Search found 444 matches

by arnsider
22 Mar 2024, 8:56am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Why car drivers must wait longer at red traffic lights in Düsseldorf
Replies: 23
Views: 1473

Re: Why car drivers must wait longer at red traffic lights in Düsseldorf

The issue of insufficient time for cyclists to pass through temporary traffic light controlled lengths of road has never been resolved here in the UK.
A few years ago, the fibre optic installation work hereabouts meant that several stretches of A road had single lane working controlled by traffic lights, set up and managed by traffic management contractors.
There was never enough time to ride through these stretches causing needless conflict and danger.
One particular stretch involved a blind curve on a gradient which was lethal since vehicles sped through oblivious to anything that could not clear the section in time.
I contacted the police, the management contractors and in desperation, the HSE, neither of whom showewd any interest in the danger.
There is no "Safe" legislation and if there ever was, it is cynically ignored by all those responsible.
by arnsider
9 Mar 2024, 5:56pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?
Replies: 23
Views: 4132

Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

I live very close to Arnside and cycle the area regularly. I both ride the train the one stop and ride my bike the long way round.
I never have a problem. Loaded tourers can suit their itinerary to train times and as said here, leisure cyclists can ride the quiet stretches of the old A590 , Methop, Storth and the quiet lanes from Park Side to Levens.
I am retired now,but was Setting out Engineer for a period when the new decks were installed on the existing railway viaduct.
I can say categorically that the new deck designs from Gifford and partners made no concession whatever to retro fitting a cycle/footway.
There were no references anywhere on the drawings.
The original deck supports are steel trestles founded in the estuary bed at around nine meter centers. The engineering brick piers are an after thought. and may not be capable of accomodating the cantilevered load of a subsidiary deck, necessitating connection to the new deck itself. All big bucks!
A cantilevered add on would cost millions to design and construct and would be at the mercy of high tides, high winds and other dangers which would have to be mitigated somehow by monitoring and regulating access.
A blatantly obvious hurdle would be the closure of the bridge during any additional work and the loss of revenue to the train operators, both during shut down and subsequently.
Would Network Rail countenance such a business case? I wouldn't hold my breath.
by arnsider
9 Mar 2024, 5:16pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Boost Conversions
Replies: 3
Views: 503

Re: Boost Conversions

My neighbour is a seasoned cyclist and rides with a crack local club. He is recovering from a major illness and he has a Boost motor fitted to his racer. It was him that peeked my interest in the system.
I went ahead and bought the Boost system, having it fitted to my Kinesis T2 Racelight sports bike.
I have a triple chain wheel on the T2 and it's moderately low geared..
I am a heavy guy around 94 kilos in weight.
I had a Ride Sputnik 36 spoke wheel built into the rear hub motor and I purchased the handlebar display and a spare battery.
My first impression was that the system was a bit limited especially on hill work, but I have ridden over a hundred miles so far and I am getting more used to toggling echo and boost modes and getting into lower gears for sustained climbs.
My T2 is so light and low geared compared with my Whyte Coniston E bike that I can easily pedal unassisted on flat terrain and on a 32 mile ride, I only drew down 40% of the battery. I am confident that used sparingly, the battery will return very good mileages.
This morning, I climbed 300 feet in the space of two and a half miles, with three steepish climbs en route and in low gear and echo mode, the motor assisted me nicely. Echo mode draws 45% of the available power.
The system is very light and compact and only added some 5 kg to my T2.
A handlebar display unit powered by a 2032 disc battery communicates by bluetooth with a controller in the base of the bottle cage clone battery holder. An illuminated drawdown indicator on the battery plus a voltage indicator on the display keeps you aware of remaining power.
A left and right Button on the display operates the mode required, a 10 second super boost mode and the essential power off.
Toggling power on and off and timely gear work will greatly increase range and in the worst case will enable you to pedal home as unlike some rear hub drives, there seems to be no drag.
Granted it is early days and my style of riding will tax this little gem.
Anyone who needs a commuter assist will be well suited to this system.
by arnsider
10 Feb 2024, 5:26am
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Does endurance sport harm your heart?
Replies: 62
Views: 3814

Re: Does endurance sport harm your heart?

Heart Rates and safe maximums must figure in any discussion here.
I remember reaching the top of the Bwlch y gros from Bala with three mates. We'd flogged around from Dinas Mawddwy via Dolgellau and the Arrenigs, so we'd climbed a lot of hills.No one had a heart monitor and we'd obviously banged away hard up Cwm Cynllwyd.
None of us could be described as athletes,indeed the beer consumption and paunches told a far differet story.
One of us was a medic and came up with the 240 minus your age for a safe maximum BPM.
Now I can count my BPM against my sweep second and was quite alarmed.
That would have been back in 2001 and we are all still alive and cycling, though three of us have succumbed to E bikes.
by arnsider
8 Feb 2024, 6:28am
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Does endurance sport harm your heart?
Replies: 62
Views: 3814

Re: Does endurance sport harm your heart?

Over reaching yourself regularly must be a red line. Anecdotal evidence suggests that performance athletes live no longer or better than others. TDF winner Jacques Anquetil died aged only 53 and Runner James Fixx only managed 52 years, dying from a heart attack whilst running!
Competition drives people beyond their capacity and vanity often drives competitiveness.
by arnsider
8 Feb 2024, 6:16am
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Why are the general population resistant to getting fit?
Replies: 97
Views: 5002

Re: Why are the general population resistant to getting fit?

I am eternally grateful to my Scoutmasters for introducing me to Hill Walking. I never had Ball Skills and at school, was not a team player.
However, I was a strong swimmer and could walk miles, even though I was on the heavy side.
If you are fortunate to have mentors and good parents, you will develope physical strength.
Nowadays Scouting is frowned on, kids cannot go out alone and eat mostly junk food that piles on weight. They also constantly bully each other, ably assisted by wretched smart phones.
Urban living, especially in the crowded South East bodes badly for outdoor activity and kids spend hours lying on their backs glued to screens.
The Fatties would sooner spend Sundays dragging their backsides around B&Q so they can fill skips with the rubbish they bought last year!!
Or crash in front of the telly shouting and screaming at their football idols!
That's the example they give to their kids!
by arnsider
6 Feb 2024, 8:13am
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Boost Conversions
Replies: 3
Views: 503

Boost Conversions

I have a very good Whyte Coniston that is four years old and has covered 9,500 miles.
The battery has been excellent and is still giving top notch returns.
I bought it because of health problems, which have eased somewhat.
I also have a Kinesis T2 Racelight that is nine years old and in very good condition.
I love riding the T2 as it is very light and comfortable but just now, I don't ride it with my CTC group because I am not yet fully fit.
My neighbour is a long time Lune Wheelers rider who recently had a Boost rear hub motor fitted.
I really like the look of the Boost conversion and I wondered if anyone here has any experience of these.
Weight for weight, a converted T2 will be far lighter than my Whyte, so I should be capable of turning the pedals much more and conserving the power for more sustained climbs. Also the price of a spare battery is very reasonable and on a longer run, one would fit in a panier bag.
Can anyone comment?
by arnsider
25 Jan 2024, 1:51pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Elbow joint pain and inflammation
Replies: 46
Views: 12209

Re: Elbow joint pain and inflammation

I actually have monthly membership of a health spa with gymnasium and pool. I ceased gym work because of shoulder pain but do a few pool lengths daily. This is a combination of breast stroke and a hybrid back stroke where I just paddle with my hands instead of arm over shoulder. One of the best machines in the gym is a hand cycle with adjustable crank lengths and resistence, but just now it's not feasible for me.
by arnsider
24 Jan 2024, 12:51pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Elbow joint pain and inflammation
Replies: 46
Views: 12209

Re: Elbow joint pain and inflammation

The Physio at my Doctors practice has given me a link to a brace known as an epicondylitis clasp.
Epicondylitis being the medical term for tennis elbow.
I'd already purchased an elbow brace, but it is slightly diffferently configured.
These clasps are not expensive, so I am ordering a couple from Amazon.
Things still look bleak though, as yesterday, I rode my E bike the two miles to collect my car from the menders and suffered the same old stiffness and pain, just after a very short run.
Unfortunately, my PMR is still active and my Doc has ordered a steroid injection in my shoulders, rather than put me back on Prednisoloene.
I'm just hoping for some resolution as the Spring will soon be with us.
Just as an aside, I saw some Snowdrops growing by the roadside on a walk!!
by arnsider
9 Jan 2024, 9:55pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Elbow joint pain and inflammation
Replies: 46
Views: 12209

Re: Elbow joint pain and inflammation

Well, You are probably right about it not being arthritis. It's so complicated having had a bucket load of polymyalgia amounting to four years, then since May last year, a painful frozen shoulder. I did see a sports masseur yesterday and felt some improvement. Certainly, the shoulder is not as painful. I went out for a twenty five mile ride on my e bike today. I wore the elbow brace for the first time and the pain is not so bad. I am just supping a pot of tea now. Crikey, it was blinking cold to start and my hands took about four miles to thaw out!!
by arnsider
5 Jan 2024, 2:38pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Elbow joint pain and inflammation
Replies: 46
Views: 12209

Re: Elbow joint pain and inflammation

I can see the advantage of these "North Road" handle bars where the tendency of the body is to push the wrist joint in the line of travel, relying more on grip for stability. Straight bars present a hard stop, being square to the line of travel.
I have toyed with fitting Dutch Anatomic bars and have quite a bit of experience with these, having them on a previous Claud Butler Odyssey hybrid with gripshifters on both chain wheels and block.
Frankly, I'm fed up trying to sort this,though I think I can fit Dutch bars without cable length problems.
I have fitted an adjustable stem ranging from 20-60 degrees, both lifting and shortening my reach.
My saddle is a Brooks sprung B67, and I've coupled it with a Cane Creek Thudbuster, which I confess is a bit of overkill!!!
When I swapped the existig seat post for the CK, I bought a Maddison Flux Classic, hoping I might get on with it.
No such luck and I re jigged the B67 with the post clamp as far forward on the steel rails as it goes.
Presently, it only takes one day for me to be able to hold a cup to my mouth after a ride, whereas before the new stem it was still painful after three days.
Don't get old!!!!
by arnsider
27 Dec 2023, 1:00pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Elbow joint pain and inflammation
Replies: 46
Views: 12209

Re: Elbow joint pain and inflammation

Many many thanks, especially to 531colin for the link to Bike Fitting DIY.
I might start from scratch with a new fitting.
by arnsider
24 Dec 2023, 8:40am
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Elbow joint pain and inflammation
Replies: 46
Views: 12209

Re: Elbow joint pain and inflammation

Well, I have replaced the stem with a 20-60 degree adjustable that not only lifts the bars but brings them closer to me which results in a more upright position. Recently, I fitted a Cane Creek Elastomer seat post which combined with my trusty B 67 gives me good damping over rough tarmac. It seems counter intuitive to move my saddle back. I would have thought that doing this would result in stretching the upper body further and putting more weight on the bars. I will however give this a try. I've also found a good site on You Tube operated by a physio in my area
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DH1JwKT5lk
He advocates wearing a wrist brace for arthritis problems and an elbow brace for tendonitis. These are not expensive purchases and I'm quite willing to give them a go.
by arnsider
19 Dec 2023, 8:46pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Are we monoexercisers?
Replies: 75
Views: 17176

Re: Are we monoexercisers?

I'm definatley with Pebble. My whole life has been spent on and off Hills, Potholing , swimming and Sub Aqua.
My caving Club is quite old and well established and we have a number of older members, some in their eighties who like to walk and cycle.
I am in the North West now, nicely located between the Lakes and Dales though when I lived in Bristol, I spent many happy weekends camping over in the Black Mountains with members of a Bristol Caving and Climbing Club, Hill Walking and Cycling.
I believe there is a lot to be gained walking as well. Too much cycling can over wear parts of the thigh tendons.
I found this to my determent when I ascended Coniston Old Man a few years back afte a long Hill Walking lay off and had a lot of pain on the descent from muscle group neglect. In some respects, cycling can be too easy and it can lull you ito a false sense of fitness.
Hip joint wear too can be adversely affected by too much cycling and hip replecements still plague cyclists.
by arnsider
18 Dec 2023, 1:36pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Elbow joint pain and inflammation
Replies: 46
Views: 12209

Re: Elbow joint pain and inflammation

Thank you for mentioning weight on handle bars. I might try raising the bars and/or tilting my saddle backwards.
Hbar adjustments are nowhere near facilitated like they were before Ahead sets overtook the quill stem.
Perhaps a short cranked adaptor might be the solution and I could fit one without too much extra strain on the cables.
Reading further, it seems that I have tendonitis.hence the inflammation in the forearm.
Oddly though, I bumped into a pal returning from my ride yesterday, whilst he was a late starter and hoping to make the cafe before shutting time.He showed me a couple of exercises; one where you crank your hand backward against the wrist joint and rotate the hand clockwise, back and forth. The other where you bend the elbow tight and dig your left index finger into the crook.
It seems to work as this early, I can hold my cup to my lips which I couldn't do before.
Agreed about Ibuprofen gel! About as useful as a chocolate Fire Guard.