Cycling UK Forum

We watched it go through Plymouth from upstairs in a Wetherspoons pub with a glass front looking right over the street it came through. It was nearly an hour late, but we didn't care as we had beer. I don't think it's the sort of thing I'd be that fussed about watching in a beautiful natural setting - it's just a bunch of commercial floats, Police cars, coaches and people in tracksuits. As the crowds tended to be flag-waving families that wanted to get as close as they could, we found the pub wasn't all that busy even though it offered the best vantage point.

You can use slippers if you want - would probably be a bit hurty at first, but you'd get used to it.

I've only ever cycled in trainers since I was a nipper. I've had no problems even though I use sharp, pointy, metal-caged pedals with toe-clips. With the softer-soled varieties, e.g Converse Chuck Taylors, you will eventually wear through the sole, but in my experience this doesn't happen until they're falling apart anyway.

The Exped Synmat isn't a self-inflating mattress. So it has to be filled with air, i.e. a fairly high volume. Bike pumps give high pressure, but low volume, so would take forever.

For a high volume, low pressure pump, I've seen an interesting idea for inflatable rafts - a stuff sack which doubles as a pump. (Stop press: just found one for an airbed: http://www.elementoutfitters.com/product-p/cdi06674.htm)

cotton wrote:You can know more with
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Launces ... m&t=m&z=15

(That link's broken.)

By the way - just thought of something else. There is a little village called Buckland Dinham in Somerset (near Frome), with a pub called The Bell. From June 2nd to June 7th, they're having a Cider and Tobacco festival - lots of people camped out in a huge field out back, with bands, barbecues and drunken men with beards smoking pipes. It's actually a brilliant, surreal, event, so well worth calling in on your way down. http://www.thebellatbuckland.co.uk

Nice one - that's what I was after. Thanks.

phil parker wrote:There are quite a few of these available if you do a search on-line; Dog Cam also do a version.

From what BSRU wrote, it sounds like the DogCam he's got is what I'm after, but I've checked the specs online and I can't find confirmation that it continuously records and overwrites the memory.

BSRU wrote:I have the DogCamSport [...] It has continuous recording so when the memory is full it will delete the oldest file to free up space.

Does this mean that whilst you're recording, if the disk fills up, it will automatically start recording over the top of the first part of the file you're currently recording? (I'm interested in getting something for my car which I can just plug in to the cigarette lighter, start running and forget. It's probably not a feature particularly relevant to cyclists as you're limited by battery life - unless you have a fancy dynamo hub and USB socket.)

Head into Bristol. Visit an excellent riverside pub called The Apple (http://www.applecider.co.uk/) which only sells cider. Stay in the Youth Hostel a few yards away.

I just had this at the weekend. In my case, it was happening once every pedal stroke, so I knew exactly what it was: the nuts that hold my bottom bracket in place had loosened, so it was moving around inside the frame.

2 minute repair job - extract the crank, tighten nut up, replace crank, job done.

My 2p: Don't ride two abreast when there's anything behind you, ever. It's just antagonistic. We are usually slower than other vehicles - on fast roads or uphills sections, much slower. We must accept that drivers will want to overtake us at the first opportunity. By riding close to the kerb single file, either close together or with a car-sized gap between you, you're signalling that you're trying to help drivers overtake you safely. In my experience, drivers usually reciprocate by giving you miles of room and making sure they've got plenty of room to complete the overtake. There are, of course, idiots on the roads too, but attempting to block them where you consider it unsafe to overtake will not necessarily make you any safer. The driver will not know that you are riding two-abreast in order to postpone their overtake until a more suitable point - they will just think you are having a nice chat and don't care about the hold-up you are creating. Having an angry idiot behind you may not improve your situation.

I reckon you'll get more hits if you post this in the 'bikes and bits' section.

Believe it or not, the quality of this kit is excellent. I've had one for over a year, and i'm very impressed. Don't automatically write off Lidl and Aldi gear - some of it can occasionally be crap, but most of the time it's amazing value for money. This is the latter.

You can wear anything you like in the UK. Lycra causes a lot of debate and occasionally derision, but it will not cause any genuine offence. Someone dressed in full lycra is clearly a cyclist and therefore 'respectable' - you will be welcomed in monasteries and tourist attractions, although perhaps not in fancy restaurants.

The law requires reflectors on pedals etc. but this is never enforced. Providing you have your lights, you will be okay.

The authoratitive guide on road behaviour is the Highway Code. Here are the relevant parts for cyclists:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/Cyclists/index.htm

Could be up for this, although I have my misgivings about living in a tent for two weeks - would a riding buddy for one week of your trip be any use?

Brucey's post covers everything well. The only thing I'd add is that when I bought my bike, I immediately swapped the pads for nice new ones, and kept the old ones in my tool-kit as 'get you home' pads for emergency use. I did a bit of research, and I found a lot of people recommended Superstar components for cheap, high-quality brake pads. I got a set of sintered pads, and one year on they're still providing more stopping power than I could possibly need. I regularly do a sustained and extremely steep downhill section on Dartmoor and I've never experienced brake fade. If you're just commuting, I'd recommend sintered for longevity - I think it's only hard-core mountain bikers etc. who might want a grippier pad.

Superstar components are here: http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=21&osCsid=8vr8imeicu4v7jidt0q0dm6gq6