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Wed. 17th: 68-76+F, 20-25C, breezy from NW, mostly sunny. No more of those Specialized shoes! Every time I wear them my toes are in pain again and I do more damage. I'm having to wear the worn-out Bontragers. Which were supposedly replaced by the Specialized. Rode to Brenderup via the lanes. Took a few photographs. Very warm. Dripping with sweat after I arrived home. Saw a few cyclists out training. 34 miles.
Fish ladder on the mill stream at Brenderup. I'm amazed this image came out it was so dark down below the bridge.
Thurs 18th 62-76F, 17-26C, variable breeze, sunny. Another warm, fine day. I decided to ride to Kolding to try the bike shops there for more shoe options. But with a headwind all the way and already warm I thought better of it and went in the car. Lots of cyclists enjoying the warm sunshine. Including (?) a pair of heavily loaded young "tourists" on push-along scooters with slightly larger wheels. Still only about 6" in diameter so god help them on the cycle paths! It's bad enough with 700C x 25!
Another few MTB shoes were tried and all found to be all but identical to the Specialized on which I had already wasted £90 quid. It's the same problem every single time. The triumph of pointed toe styling over function. Exustar, Scott, Mavic and Fizik were all found wanting on toe width and form. They must all use the same last. (Or the same Chinese factory?) The only difference between them is styling. Oh wow! Got to get me some of that styling! It's so important to reaching my ultimate level of performance!
A pair of the entry level, 3 velcro, Scott shoes were closest to passable in EU46. The next model up (the one with the ratchet) felt a size too small! While the EU47 was much too long.
Two bike shops were having a fortnight of summer holidays! Both were potentially good places to find something different. But not today. Nor next week. So the search for comfortable MTB shoes goes on.
The Brenderup crossroads sculpture is in the foreground. (In case there was ever any doubt) Is this a case of visual vandalism? Or deliberate, pig ignorance, driven by corporate greed? The sculpture's circular rails are supported on rollers. So could (theoretically) be rotated. Though it might be much more fun to have a game of oversized skittles. What goes around comes around. :-)
Scorching hot in the car even with the windows open and the fan on 3. Rather glad I didn't ride to Kolding. Much of the way was a very narrow cycle lane beside the speeding traffic separated only by wide, raised, dashed white lines. (No doubt a desperate attempt to try and keep all the drunk drivers from falling off the road)
Far from ideal for a trike on a busy main road. Can't straddle the bumpy dashed lines. Daren't ride in the road! No alternative routes. (at all) The Kolding-Middelfart road is amazing for its roller coaster hills. As can be seen by all the cyclists pitting their strength against the massive inclines and testing their nerve on all the fierce descents! If it wasn't for the traffic... They, at least, have the alternative of an expensive motorway which runs almost parallel with the Kolding Landevej. The cyclist has to make do with the hard shoulder. (Quite literally!) Perhaps the idealistically impoverished road planners don't see cyclists and tourism as anything more than parasites on their pockmarked, industrialised tarmac.
I still hope to get a ride in today. Left late. Only 8 miles. Very warm and blowing a gale. Toe hurting again despite wearing the Bontragers and thin, seamless socks. Probably the result of trying on identically-shaped, winklepicker cycling shoes all morning. I really wanted something screamingly bright to match my natural shyness. The Fiziks in flashy, pearlescent silver would have been lovely, if a bit pricy. They just weren't a sensible shape.
19th 61-75F, 16-24C, already windy, bright but rather cloudy. Forecast to be cooler but even windier today. Rode to Assens. Where I found a nice pair of NorthWave MTB shoes with ratchets at Søren Alexandersen's. These fit snugly across the instep with plenty of toe room. They are even more comfortable than my carpet slippers! More so since they firmly hold my feet back into the shoe heels. So I don't keep bumping my broken/ingrowing toenail. Velcro is absolutely hopeless at maintaining one's foot position in a cycling shoe. IMOE.
Happy (cycling) days are here again! Tra-la. :-)
It's warm and mostly sunny now but blowing a gale again. 19 miles so far.
Went out again after lunch to try the new shoes. Did my shopping and was on the way back when I was pushed off the road by three young morons having a race. A scruffy white VW Golf was racing alongside a dark silver grey car, closely followed by a road-converted, farmer's off-roader. Somebody blasted their horn just before all three caught up with me at 80-odd mph so I headed straight onto the rough grass verge to avoid being mown down. They were travelling so fast I never even heard them coming. Nor saw them in my mirror!
I've seen all three retarded fuckwits driving in the area quite a few times now. Always drawing attention to themselves by travelling far too fast. Usually while passing a school and several supermarkets in a local village where I shop quite often. So we have repeated speeding offenses. Driving dangerously and failing to stop after an accident. Doesn't forcing a cyclist off the road count as an accident? Or would I have had to be severely injured to get anybody's attention?
If action cameras lasted a bit longer I'd have some registration numbers to share. As it is the most popular action cameras would run out of batteries and/or video file storage several times over on every single ride. Not much use for my purposes considering the not-inconsiderable investment. Watching several hours of action cam videos is a tedious kind of psychological torture but there are usually only a few sections of particular interest and a fast forwards option.
I'm bound to see them again when I can concentrate on getting their number plates instead of just trying to stay alive. The retard in the white Golf blasted me with his horn last time as he overtook me in a narrow country lane. I have a feeling he is probably still living in the same scruffy rural cottage. I'll have a look out there tomorrow.
That's the trouble with these immature, psychopathic retards. It never occurs to them that an old fart on a trike would cover so much ground over time. And, that I will very probably pass their parked piece of junk eventually, if not sooner. Scruffy, old, white Golfs are really not that commonplace these days. Roadworthy "commercially converted garden tractors" are even less likely. If you are going to break the law quite so blatantly and repeatedly then at least use an invisible, anonymous vehicle.
BTW: The new shoes were fine. I became so fed up with the constant toe pain that I have snipped away the loose bits of broken nail with a really sharp pair of finely pointed scissors. I may never walk (normally) again. So, no change there. There was no real pain involved. So the half bottle of whiskey and the leather belt between my teeth was really just more (western) amateur dramatics. Looking back, with perfect hindsight, today could have ended so much worse! 12 more miles. Still not out. No thanks to the local landsby tossers.
20th 57-78F, 14-26C, sunny, cloudless and almost still. Forecast to reach 25C with modest winds.
If the riders in the Tragedy de France are clean then what the f*ck are the raving chimps on the climbs using? Have you noticed the copycat zombie behaviour? This is deeply worrying. It could mean that football fans have finally infiltrated cycling. Where will it all end? Shell suits in team colours? Oh, it already has.
Might I suggest a new rule? Anyone who runs alongside a racing cyclist must finish the climb. No more and no less. They must reach the summit, in a set time, carrying their own supplies of shitburgers, fags and gallons of coke in a standard musette. Failure to finish will mean disqualification and being pushed off the nearest cliff. It's not as if this trailer trash is actually contributing to human progress, is it? Turning them into landfill will surely make them infinitely more useful?
Or, the stinking rich, race organisers will just have to put up electric fences to keep the animals off the roads. They have countless rules for the riders. Why not for the raving lunatics who block the route? If the road is closed for the race then it is (temporarily) a private road. Different rules apply. Off the cliff they go!
I have renewed my subscription to the Diims logger system. While not perfect, it does offer an extra degree of security if my trike is stolen. The problem seems to be a degree of sloppiness in downloading 'hits' from post vans at the end of the working day. I get odd days where no hit is recorded despite having seen a few PO vans. Nor are there sufficient fixed receivers. Still not bad for £1 a month equivalent plus the initial cost of the unit. (About £50 average] Better than not having a clue where the thieving scum have hidden your property to pay for their next fix/binge.
Since it was such a nice day I headed for Faaborg. A group of five fit young clubmen pulled across in front of me so I sat on the back for a few miles. We were averaging from 18-34mph quite effortlessly. I was invited to sit closer to enjoy a bit more shelter but I was afraid I'd mow them down if they had to stop in a hurry. So I stayed a couple of lengths off the rear rider's wheel. I was probably carrying 15-20kg more dead weight than they were on their carbon bikes.
I turned off before Faaborg to explore the Horne area. It feels almost like a peninsula and is very unspoilt. Probably thanks to a lack of through roads. Traffic was very light all the time I was out. I refilled my water bottle twice and kept drinking a little at intervals. A cheese sandwich and a banana kept hunger at bay. It was very warm but quite blowy. I was very pleased with the new shoes and my level of fitness. No hint of my poorly toe and the shoes felt nicely stiff. Offering a large and comfortable platform which also helped when I was climbing. They are also excellent when walking. 55 miles.
The mountain apes of France embarrassed themselves, the riders and France all over again today. Froome had to palm off two complete nutters. He was nearly brought down by a stupid kid yesterday. The motorcyclists and even the referee's car were unable to contain several mentally unhinged lunatics even after they had already entered the barrier section. How long before something is done about these raving lunatics? Water cannon aren't much use in a long bike race. You can't use tear gas with the riders nearby. So it's down to cattle prods or tasers. Choose your weapons before the results of the Tragedy of France become totally dictated by the screaming, raving, rabid nutters.
On a side note: It's good to see the Big C cannot compete without illegal substances. Had the Big C won this year I would never have watched the Tragedy of France again.
Click on any image for an enlargement.
Another few MTB shoes were tried and all found to be all but identical to the Specialized on which I had already wasted £90 quid. It's the same problem every single time. The triumph of pointed toe styling over function. Exustar, Scott, Mavic and Fizik were all found wanting on toe width and form. They must all use the same last. (Or the same Chinese factory?) The only difference between them is styling. Oh wow! Got to get me some of that styling! It's so important to reaching my ultimate level of performance!
Brenderup Mølle.[Mill] The stream is at the other end.
With a separate water channel passing under the far end of the building.
With a separate water channel passing under the far end of the building.
A pair of the entry level, 3 velcro, Scott shoes were closest to passable in EU46. The next model up (the one with the ratchet) felt a size too small! While the EU47 was much too long.
Two bike shops were having a fortnight of summer holidays! Both were potentially good places to find something different. But not today. Nor next week. So the search for comfortable MTB shoes goes on.
Scorching hot in the car even with the windows open and the fan on 3. Rather glad I didn't ride to Kolding. Much of the way was a very narrow cycle lane beside the speeding traffic separated only by wide, raised, dashed white lines. (No doubt a desperate attempt to try and keep all the drunk drivers from falling off the road)
Far from ideal for a trike on a busy main road. Can't straddle the bumpy dashed lines. Daren't ride in the road! No alternative routes. (at all) The Kolding-Middelfart road is amazing for its roller coaster hills. As can be seen by all the cyclists pitting their strength against the massive inclines and testing their nerve on all the fierce descents! If it wasn't for the traffic... They, at least, have the alternative of an expensive motorway which runs almost parallel with the Kolding Landevej. The cyclist has to make do with the hard shoulder. (Quite literally!) Perhaps the idealistically impoverished road planners don't see cyclists and tourism as anything more than parasites on their pockmarked, industrialised tarmac.
I still hope to get a ride in today. Left late. Only 8 miles. Very warm and blowing a gale. Toe hurting again despite wearing the Bontragers and thin, seamless socks. Probably the result of trying on identically-shaped, winklepicker cycling shoes all morning. I really wanted something screamingly bright to match my natural shyness. The Fiziks in flashy, pearlescent silver would have been lovely, if a bit pricy. They just weren't a sensible shape.
19th 61-75F, 16-24C, already windy, bright but rather cloudy. Forecast to be cooler but even windier today. Rode to Assens. Where I found a nice pair of NorthWave MTB shoes with ratchets at Søren Alexandersen's. These fit snugly across the instep with plenty of toe room. They are even more comfortable than my carpet slippers! More so since they firmly hold my feet back into the shoe heels. So I don't keep bumping my broken/ingrowing toenail. Velcro is absolutely hopeless at maintaining one's foot position in a cycling shoe. IMOE.Happy (cycling) days are here again! Tra-la. :-)
It's warm and mostly sunny now but blowing a gale again. 19 miles so far.
I've seen all three retarded fuckwits driving in the area quite a few times now. Always drawing attention to themselves by travelling far too fast. Usually while passing a school and several supermarkets in a local village where I shop quite often. So we have repeated speeding offenses. Driving dangerously and failing to stop after an accident. Doesn't forcing a cyclist off the road count as an accident? Or would I have had to be severely injured to get anybody's attention?If action cameras lasted a bit longer I'd have some registration numbers to share. As it is the most popular action cameras would run out of batteries and/or video file storage several times over on every single ride. Not much use for my purposes considering the not-inconsiderable investment. Watching several hours of action cam videos is a tedious kind of psychological torture but there are usually only a few sections of particular interest and a fast forwards option.
I'm bound to see them again when I can concentrate on getting their number plates instead of just trying to stay alive. The retard in the white Golf blasted me with his horn last time as he overtook me in a narrow country lane. I have a feeling he is probably still living in the same scruffy rural cottage. I'll have a look out there tomorrow.
That's the trouble with these immature, psychopathic retards. It never occurs to them that an old fart on a trike would cover so much ground over time. And, that I will very probably pass their parked piece of junk eventually, if not sooner. Scruffy, old, white Golfs are really not that commonplace these days. Roadworthy "commercially converted garden tractors" are even less likely. If you are going to break the law quite so blatantly and repeatedly then at least use an invisible, anonymous vehicle.BTW: The new shoes were fine. I became so fed up with the constant toe pain that I have snipped away the loose bits of broken nail with a really sharp pair of finely pointed scissors. I may never walk (normally) again. So, no change there. There was no real pain involved. So the half bottle of whiskey and the leather belt between my teeth was really just more (western) amateur dramatics. Looking back, with perfect hindsight, today could have ended so much worse! 12 more miles. Still not out. No thanks to the local landsby tossers.
20th 57-78F, 14-26C, sunny, cloudless and almost still. Forecast to reach 25C with modest winds.
If the riders in the Tragedy de France are clean then what the f*ck are the raving chimps on the climbs using? Have you noticed the copycat zombie behaviour? This is deeply worrying. It could mean that football fans have finally infiltrated cycling. Where will it all end? Shell suits in team colours? Oh, it already has.
Might I suggest a new rule? Anyone who runs alongside a racing cyclist must finish the climb. No more and no less. They must reach the summit, in a set time, carrying their own supplies of shitburgers, fags and gallons of coke in a standard musette. Failure to finish will mean disqualification and being pushed off the nearest cliff. It's not as if this trailer trash is actually contributing to human progress, is it? Turning them into landfill will surely make them infinitely more useful?Or, the stinking rich, race organisers will just have to put up electric fences to keep the animals off the roads. They have countless rules for the riders. Why not for the raving lunatics who block the route? If the road is closed for the race then it is (temporarily) a private road. Different rules apply. Off the cliff they go!
I have renewed my subscription to the Diims logger system. While not perfect, it does offer an extra degree of security if my trike is stolen. The problem seems to be a degree of sloppiness in downloading 'hits' from post vans at the end of the working day. I get odd days where no hit is recorded despite having seen a few PO vans. Nor are there sufficient fixed receivers. Still not bad for £1 a month equivalent plus the initial cost of the unit. (About £50 average] Better than not having a clue where the thieving scum have hidden your property to pay for their next fix/binge.
Since it was such a nice day I headed for Faaborg. A group of five fit young clubmen pulled across in front of me so I sat on the back for a few miles. We were averaging from 18-34mph quite effortlessly. I was invited to sit closer to enjoy a bit more shelter but I was afraid I'd mow them down if they had to stop in a hurry. So I stayed a couple of lengths off the rear rider's wheel. I was probably carrying 15-20kg more dead weight than they were on their carbon bikes.
I turned off before Faaborg to explore the Horne area. It feels almost like a peninsula and is very unspoilt. Probably thanks to a lack of through roads. Traffic was very light all the time I was out. I refilled my water bottle twice and kept drinking a little at intervals. A cheese sandwich and a banana kept hunger at bay. It was very warm but quite blowy. I was very pleased with the new shoes and my level of fitness. No hint of my poorly toe and the shoes felt nicely stiff. Offering a large and comfortable platform which also helped when I was climbing. They are also excellent when walking. 55 miles.
On a side note: It's good to see the Big C cannot compete without illegal substances. Had the Big C won this year I would never have watched the Tragedy of France again.
Click on any image for an enlargement.
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