Cycling UK Forum

Good luck, Ian, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
If you're in Truro, as I am, perhaps I know you? If not, you're welcome to try a Truro Cycling Club ride one day.

If you're taking a smartphone download an app that uses OpenStreetMap / OpenCycleMap and then download an offline map of Brittany (e.g for Android, I use Locus Pro). Far more accurate and detailed than any paper map, and you can tell exactly where you are (and where you've gone wrong). Keep an IGN or Michelin map as backup in case of rain or flat battery.

Two days from Roscoff to Quimper by a fairly direct route is only 35m a day, is that what you plan? It roughly fits with your 12 days back from Bordeaux. If so, I would recommend the islands of Noirmoutier and Re, but the section between Nantes and La Rochelle I found a bit boring otherwise. Also try to take in some of the Nantes-Brest canal on the return trip, particularly around Josselin.
If your first two days is less direct, and you are planning on much more than 35 mpd, then there are all sorts of options but contributors here would need to know your abilities (and hill-climbing aptitude!) to provide useful recommendations.

reohn2 wrote:On Shimano friction/index levers that won't make any difference as the friction system is in the lever mechanism and isn't altered by the fixing screw.

and also try using them in indexed mode for a bit, to see if they'll stay put (even though I won't be able to use all gears).

If the index 'click' isn't mushy,they'll index reliably but 7/8sp levers won't index with 10 sp casssettes due to different cog spacings.

I know about the cog spacings and of course I can't use all of the cogs like this. It's just an experiment to see if the chain actually stays on a cog once it's there. After a short test ride yesterday it appears to do so; I'll be doing longer rides this weekend so can decide what to do later.

FarOeuf wrote:If you decide to go the Dura-Ace 10sp lever route, I've a pair I could sell that have only about 20 dry miles on them.

Thanks, I'll PM you next week once I decide.

[XAP]Bob wrote:Why not have a dynamo in one of the jockey wheels - it would only need to take a minute amount of power to keep a capacitor charged. Spin the back wheel a few times before you set off, and that'll do the first couple of changes for you...

you should patent that idea......

Thanks, all, for replies & suggestions.
The shifters are Shimano SL-6400 and also have an indexed mode with 7 or 8 positions. The rear mech is Deore XT.
Good idea about possible axle-play but the cogs appear to be running very true.
I'm going to try tightening the friction screw a bit more, and also try using them in indexed mode for a bit, to see if they'll stay put (even though I won't be able to use all gears). If the indexing works better than friction then I will upgrade to the 105 or Dura-Ace 10-speed.

I've recently renovated my 1988 Super Galaxy and changed the gearing to a 10-speed setup with triple chainring and 11-36 cassette. Decided against an STI system in the end because it seemed only Tiagra would deal with the range correctly, and that doesn't allow all cables to hide under bar tape, so cables could get in the way of bar bags. Also the down-tube shifters keep the original style of the bike.
Anyway it all 'sort-of' works but I can't seem to get the chain to stay put on the larger sprockets; it's OK on the 36 but too often jumps between 28-32 or 24-28. (The smaller cogs seem to be OK). Everything is new except the shifter levers, which are Shimano, and I have tightened those as much as practical.
Any tricks or hints to get a better results or is it just a question of patience and more practice? With it prone to jumping I'm very hesitant to get out of the saddle for climbs.

When did you join, only a day or so ago? It may need someone in the office to set up the access, in which case you'll need to wait until after the bank holiday.

Mark1978 wrote:SRAM are working on a wireless version but of course this requires more weight for the wireless transmitters and receivers.

Two bluetooth chips weigh less than a meter of copper wire......if, of course, anyone is that fanatical about weight

BeeKeeper wrote:

al_yrpal wrote:I am about to have a play with Chrome remote desktop which will give me access to my old PC and its software..

..used a huge amount of data as you were effectively watching a video of the PC screen.

I have used remote desktop programs extensively for work; the algorithms are very clever and only changed bits of the screen are sent. So unless you're watching a movie remotely, data use isn't too bad.
BTW if you're touring in France (and some other countries), 'Three' http://www.three.co.uk/ allow you to use your UK data allowance at no extra cost

The thread seems to be veering away from my original question, but it does seem to be 'normal' to take up to a week to replenish, so that's OK. I'm not unduly worried by my low BMI but it seems from answers here that maybe I should steer my intake a little more towards protein and away from carbs, to ensure that any weight gain (if I do achieve it) is useful muscle.

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:Did you lose weight on your tours

No, if anything a couple of kilos heavier after a tour (so I must be eating enough), but it's back to 'normal' after a week (even though I'm still eating more - strange)

Thanks for responses. I had the same question on another forum 6 months ago and no answers!

al_yrpal wrote: The energy will come partly from your fat reserves.

My daughter's boyfriend calls me 'the man with no fat'

Psamathe wrote:I've always looked at these things in terms of METS

That info is good; seems to correlate to Strava (4 hours of 'vigourous effort' would be nearly 2000 cals)

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:All people who say that they can not put on weight are eating the wrong food

That's me ...so what should I be eating, I wonder? I tend to think I have a pretty varied and healthy mix of food.

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:whatever extra energy you expend through exercise would need to be averaged out over the week

Sounds about right, after a 2 week tour I'm extra hungry for at least a week afterwards. Just wondering (going back to my original question), is there any scientific evidence that it should take a week (for someone with 'no fat')?

So, Strava tells me I've used maybe 2000 calories on a ride. (I know that isn't very accurate and other tools will give different results, but that doesn't matter for this question). 2000 cals is twice average daily intake for a male adult, so I assume I need to eat more to replenish what I've used.
I certainly don't eat 2000 cals 'extra' during the ride (one cake and some coffee). So my question is, over what sort of period would a typical body take to replenish those used calories? Would I expect to be eating more (i.e. hungrier than usual) for one day? 3 days? More? How much would it depend on BMI etc? If it helps with an answer, I'm 60kg and 175 cm, and don't seem to put on any weight whatever I eat (lucky me).

22camels wrote:http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2015/feb/18/the-rise-of-cycle-touring-from-crazy-to-cool

Thanks for that link. "Certainly cycle tourers are mocked by the roadies, but equally MAMILs [Middle Aged Men in Lycra] are laughed at by the tourers".... so I can laugh at myself, then, depending on which of my bikes I happen to be riding But am I allowed to wear Lycra when I'm touring?? Another thread suggests itself......