Cycling UK Forum

Thanks for letting us know. I noticed the price had dropped as I was monitoring them but decided I possibly don't need a new sat nav as I already have an old garmin 800.

How are you finding yours?


Paul

Thank you for all your answers. No it did not give a route to anywhere else. It just got to a percentage and gave up the ghost. I am using the base map the 800 came with and osm which I downloaded.

Maybe city navigator is the way forward as you suggest Samuel. Maybe I will bring my OS map with me as back up in future.

Again thanks

Paul

One can never overestimate my ability to get lost at any place in any situation! I did try it in various distances apart but no joy.

Why can it not be as simple as car gps . You put postcode in and away you go. This is more rhetorical as I know they are built differently.

Paul

I got slightly lost on way home from ride yesterday. About 13 miles from home I put in my home address and pressed go. The garmin then calculates route and the percentage begins to rise but never gets to 100%. Sticks at a percentage and then message route calculation error. I tried so many times and then ended up using google map on phone.

I have looked online but can see no obvious answer. I am not a natural tecky person. Anyone any ideas please?

Paul

We managed to avoid most of the crowds as we left the start at 10.45 due to me finding my car with a puncture as I set off from london.

You missed the buzz of being in a group when there are just two of you and we were last at all the checkpoints. The volunteers were very friendly and it was well run . I was in constant fear of taking a wrong turning and being stranded in the middle of nowhere. The wooded areas were lovely although cycling through the open scrublands was a little tedious at times. It was wonderful to see all the ponies and cows who have no fear of cars at all. In fact some of them seem to have a death wish!

If I do it next year I will maybe stay over previous night so can leave at reasonable time.

http://www.nimportequi.com/en/video_le_ ... tequi.html I think someone posted this on the forum last year. I feel a little sorry for the second guy. He looks shell shocked and tries to explain he is not part of the race.

Paul

531colin wrote:Northern Ireland gets the same postal service as the village down the road.
So for parcels which are bigger than packetpost maximum size (that they have suddenly decided to implement) parcelforce is a slow, cheap alternative....OK, thats a fair point.

Maybe have not been concentrating properly on this thread. Slow and cheap? Do you not just choose 24 hr or 48hr service with Parcelforce and there in one or two days..in theory.

Paul

Thank you for all the answers...I don't think I am hardcore enough to sleep in a bus shelter. You would keep been interrupted by all the drunks falling out of the night buses. Wasn't there someone on forum who admitted to sleeping in a phone box on a tour...

I will investigate the two hostels mentioned.... must remember to keep enough energy in the tank to cycle to the out of town one.
Reminds me I need to get some mileage in before the day.

Thanks again

Paul

I am doing the London to Brighton ride on 17 June. I am thinking of staying down there Sunday night. Anyone have any recommendations on places to stay? I think I can get a room in a Travelodge for about £80. Anyone any other ideas?

Paul

Just to reinforce the thumbs up for the London Cycling Campaign. The local branches organise social rides. My branch Ealing is lively and has social rides first Sunday of the month. These rides will look after anybody who is not too confident on roads and are quite leisurely. http://www.ealingcycling.org.uk Paul

Forget the hubgear and disc ideas if you really want it light and look for road bikes with 58mm reach brakes. These are the vital clue to genuine mudguard clearance. You'll also see mudguard eyes on bikes with 49mm brakes, but they're only put there to fool you!

Trek have a couple of women-specific models, Lexa and Lexa S, with those brakes. As you go upmarket, to Lexa SL, the clearance sadly disappears, but the frames of the cheaper models are probably just as light anyway and being 9-speed they're much easier to tweak in the gearing department.

I made my wife a tourer weighing under 10kg, complete with guards and Tubus Airy carrier, from a Trek Pilot WSD - which is the Lexa S of two years ago. I upgraded quite a few parts, including TA Carmina cranks with Ti bottom bracket and some Campag Zonda wheels, but at last she's got a tourer that's under 20% of her bodyweight - just like I've always had.

Chris...I bought a Pilot about 18 mths ago. I am no expert but it is great fun. It starts off light but all the bit I attach increase weight..kyrponite new york lock, topeack rack bag and rack and myself. Only issue I had when i bought it is they would not put full mudguards on as I requested. I actually went back armed with your article in the CTC magazine which says it is possible. The manager in Evans said it you would be adjusting them all the time. I ended up with half mudguards which arent a big problem although on occasions they do catch tyres. Is it a big hoo ha to fit the full ones?

Coincidentally saw this yesterday about LCC supporting a hub in Brentford west of London. Might be worth sending an email to the contact address. Even if you are not in London they might be able to give some general advice or give you details of a local group. Paul


http://lcc.org.uk/articles/london-cycli ... evelopment

Probably a bit late...but I reckon Greenwich is definitely worth a visit.....the Park is lovely, there's the naval college and the Observatory, and the Market. Blackheath nearby also has its charms. It is possible to cycle alongside the Thames on the North bank and cross over by the Greenwich foot tunnel. However be warned the lifts do not always work. Paul

The Trek Pilot 2.0 is now in the Evans sale for £300 cheaper than what i paid in the Spring. Might be a bargain for someone.. I find it wonderfully zippy. Have to admit i tend to use my hybrid more recently. Also I had intended to fit full mudguards but Evans claimed the clearances are too tight to do this successfully. Overall I am quite happy with mine. paul

To the right of this page http://lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1516 on the London Cycling Campaign website there is a risk assessment and rider guidelines. You may well have considered all this but just in case....Paul