need to find a bottle carrier that doesn't foul the frame and a colour coordinated tube strap. Suspension tweaks in the morning then a test ride. Orbea Wild FS M20, part Carbon frame, 38 Fox forks, DT Swiss wheels and Shimano 12sp and 4 pot brakes, Bosch motor

you still get a paper MOT certificate, just printed on plain paper not the fancy old ones, dealer being lazy I'd prefer to show a Euro cop a piece of paper than something on a phone.

Well done ☝️ I really need to get out...

so after my 2nd visit to OH's cousin in Llandudno and body destroying rides, OH decides i need an eBike... long list at first, subsequently trimmed by spec and lastly by in stock or not ....not exactly the ideal scenario but as most LBS's have very little stock let alone being able to try them out its been a tad difficult to actually pull the trigger on one. currently waiting on an email back on an order that includes 10% of value of bike in accessories or buy same bike at same price from somewhere else. this one is most likely, wanted the H10 but struggling to find in size plus this is similar spec - brakes the main difference- and is £400 cheaper at £5499 https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/ebikes/mountain/wild-fs/cat/wild-fs-h20 this one was the 1st choice but even finding one with £700 off it to bring it to £6099 was a touch too far and do i really need Carbon? https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/ebikes/mountain/wild-fs/cat/wild-fs-m10 OH told me i was banned from having an eBike 4-5 days after getting the go ahead.... ridden with Michael twice on the last 2 Aug BH's...last year a few weeks later he slid off his going downhill, approx 25% tarmac lane in the wet, scrapes all over and ended up wth Sepsis. this year on the Saturday after our ride, short evening ride, heading down a slope to Colwyn Bay Prom he passed a metal waist high gate at the top which was open. sun in his eyes as he got to the bottom he couldnt see the lower gate - painted black wheras the upper one had Yellow markers on it- which was closed ( usually if 1 is open then both are) and hit it at 20+ mph....over the handlebars, helmet broken shell and polystyrene, broken scaphoid, bruised arms , legs and generally battered and bruised - VERY lucky. apparently last year a young lad did the same and Council promised to close/open both gates at the same time and paint the lower one with hi-vis marking's - obviously didn't but as the Sun was low may have not made much difference? i'm obviously too slow for him

Highlights only for me. We were up the Great Orme on the BH w/e and as I had the bike in the back of the car the guy on the Toll booth asked if I was recce'ing the finish. Tough finish after a day in the saddle

Cheers John, in - laws and their French friend who keeps Sheep on their land did it 2 or 3 months ago and hopefully it's been Sunny and no rain 😀 Re the plates I'll go away and see what the font of all knowledge says..... the Daily Fail 🤔 😀

I may need to read that link 3 or 4 times to get my head around it 😄 As I'm hopefully travelling on the 28th at least technically I won't need to change plates, must remember to sort out plate for the trailer in France though. First trip back for 18 months and boy what a checklist to sort out 🙄

Nice easy ride today, 2 or 3 newcomers so 13 in total

Sounds like an internal issue with the bar shifter? Loose cable at the rear wouldn't shift at all with the strain it gets. Loosen the cable at rear and try the shifter with no strain on it

Majestic, definitely and so quiet. There are trails that go to 8-900m, we were around 350m, absolutely ebike territory. We drove 20-25 mins to there from the house and the last bit to where we parked is 20% min, 30 in places and Michael and his mate will ride there from home, climb higher and ride home, 60-70kms usually.

So this weekends ride was a little different.... Last Aug Bank Holiday was a few days away at OH"s cousins in North Wales and a Saturday ride with her hubby up in the Snowdonia Park.... Hot, puncture at start, straight into a mile plus of 15%+ climbing and a fried breakfast = stopping, dizziness and being physically sick. Better prepared this year... Lighter breakfast, higher up in the car and the Whyte not the Felt 👍.... errrrmmm... No! Still warm, left water bottle in car, tyre pressures way too low for grippy tarmac, very rocky tracks and soft grass everywhere else = hard going, dehydration, several long stops and getting up at one stage, feeling dizzy and back on the floor in a heap 🤔 I survived the day..... just. 😀 I got whooped both rides by a German who loves hills on a Haibike Sduro Trekking eBike hardtail with rack, 80mm front suspension and gravel tyres at 50psi 🙄 The result now is I've been 'forced" to start looking at ebikes as the OH insists she buys me one, although she draws the line at a Specialised Sworks turbo levo at 12k 😂

Or even Spud Sr 🙄, I'd pay good money to see Jr on a bike at the moment 😄

Well done Spud Jr.. 👍

Then straight onto the Saturday normal ride.... A fairly easy ride, not much climbing due to a girl returning after 12 months away, I'm not complaining about an easier ride 😀

and 3 1/2 hrs later still not ready so off we go again...

Van in for service today so throw bike in back and spend some time around Chasewater. All flat, very little climbing. I appear to have attempted some Strava "art"... 😀

The Felts freehub is on its way out so off to spend some money again 😀 I can sense some new wheels arriving...

Well today's ride was curtailed slightly due to a mechanical. 🥴 As the Whyte rear brake is a Chocolate fireguard at the moment it was time to give the Felt with its new "old" drive train a run out plus its more of a sit up and beg ride to help my arm. It obviously didn't like being messed with so the freehub has gone into self-destruct mode, stamp on the pedals and metal on metal. 🤕 So new freehub or new wheels with a freehub 🤔 - I know, I know I did say on the other thread about stopping....