Cycling UK Forum

My big problem with the Etrex 20 has been downloading a gpx file to it. Say I get a route from cyclestreets or wherever, save it as a gpx file to my p.c. in theory I should be able to send it to my unit. But I have never achieved it.
Otherwise, it is a great bit of kit and tough. Mine bounced off the handlebars into the road going downhill v fast and was unscathed...
Unless that's the reason I can't get it to save a route...

Thanks, this all encouraging!

Depends if the question is about riding on the drops - or on the tops of the drops, say the hoods. I find as I get older I simply bend my arms more to get in a crouch, say in a headwind or chasing down the gang...

I like the old fashioned steel ones for getting a tyre off. But I carry a Crank speed lever for putting 'em back on again when they're a tight fit.

Thanks chaps. G

I've been riding my single speed happily on the freewheel for a while and I'm tempted to start riding fixed. I know it isn't as easy as it looks. Does anyone have any advice about how to make the transition safely? I ride with spds and, apart from riding fixed, I'm an experienced rider. But being nearer 60 than 50 I'm wondering if I've left it too late to learn a new trick.

What's your point John?

Just noticed this post after posting a clip on the same subject from the East Anglian Daily Times.

Jane Moore, from Witham, completed the 849 mile feat in three days, 16 hours, 45 minutes and 21 seconds – including stops to sleep and eat.

The feat, as the first woman to ride the route on a trike, has been verified by the Road Records Association.

Jane, a former gymnast who had her legs re-built 20 years ago after a serious injury, said she could not have completed the challenge without the aid of her support crew and organiser Mark Brooking, from Willesden Cycling Club.

The former ultra-marathon runner who took up cycling in 2000, said: “I got to Scotland in under 46 hours, and when it was first suggested to me I could get that far in less than two days I thought they were off their heads.

“We had quite a lot of torrential rain and it was really quite cold, despite it being August.

“But people were brilliant, and through towns people would come out to marshall me so I didn’t get lost. It was good to have people as it was a very lonely ride, with the support car having to be 100 yards behind me and not being allowed to ride with anyone else.
for more go to http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/witham_woman ... _1_3729032

The website Cycle travel UK has an excellent route planner. It is a bit like Google directions but keeps you off busy roads without going totally around the houses the way some sustrans routes do. It has a button to download the GPX file, which I ve done. But can I put the GPX file into my Etrex 20 or is that too good to be true? Any tips on how to do this much appreciated! G

I used Halfords roof bar/rack set for two bikes for years and they were fine but became wobblier with use. They are a sod to get the bike esp if you are short and weedy like me. If you have a sun roof youre forever looking at them, nervously.
I now use a tow hitch mounted 2 bike rack which cost about £25 new off ebay and is perfect... except you can't open the boot with a cheap model and (obvs) you can't tow a trailer or caravan...

Very helpful. Thanks guys.

oh and after getting smacking in the face by a low flying blackbird (beak first) the other evening, insects don't seem so bad - even the big ones...

I always wear a cap under my lid. In the summer it means you have a sun peak and it also soaks up the sweat which then dries with the air passing over it. Works for me.

Can anyone suggest a good pair of shorts, with padding, to wear as an alternative to lycra? I'm thinking of weekends away when you don't always want to look like a weekend warrior/MaMIL.
What makes/models are best for comfort and look OK?