Mac's Running Diary - edit jan '21 cycling too - edit jan 23 back @ circuit training,

[UndertheRadar]

Could be the cable. Screw the cable adjuster in full and then set the top and bottom limiters using the screws. Then use the cable adjuster by hand, screwing it out until you get a nice smooth change again. Should be loads of you tube videos showing the process. 
Every now and then Lidl have a bike stand in the middle aisle section. Really handy for this sort of thing and not that expensive. 
At least you all got out yesterday. Today up here is just pure wick!!

Edited 3 May, 2021 by UndertheRadar

[mac11irl]

sorry @J.R., i meant the chain wasnt staying on the biggest rear  sprocket, slipping back down to the next one when i release the twist shift. it was also trying to come off the bottom, smallest sprocket, like it was over derailling. 

so i fiddled until i got the big sprocket (priority) but now the small one is gone. i just need to fuddle some more, and get it right. 

 

@UndertheRadar yeah Lidl were meant to have the stands about 3 weeks ago, and our local one never got any 🤬

[J.R.]

The derailleur has taken a knock & displaced to the outside, if it looks out of alignment then you should carefully try to twist it back to the correct position, otherwise adjust the stops and also the shifter cable.

 

I dont like the twist grip selectors because any change in the cable adjustment will affect the alignment in all gears, on my STI changer its still a manual selection like an old school racer from my youth but with the addition of a ratchet and an upshift lever that releases several clicks of the ratchet at a time so I can always get the perfect alignment like I could in my youth.

[ColinD]

Facepalm.

 

I went to alpkit to order a mountain bike like 1994. 
 

got one of these gravel bikes.

 

never thought to go and find a 20+ year old bike.

 

that said I do know where my grifter is stashed away...

 

would not fancy one of your rides on it though.

 

need to get out on the gravel again. Plan was today but it’s lashing it down here and cold too... nesh I am

[mac11irl]

well the weather yesterday was absolutely abysmal, so i went nowhere..

sun shining bright today, so up, out and up the cross again, but... with my 1 extra gear..

 

i had a crack at pedalling the rock trail to the top, had to dismount for one really steep 50yd bit, as the rocks are too loose, so i tried to use the peaty, grassy bit to side, but the back tyre just lost traction so i had to bounce off for a minute. but i did the rest on the bike

 

[mac11irl]

headed out early today, and made it to The Cross with enough tome to extend the journey. so i headed a bit Sth West to get over the peak of the hill The Cross is actually on. then dropped down the west face into the woods "Christmas tree walk". 

it was fun, cutting down a fire break trail. then i got a bit misplaced, thought i was gone wrong so while keeping an eye out for where i should be aiming for stayed pedalling, and braking heavily on the steep bits 

 

i learned something today too... 

apparently instinctive reflex manoeuvres stay with you into adulthood if you spend long enough doing it as a kid building muscle memory. 

front wheel gained traction on a decline while hard braking and up i went, and time slowed down..  the 10millisecond decision to attempt a doomed rescue (gauranteed face plant) or ditch was made without direct brain involvement, and i just tucked and rolled in a beautiful "rolling breakfall" @e-Roottoot should know what i mean  . straight back uo grabbed bike checked it over and continued on. my helmet didnt even touch the ground.

 

my first proper "Off" in about 25 yrs 🤣

 

view from on high

 

[olduns]

i'm a plonker..stick it in your own thread 

 

 

 

Edited 6 May, 2021 by olduns

[olduns]

On 03/05/2021 at 13:18, mac11irl said:

sorry @J.R., i meant the chain wasnt staying on the biggest rear  sprocket, slipping back down to the next one when i release the twist shift. it was also trying to come off the bottom, smallest sprocket, like it was over derailling. 

so i fiddled until i got the big sprocket (priority) but now the small one is gone. i just need to fuddle some more, and get it right. 

 

 

usually the limit screws to stop it falling off the cassette, also look at the B screw - keeps the top guide wheel close to the cassette.

get yourself on the Tube of U and watch a few videos, Park tools are usually good but plenty on there

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+set+rear+derailleur&rlz=1C1FGUR_enGB869GB869&oq=how+to+set+rear&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l8.10594j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Edited 6 May, 2021 by olduns

[mac11irl]

1 hour ago, olduns said:

i'm a plonker..stick it in your own thread 

 

 

 

feel free to accidentally leave stuff here too

 

[mac11irl]

went for it today...

and suceeded in getting up Long Hill coming East from The Cross.

 

strava time is abit misleading, i paused for a minute to check my directions after the last day i thought id made it but was short, and forgot to unpause 🤦‍♂️

total time was actually 1hr 15mins.

 

nice view too

 

 

and im a local legend on a hill climb segmwnt, which really means im the only dope who keeps pedalling up it

 

 

[olduns]

Well done Mac. 🚴💪

 

Check settings on Strava or whatever app you use, there 'may' be an autopause setting ie drop below a certain speed and it kicks in? 

[mac11irl]

good news is the warp wasnt actually as bad as i thought. 

the axle nut had also loosened just enough to have it a bit weavy under load. and the warp was only the side wall of the rim. so, a quick straighten (ish) and tighten up of everything and it was alright this morning

 

went the west side from The Cross today, down the fire break i had my off on last week. good blast, despite the wind abd the misty rain

 

 

nice thing about alpkit leggings - rinsed em off in the shower before peeling them off, and theyl be dry and ready for tomorrow morning

 

[mac11irl]

and another beautiful morning on the hills...

 

did nearly the full circuit of the top of the christmas tree walk, then broke a down a tree trail rather than the fire break.  

 

i need a bike with shocks

 

dumped me out a good bit farther from home than usual, but still a 13k route in under 56mins, so im happy

[mac11irl]

oh it was foggy..

thats the same photo i took yesterday..

 

but no matter, i stretched the route a bit more - 13.7k in bang on 1 hr. and got 3 more climbs onto it. full lap of the woods and then down the firebreak. 

 

the fact i came off the bike again on the fire break, tucking and rolling, but also sliding about 15ft on my back made it a little less pleasant for a minute. the slight swelling and light abrasion on my lower back from the tree root i slid over makes it tad less comfortable now. 

 

but fk it. i got up, got back on said "£@%@%@"# mud hole!" and carried on.

i havnt fallen off an bike since i was 10, and ive fallen off twice in a week as a 37yr old 🤦‍♂️

[mac11irl]

i went East from The Cross today. and made a trail selection mistake to get down from the top of Long Hill on the East side.... ended up having to follow the fence line of a load of sheep fields full of ickle new lambs, so could cross them, id have spooked way too many of them, so ended up misplaced, half way down the hill heading the long way West. 

ended up at a forest block i can see from my house, with no way through had to go around it. ended up ducking turned on ( as i found out..) electric fences and walking my bike politely across the front yard of someones newly built house tothe road... 

dirty. 

 

in the plus side though... from the valley between the cross up to long hill summit -

 

theres only been 49 logged attempts, but i dont care

the average gradient is also misleading.. its pretty flat for some it along the top, but its about 20% for the bulk of the climb, had to push a chunk of it, losing traction on the gravel and stones.

[mac11irl]

nice one this morning, got a bit lost on an alternative wood trail and had to double back a bit, but turns out i shouldve carried on but there was a really steep hill in front i couldnt be arsed going over

 

no segments as i forgot to change back to biking from hiking after the family hill walk on Sunday 🤦‍♂️

[mac11irl]

well yesterdays trip through all the roots humping the bike over them, trying to not fall over sliding along them etc took its toll. me lower back was aching going to bed. 

got up to a stiff tired back and a$$.

do took it handy and blitzed the flat riverside for a gentle one instead.

did my 20k route almost a full minute faster than last time i did it about 3/4 weeks ago. all the hill training is paying off. was still knacketed and sweaty gettin in but i pushed hard the whole way, no freewheeling!

[Gaz]

On 13/05/2021 at 22:50, mac11irl said:

the fact i came off the bike again on the fire break, tucking and rolling, but also sliding about 15ft on my back made it a little less pleasant for a minute. the slight swelling and light abrasion on my lower back from the tree root i slid over makes it tad less comfortable now. 

 

i havnt fallen off an bike since i was 10, and ive fallen off twice in a week as a 37yr old 🤦‍♂️

 

I empathise Mac.  Came off a bike for the first time in decades in mid 2017 (53y/o then).  Found out that I no longer bounce   Got home more concerned about the buckled front wheel than the blood I hadn't noticed dripping from my elbow.  Several hours at A&E and a week off work until my thumb started to move again 

 

Gaz

[mac11irl]

no cycle today... 

alarm went off and for the first time ages the forecast was accurate.. high winds and absolutely torrential rain falling. it woke me twice during the night as well... parts of the garden are flooded, and the trampoline is getting close to doubling as a paddling pool. 

 

 

@Gaz eek... tendon damage or a break? 

[Gaz]

1 hour ago, mac11irl said:

 eek... tendon damage or a break? 

 

Neither thankfully, just some skin grated off and bruising.  Very stiff for a while.  Never one to miss out on a drama, I must've whined about it on here, and sure enough:

 

 

Look like your weather's arriving over here later today.  Haven't had the fences fixed from last time yet (booked for three weeks time), which might be a blessing I suppose.

 

Gaz

 

[mac11irl]

just had a look at that...  ouch..

one thing that seems to stand to me is all the yrs of martial arts training i just instinctively accept im ****ed go with it and go into fall protection reflex mode.. the rolling avoids any sudden impact which is what causes major injurys. that and luck... rolling across rocks isnt fun.. mud over them at least cushions it a bit..

[mac11irl]

bit of a mixed bag of weather this morning, so wimped out and went the tarmac river side small puddles, rather than the big mud holes up the hills. gonna be nasty up there for a few days i reckon. 

 

anyway, it was a grand 20k pedal by the river, in 50mins followed by a nice shower a mnd a day of working from home.

[mac11irl]

well its ****ing rain again, but i got out and back before it started. horrible out now. 

anyhoo..... had a hard pedal up the hill, amazing what a week off hill climbing does! legs were nuked at the top. then i turned west up the rear peak and across to the playground - woods. stayed off the firebreaks though, theyll just be a swamp likely to throw me into a tree.. but i tagged on some extra trail distance, found the other way out, and got a nice highspeed run down the road toward home. if it wasnt wet i couldve gone a bit faster down it, but when any given puddle could be a massive pothole....

 

i may be leaving my overjacket at home next morning though, or just bringing it around my waist in case i get cold, it was bloody sweaty today!

[mac11irl]

UPDATE ALERT - something interesting...

 

i found my old heart rate strap to go with my old watch. and it still works

 

up until Jan 2020, i have always had an "above average" resting HR. anytime its checked during my life, all the way back to being like 10, its always hovered around 72-75bpm. 

 

but, when i strapped up last night check the strap was still working, i sat down for a couple of mins to let it settle, and get a baseline.

 

since i cut all caffeine at the end of Dec 2019, started running in June 2020 and have continued with the cardio exercise since swapping to the bike when my knee started at me, my resting HR last was

 

 

62.

 

genuinely i dont think my resting HR has ever been that low. 

 

so, to anyone who wonders about the benefit of exercise, and the possible affects of caffeine on your body.. by dropping one and taking up the other ive reduced my RHR by about 16%...

 

result.

 

[KenONeill]

47 minutes ago, mac11irl said:

my resting HR last was

 

 

62.

That's sort of typical of mine, and I don't cycle, jog or run, and whilst I drink much less coffee now, for a while I drank enough Monday to Friday to get caffeine withdrawal headaches on Sunday!