Cycling UK Forum

I had a Karrimor Jaguar IV rucksack (I still have it, but dont much use it as its bright blue...sign of the times) that I used for the Pennie Way in 1982. It's made of KS 1000e and tough. Worked well then and a dare say would do the same job again if needed.

I also still use a Karrimor Bardale Barbag and only a few days ago noticed it was made in England. Ive repaired it a few times, but reckon its still got plenty of life in it, and have even made a new one of those wire handle bar things for other other bikes. I dont own any other bar bag because I can't find one I like better than this one.

I however do own a full set of Caradice Super C panniers (front and rear) and also Ortlieb sport packer fronts and bike packer rears.....but nothing gives me more pleasure than sticking on the old Karrimor Iberians on the back of my bike. Guess its fond memories of using them as a student thirty years ago. They and the bar bag are great to this day.

Recently I brought a Karrimor Special forces rucksack as I wanted an unobtrusive green. Sadly the quality isnt as good, but then I would say the same about Carradice who have supplied a friend with shockingly badly finished products recently and it might just me being grumpy, but the Ortliebs I had 7 years ago dont seem as well made as the ones I brought this summer (clips not as tight and is the material thinner?).

I've never been into Sports Direct, don't think I will bother !

To utterly disregard everything is tantamount to infinite happiness. To encompass everything with such zen precludes awareness of post-Heisenberg cycling uncertainties: our momentum might not be enough to sustain rotational Rudolf red Zen "Donner und blitzen!" Dasher disagrees: disavowing his procrastinations but roadie's scream 23's perplex Prancer and Rupert Bear's Izod. "Who's Izod? Said Assad said sadly, Izod toughness test specification poorly written wiv bad wurds, although (phonetically speaking) Rupert preferred Burberry, Hamish wants tartan paint on his Derry Air, not pink puff balls. Fungus the Bogeyman extracted a 6" deep pan pizza, topped with those portobello mushrooms from Orloff's vegetable patch and chorizo sausages topped with a generous helping of hamster stew and finely chopped Boris.

Sunbeams on Orion make fantastic car-crashes. Whereas, Rileys in Ramsbottom ride rhythmically rearwards, rashly raking rabbits, rams and rump-fed rectors ruthlessly regurgitating rhododendron roots, remembered Randolf. Kevin, alias "Klepto Kevin", stole Scott's 'syrup': ordered Oates outside in and cooked colossal coypu collops containing crispy courgette croutons, cauliflower chutney, cheese, cherry conserve curdled crabs claws, CRIPES! Give up! CREPES! Me too!

CRIPPS, Sir Stafford stood still silently, stifling sonorous snores whilst juggling hedgehogs and busted slugs. Marmaduke became sleepy Hollow's Headless Horseman after a Gillette Fight of the leg shaving special

err....well I'm glad I asked.

That's cleared that one up then

So maybe the best thing for me to do is try one leg first as an experiment and see if that makes any difference?

Righto, at the risk of causing unrest.

Thoughts have crossed my mind (in a rather Devilish kind of way ) that I cant be a serious cyclist as I dont shave my legs!

I never understood this leg shaving thing anyway, but I recently visited a local cycling "club" with the thought of joining in a few group rides.

I guess I knew they were a bit "sporty" when they took a look at my touring bike and suggested I could make it lighter by removing the racks and mudguards. I suggested that if I wanted it to be lighter I could go out riding with them and loose a stone in weight, and I am fit enough anyway to cycle with my bike as it is as its normally loaded down with panniers, tents, cooking stuff etc. So to me it was already very light, thank you very much indeed. I needed the racks the next day to carry stuff on and have no intention of taking them off. They seemed to have things attatched to their saddle (which wern't very comfy looking anyway) that wouldnt even hold a decent sized flask of tea.

They also suggested that whilst my bike was a decent spec. some of the components were no good for a road bike (its a 700c tourer, I knew it wasn't a road bike and they said I could ride on any bike) I just hoped to go out for a few rides with a local club. I didnt know I was competing at this stage as I didnt want to compete at any stage. They were sniffy because apparantly its got mountain bike components mixed with road components. True its got Tiagra on the front and Deore XT on the rear....it came off the shelf like that and Ive never bothered to change it as its fine for me. Its also got 32c tyres on it and hand made Spa Cycle wheels .....however they led me to believe I could go out with their Monday evening ride that does 15mph on avarage for an hour....I can do that no probs and knew their route as it was published on their web site. So no probs again.

Finally I realised I was in the wrong place as I caught sight of shaved legs. Even if I changed my bike entierly to gain speed and loose weight (which I dont want to do at the expense of not being able to carry large loads up steep hills), it seemed pointless to shave my legs when I have a reasonable sized full beard.....they didnt have an answer to that.

As I left, I was told I would also need a helmet if I came back to ride with them. I was rather bored with their "mentality" by then so didnt put up much of an argument to be honest and on the way home I deposited the leaflets for "British Cycling" in the bin.

I tried emailing my thoughts to the secratery a few days later, but a month has gone by now and I didnt get a reply. I'm now at home in East Sussex CTC so no problems my end and a great group to ride with and often up to 60 out on a Wednesday, so they must be doing something that we are all happy with.

....but would shaving legs be equal in improving my performance to the removal of a pannier rack, skinny tyres, carbon frame etc ? I really do need my rack to carry stuff on when touring, I think 32c is a good choice for that too and I do preffer a steel bike for touring also. Seems that should I want to go faster as a serious cyclist I can now only really improve my performance by shaving my legs. I then still have the beard to think about, which is a worry as I can hide my shaven legs under trousers.....oh I guess that might defeat the object. Its so confusing !!

Perhaps we need to reinvent the mudguard to be more effective as a sluguard !

....thanks nick, but with repect that's stubble !! Not a beard !


Hmm...thoughts for another topic maybe.....dare I ?

(OK, Im back here again.)

Been looking around the interweb and of course immediatly found AUK. They list some events close to me in SE England, mainly 100km ones which would be a perfect starting point. Are there other places to look that I havn't found that may help plan a progressive year of events for 2014 ?

So in fact the answer was to use not to use just any fingernail, but that of your wife !


Having just purchased a set of mudguards for our tandem, I suspect MrsSqueeze will now be happy to help me fit them to save her own fingernails from the same potential use should I ever quote the CTC forum approved and tested method of slug remains removal for riding without mudguards!

meic wrote:Probably because you (we) are slipping into being "the last generation" from being "the present generation".

Yes....I'm 49 and proud to be an old fuddy duddy ! The games over for me

(and no I dont do facebook either..... )


....Audax has gone from something thats lurked in the back of my mind for ages to now being something I really do want to do, panners and all, next year. Thanks to this thread I now know its for me....

Need to find some events now!

I have just recieved an email giving me a coupon to print out to let me have a free entry into one of the Evans cycle events.

....but you need to wear a helmet else you wont be able to ride. (guess who could sell you one?)

Oh well, not for me then, its a fair warning that the event might not be "quite my thing" for other reasons too.

meic wrote:..........but ride them while you can AUK has looked upon Sportives with a covetous eye and is seeking to change its image by removing its more embarrassing side, ie small groups of bearded, mudguarded cyclists sedately touring the countryside.

.....is that the same thing as CTC wanting to "re-brand" its image too?.....Why is it that every time I find something I like or want to get involved with or even remotely interests me, it seems that the "powers that be" are just on the verge of changing it into something I then wont like when its been "re-branded and modernised"?

meic wrote:
Some would even ride it with the panniers on.

Oh yes....I cant go anywhere without panniers ! I need them to carry my helmet in once Ive got around the corner and taken it off so MrsSqueeze feels happy that she thinks I'm wearing it!

Brill !! Great stuff !!.....now how did you get that "smiley" with the beret ?.....get the French connection....good stuff....but I want one with a beard !! Glad you are slug free too. Nice one, best wishes!!

I have done a fair bit of touring ( loaded with four panniers etc) and can find myself around perfectly well with a map. What I would like to do are some organised "events" and for me Audax seemed worth thinking about next year. I have only ever cycled long distances on my own tours.

However I appreciate there are special "Audax bikes" but I am not really sporty at all. Would a Galaxy be OK for Audax (I know people SAY you can use any bike, but would I actually be out of place on a 2007 Dawes Ultra Galaxy?) My bike is comfortable and I know its mechanics well. I have racks of course and I am happy to sit on it hour after hour as I have done for years.

Its of no interest to me in doing an event quickly, just to take part and enjoy the structure and focus of an organised event. I reckon I stand a chance at the average speeds for completion rather than have any interest in finishing quickly. If I find myself going too fast I can always make the last tea stop last longer surely?

At 49 feel I am quite capable of building up from shorter to longer events over a couple of years.

So Audax sounds a possible thought.

(and yes, as per other topic, I do have mudgurads, a beard and the less said about sandals the better.....Hi Mr Audax67 )

Presta valve

"Kevin who?" asked Kevin Keegan, hoping that his mum hadn't mistaken him for Randolf Scott's maiden aunt again. Permed hair always seems attractive to those as has had electro-convulsion therapy or sheep fantasies, night on a Welsh Rabbit with rhubarb and custard: I dreamt that the custard clouds were pink mallows steeped in armagnac with mustard covered rocks and pillows of marshmallows and sheep hearts, curdled Bovril and rice. Awakened, it dawned on the Triffid and grinned with big grins and threw a bag of angry gerbils at the bewildered grammatical pedant. "What makes verbs tense?" It yelled at Conan the Grammarian. Roget was writing on the wall of the toilet "Where's Geoff.D's post?" A widespread search "They Saw Us!" revealed... nowt. "Well, we're making house-to-house word searches, so get the Scrabble bag of bits, hope they arrest Lexi Cographer for aggravated infinitive splitting."

To utterly disregard everything is tantamount to infinite happiness. To encompass everything with such zen precludes awareness of post-Heisenberg cycling uncertainties: our momentum might not be enough to sustain rotational Rudolf red Zen "Donner und blitzen!" Dasher disagrees: disavowing his procrastinations but roadie's scream 23's perplex Prancer and Rupert Bear's Izod. "Who's Izod? Said Assad said sadly, Izod toughness test specification poorly written wiv bad wurds, although (phonetically speaking) Rupert preferred Burberry, Hamish wants tartan paint on his Derry Air, not pink puff balls. Fungus the Bogeyman extracted a 6" deep pan pizza, topped with those portobello mushrooms from Orloff's vegetable patch and chorizo sausages topped with a generous helping of hamster stew and finely chopped Boris.

Sunbeams on Orion make fantastic car-crashes. Whereas, Rileys in Ramsbottom ride rhythmically rearwards, rashly raking rabbits, rams and rump-fed rectors ruthlessly regurgitating rhododendron roots, remembered Randolf. Kevin, alias "Klepto Kevin", stole Scott's 'syrup': ordered Oates outside in and cooked colossal coypu collops containing crispy courgette croutons, cauliflower chutney, cheese, cherry conserve curdled crabs claws, CRIPES! Give up! CREPES! Me too!

CRIPPS, Sir Stafford stood still silently