Cycling UK Forum

From Gargrave to Skipton is horrible if you're on a road bike. I did it last summer.

Another tyre that's very puncture resistant for it's weight and lasts, is Panaracer Ribmo(700x32mm

+1

I've got over 5K on mine and still not getting flats

This antiques thing is a bit odd. Old woodworking planes are advertised in two categories "user" and "non-user". The idea of having an exquisite tool you can't use seems a bit strange to me. One summer I worked with a master bricklayer, Jimmie, who told me that he once owned a trowel that was so good it had been in a glass case in an exhibition. "What happened to it?" said I. "I wore it out" said Jimmie. Somehow that seemed right. Don't suppose anyone will wear the Raleigh out.

An awful lot of A-Head style headsets are overly preloaded

Don't know what this means.

Another fitting issue is saddle tilt. I've seen it recommended that you start off level then tilt the nose up until you just stop sliding forward when you ride with no hands. Trouble is I can't ride with no hands for more than a second or two; could ride miles that way as a kid but sixty years later somethings changed. Any observations on the tilt issue?

If you are going via Dieppe plan on arriving on a Saturday. It's market day and quite entertaining, it is so busy that the banks open on Saturday and close on Monday. Because I forgot my debit card PIN number I ended up taking travelers checks - a major blunder. I was able to cash them in Dieppe but in small towns further inland even he banks wouldn't touch them. There's a fabulous cycle route heading S from Dieppe, flat as a pancake for about 40 miles. Just the thing to get you both loosened up.

I had a great time in France I'm sure you will too. And yes, I do envy you.
Pete

Putting panniers in a bag works. This way they only count as one bag. Last summer I got a suitcase for £2.50 at a charity shop in Settle and put my four paniers in that. If you do something like that you can toss the bag or suitcase at the other end (or give it to another charity shop) I didn't toss my suitcase because it was such a good 'un but you get the idea tonup. I'm sure it's OK with all airlines s long as you keep the weight below 23 kg (50 lb in the US)

The 2014 problem. I had a tour in the Canadian Rockies penciled in. Then they announced the Tour route in Yorkshire. It goes within 300ft of a mate's house.

I think I may spring for them. What has me a bit nervous is a randonneuring acquaintance who said he was on a ride with someone who had five flats in a day with these tires. I suspect it was the old problem of not finding the thing poking through the tire. Perhaps what makes the tire so nice, suppleness etc. makes it harder to find tiny things poking through them. Any thoughts?

On thinking about it. Imagine a sliver of glass poking out of a piece of wood rubbing your fingers across will find it instantly; then imagine that same sliver poking out of a soft sponge, if you don't it it just right with your fingers it will be missed. Could be these tires are more like the sponge than the wood.

?? I thought it was the Gent who had a light mounted to his bar bag????

On p. 28 of the Feb/Mar issue of Cycle this cover picture is reproduced because someone is grousing about the way "the young woman" is carrying her kit, if the picture is of a Gent he's awful bonny.

Slightly off topic. The cover of the month before last's CTC magazine had an idea that had me slapping my forehead: a Petzl headlamp wrapped round a bar bag for a headlight. Using a conventional headlight when you have a bar bag is hopeless; if you have room on the bars it's hard to mount where the bag doesn't obscure it. I thought of mounting a light on a fork leg but the idea of it coming loose and going into the spokes put me off. The young lady's idea is brilliant.

As for bag contents. I no longer pu my phone in it after finding out the hard way it wasn't waterproof even with a cover.

You could I suppose order them from the US at Compass Cycles but that my be getting spendy.

This article is about Grand Bois Extra Legèr tires (excuse the spelling I am in the US) Apparently they are made by Panasonic which may give you a lead in the UK. I've been thinking of getting them for my next tour. Any feedback on how they hold up?

Organized rides are spendy. My bike club Cascade Bicycle Club has a tour ever year around Washington state; roughly $1000 for a week with a sag wagon. You can do a longer tour for about half that if you tote your own stuff. As far as I can see all the sag wagon does is allow people who don't have touring bikes to tour.

British Airways used to allow 2 checked bags for free from LHR to Seattle, one of which could be your bike in a box. They now only allow one free checked bag, any extra are £50 each but it's still OK if one of them is a boxed bike. Last September I flew with my bike from Manchester to Seattle without any problem. For 2014 I have a problem I come from about 5 miles from the Tour route (I went to school in Keighley).

Thanks Tonup. I urge you to do it if you possibly can. Getting here may be the most expensive part. Food is quite a bit cheaper than in the UK. So are bikes for that matter. i met a man in my LBS who had flown from the UK, bought a new bike and was setting off across the country with an organized tour. I've done quite a bit of long distance riding here a lot of it on my own. Get the excellent Adventure Cycling Association maps (There's no equivalent of OS maps over here and the place is so big you'd need a trailer to carry them) They also have useful info on accommodation and eating places, don't be put off by notes that say for example "No services for 78 miles" etc.. That's all part of the adventure. It's hard to imagine riding 78 miles in the UK without seeing a petrol station or cafe but you can in a few places here. You'll find people in small towns incredibly friendly. If you want somewhere to camp ask the volunteer fire department if there is one. Those guys are great. In Missouri we actually stayed in a fire station sleeping between the fire engines, I must have been tired because they were called out in the middle of the night, sirens blaring, flashing lights, the lot and I slept through it. Must have been the free spaghetti feast they gave us for supper. Then there's always the unexpected. It's quite common in Europe to have a road blocked by a herd of sheep in the Sierras in California we had a road blocked by a herd of pigs

In May the wife and I are flying to Bangor Maine for a week of rubbernecking then the missus will fly back and I'll ride the Atlantic Coast route to Philadelphia, then head east to Pittsburgh via Gettysburg to visit my son, after that join the Northern Tier route at Erie PA and ride back to Seattle. Presumably Mrs J will be home before me.