2nd April 2016 Caught short on a long ride in Denmark?

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Saturday 2nd 41-52F, 5-11C, grey overcast, breezy. POO scale 6.5/10. We might see 50F today but it will be cloudy with up to 25mph southerly gusts. I gave a ride a miss yesterday after fiddling with the new tyres and tubes. It seemed sensible to have a complete rest because I kept feeling starving, nauseous and weak all day. My aching knees improved steadily until I soon stopped noticing them on our steep stairs. It's odd that it hurt a lot more going down than coming back up. I'm fairly sure I wouldn't be half as fit if I lived in a bungalow. The stairs are vital exercise as well as excellent practice at agility and balance. The stairs are angled upwards at about 55 degrees which felt extremely dangerous when we first moved here. I had no obvious muscle discomfort at all yesterday, nor today.

At least this takes the pressure off my doing another long ride for a while. I'd really like to do a 100 mile ride, before it's too late, but it will need careful preparation. Not just setting off with a distant goal and a cheese sandwich on a windy day! That was just, plain daft. I have worked out some 100 mile, roundtoit routes which would keep me within safe reach of home if I did need to bail out. Will I have the psychological stamina NOT to take the short cut home?

Perhaps I ought to do a bit of training at longer rides and build up to it? Ensuring, above all, that I have enough tasty, energy giving foods to keep me well within my reserves for the likely ten hour duration. I don't think I'd enjoy eating too many energy bars or even Corny dark chocolate muesli bars. Bananas may have energy reserves but can get a bit too much beyond two or three in a day. Sandwiches are quite hard work with a dry mouth particularly on a warm day. As are digestive biscuits. Getting enough fluids is another major problem as I don't much enjoy anything but pure apple juice out on the road. Only when caught out by a very warm day have I consumed very much plain water. Though I don't think I've ever drunk more than three normal, cage bottles of tap water in a whole 8 hour, 80 mile ride. Perhaps once.

I went into a town's only bike shop once, hot, tired and desperate for water on an 80 mile ride. Only to be told by the owner to use the filthy old hose lying out in the yard! I could see the stainless steel sink right beside him in the workshop and I was dressed in one of my usual, smart racing jerseys and bibs. So I wasn't some scruffy tramp just wandering in off the streets! I declined his "kind offer" and found a Coop with a sink in the toilets for a much needed refill just down the road. Needless to say I have never bought anything in that cycle shop ever since. Though I do enjoy having a really good browse while the owner hovers impatiently instead of returning to his detached workshop out in the yard. Where, no doubt, the old hose still lies on the filthy gravel.

Anyone cycle touring in Denmark should remember that many rural churches have a toilet with a sink/washbasin. The toilet buildings are often placed out of sight at the far end of the church grounds but can be very handy in an emergency. They are always spotlessly clean in my own, rather limited experience. Denmark doesn't have many public toilets. Brugsens [Coop] and the tax-payer subsidized churches are the usual point of call. Some other supermarkets will usually allow the use of the staff toilet. Though I was once refused access by a teenage staff member at Fakta in Svendborg harbour. Fakta is a downmarket branch of the Coop. They sell the same stuff but at two different price levels and employ even more [surly] staff at Brugsens. I think they must breed them specially. One very large Brugsen closed after management deliberately placed a sour, racist dragon continuously alone on the checkouts. This increased my mileage considerably but did manage to lower my blood pressure to a safer level. Shopping there was like running the gauntlet with the "Hounds of the Baskervilles!" I kid you not! My hands used to start shaking as I approached the automatic doors!

I walked my usual loop today up to the woods but kept to the field tracks on firm, dry ground. I only realised today that I can glimpse the distant sea from a particular high spot just in front of the woods. With Jutland's dark coastline [Dk.Jylland] silhouetted beyond. A grey, breezy start and just cool enough to feel it on my bare hands when I left. Though it, and I, soon warmed up and I was comfortable as it approached 46F on its way towards 50F. [10C] @ 11.15am.

I disturbed a tiny male Kestrel which was sitting on a post. It was certainly the correct coloration and shape for a Kestrel but it did seem rather small. Checking online suggests a migrant Lesser Kestrel. Which I had never even heard of before today. Three Skylarks jostled for position overhead as male Chaffinches sang from each of the trees in the field hedgerow. One had a female Greenfinch sitting within two feet of it. Though neither seemed perturbed by the presence of the other. A Song thrush was busy singing too but lost in the scruffy hedging. Unlike the far more common Blackbirds they don't seek out a high point to sing. In fact I only very rarely spot thrushes in Denmark. They are almost as shy as Robins over here. Though we do catch an occasional glimpse of one on the lawn. Clockwork Starlings are appearing in ever larger numbers now and I watched one for a while through my binoculars. As long lengths of dried weeds were being dragged in through the hole of a nesting box.

A background drone of a tractor proved to be a pig's muck dribbler. Which raised the POO scale from 6, at home in the garden, as I put on my boots and gaiters. To a definite 7/10 once it had wafted downwind to me as I walked back along the road over half a  mile away. It will usually make your eyes water and bring on a regular cough at that level of toxicity. But let's pile on a whole lot more to save the farmer's from imminent bankruptcy! The politic-ooze argument about quantity and placement still rumbles on. As coalition parties wrangle over house points in the desperate hope of any media attention attracting a few more voters in the next game of musical chairs on the gravy train.

A late morning ride in POO 7/10. The roads were plastered in dried-on farmer's mud. I shall have to go out again after lunch. Yet again a new set of Schwalbe Plus surprised me with their rubbery and energetic sense of urgency. I remember this from the last time I tried them. They certainly aren't light but they just seem to roll well. Happily sailing over lumps and bumps, gravel and stones on the road.

A Volvo estate driver was so insanely determined to push past me in a bottleneck and against oncoming traffic that I swear he clipped my mirror. Then I was overtaken on a blind corner by another registered blind, drunken, drug abusing, educationally challenged, drooling moron just as an electric mobility scooter approached with overtaking traffic. It's really no good my blaming these nutters for their raving imbecility. I am just going to have to accept the the fact that they haven't two functional brain cells to rub together and be done with it. I'm all for inclusion in society but why the hell are they allowed to play with toy driving licenses? What is that saying..? "Grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." I'd settle for a 45 Colt and shooting lessons. Or, better still, handlebar mounted RPGs. As long as they didn't affect the steering. Too "over the top?" Thought so. ;-) 15 miles so far and counting. I forgot to buy milk and The Head Gardener is not amused!

2nd Stage: I wore my NW MTB shoes with the replacement buckles for the first time this season. They felt tight and made my toes feel very hot! The same headwind was roaring in my ears but worse than this morning. Two long stripes of smashed glass in my traffic lane in the village. I wanted to ride between them but a psychopath in a van was coming the other way in the middle of the road driving at over 50mph and still accelerating in a 24mph speed limit. I stood up to lighten the impact on the wheels and then jumped off to check my new tyres once I was clear of the sparkly, road decorations. No visible sign of damage thank goodness.

Which is more than I can say for the wonky stitching on the lid strap of my Carradice Bijou Camper Longflap saddlebag. It has obviously become bored with my endless complaints about its emasculation, asymmetry and absolutely pathetic [nay downright shoddy] manufacturing standards. The said strap is now [literally] hanging by a thread M'lud. Not a happy Camper? Suit yourselves. You will anyway. I have an ancient and knackered 'Junior' saddlebag in the shed and that hasn't had any problems with its stitching. Perhaps it has something to do with the leather straps being twice as thick as the modern tat and properly sewn with suitable thread? Surely not? As I had ordered it direct from't mill it is just possible they found themselves caught short. So they did some reject dumpster diving in an attempt to satisfy this eternally grateful customer? A Northern English accent is considered obligatory to get the most from't last few sentences. I did a two post review when it was brand new in 2012. 22 miles total today.

Jun 2012 Carradice-camper-longflap-saddlebag.html

The Carradice Camper is now £85 and they still claim it is 23cm from front to back! Spot the porky!

Carradice Camper longflap saddlebag

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1st April 2016 [II] Tyres"R"[NOT]Us!

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I have been putting off replacing the Durano tyres despite having a set of Durano Plus waiting for months now in their sales-presentation boxes. The Duranos had been showing small cuts and holes for ages but seemed to be surviving well into old age. The first puncture this year may say more about my low mileages than sheer tyre longevity. Only 1300 miles covered since the last puncture.

From my mileage diary I found I had fitted the new Duranos at the end of August for a total mileage of 2627 to date. Which doesn't seem much by Durano standards. Though the tyre treads on trikes don't enjoy any roll on corners [like bikes] so tend to flatten more quickly on the crowns. Inflating them to a pressure of 90-95psi probably tends to wear the crown away even faster. The thinner crown lifts in contact with the rough road and is then worn away. Though it is possible the reinforcing fabric prevents this from happening. Riding over wet/dry roads leaves a stripe showing that the contact patch is only about 1cm wide before the tyres have warmed up. This widens after a few miles.

Once I had removed the worn tyre I immediately noticed how light and thin the tread felt compared to new. New tyres have a full, thick crescent of rubber covering the entire tread. A worn tyre from thousands of miles on a trike is both thin and has no extra thickness over the crown. Though I was surprised when I just checked with a dial equipped, thickness gauge and found there is still 3mm of rubber left on the middle of the tread. It certainly doesn't feel that thick to the bare fingers.The worn tyres weighed 1/2 lb or 8oz each. The brand new Durano Plus have a tread thickness of 5mm.

Now I am wondering whether it is worth the risk of further punctures by just replacing the inner tube. Or going the whole hog and replacing all three tubes and tyres with the new ones. The inner tube which rolled home without air obviously has to go. It was gathered into a bundle around the valve and must have been battered quite hard. Though the anodized, rim finish is completely untouched by rolling on the flat tyre. The puncture was tiny and took two tries through the water before it finally showed up.

A puncture is a real nuisance, particularly in the wet when everything is covered in sticky, road silt. It is impossible to clean one's hands, or the tyre, of fine grit beside the road. Fitting even the undersized patches they sell for narrow inner tubes is usually a waste of time. The curvature of the 20-25mm inner tubes is far too small to wrap the patch properly and eventually it just lifts off again. I once tried a G-cramp [C-clamp] to press a patch into place but it didn't help. Inner tubes often have raised ribs which would seem to negate any chance of a patch fitting closely by thumb pressure alone.

Even having to stop to put a new inner tube into a punctured tyre, while out on the road, adds to the journey time. Try it in the dark! The tyre has to be carefully checked all around for the tiny flint which had caused the puncture in the first place. So, I had better stop messing about and fit the new tyres and tubes so I can start from scratch with the lowest possible risk of a puncture. With the highest mileage months ahead it seems false optimism to continue on the old tyres. 

If only life were perfect. I was just finishing my last tyre change and congratulating myself on my finely honed skills. Then I discovered that Schwalbe tubes cannot be trusted for air-tightness. A leak on the inner side of the tube, close to the valve, would be impossible to achieve given my usual care in fitting. Had the leak been opposite the valve I might have thought there was a very slight chance I had trapped the tube getting the last bit of tyre bead over the rim. Though I always put a little air in the tube to minimize this risk. Nor do I ever use tyre levers to fit the tyre. That would be asking for trouble. I always put a few strokes more air in the fitted tyre and go right around pressing the bead away the from the rim to ensure the inner tube isn't trapped anywhere. Then add even more air and pull the bead line up to the rim. Both sides get exactly the same treatment, of course, starting at the valve to avoid missing anything.

I haven't had a tyre with a new inner tube go down on me due to a self-imposed puncture during fitting in living memory. So how does a tube puncture close to the valve on the inside facing the rim? I have absolutely no idea. I had to pull the new tube out and fit one of the old tubes in its place and this is happily holding its pressure. I even double checked that I had 90psi using the digital pressure gauge to ensure my track pump gauge wasn't becoming inaccurate and under-reading. Both gauges agreed.

A leaky, brand new inner tube is a very serious matter. It could actually mean life or death under the wrong circumstances. I know I shall never trust new inner tubes ever again without test inflating them first and checking in a clean water bath. It's just not worth the risk! Schwalbe claim they test for leaks before sale. I think they [probably] mean they only test random samples to save expense. Perhaps they have unhappy workers in Indonesia? What do I know? Except that I have a leak in a brand new, Schwalbe inner tube.

Just in case Schwalbe is remotely interested the image shows the batch number of the leaking tube. It is otherwise marked Schwalbe 700x20-28C No15.  I suggest my readers check your own stock inner tubes for air tightness before assuming you can carry them safely in your saddlebag ready for use in an emergency. Mine have never left the smart boxes they came in from the online dealer until I opened them today. I didn't even put them on the clean concrete slabs but rested them carefully on the tyres for the posed picture above.

I have had Continental inner tubes with faulty valves which would never hold air [at all] however they were adjusted! Others, by the same manufacturer, where the valves hadn't been tightened into the valve body. So that the whole valve came out when unscrewing the active 'pip' just to put air in the brand new inner tube! So this is obviously a quality control problem during manufacture which regularly slips through. I had three in a row like that!

Can you imagine puncturing a very long way from home when you are already tired? Only to find you have been sold crap, inner tubes by these "big names."  I even had a Durano Plus tyre which would not seat on the rim. It slipped right off due to a weakness in the bead reinforcement until it finally went bang! Then there were the Continental 4000S tyres which went into large holes on the very first ride and punctured repeatedly. Of course Continental denied all liability. In the end the online dealer stumped up for three new tyres out of his own pocket. I kept them stored in their packaging for a year and then, when I finally fitted them, they punctured repeatedly. Thanks, for nothing, Continental and Schwalbe! Keep taking the [easy] money from your customers. You know, the one's who pay your [inflated] salaries!

Click on any image for an enlargement. 

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April 1st 2016 A fool and his energy are soon parted.

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Friday April 1st, 28F,, -2C, hard white frost with a clear blue sky and completely calm. This is the day I should have gone for a longer ride. Much lighter winds from a much better direction. Yesterday's foolishness was a clear lesson in stupidity: Not carrying enough food. Not buying more food when it was still easily available. The desire to enjoy a beneficial tailwind should have been a lesson in the strong likelihood of a headwind on the return leg. I was so short of energy towards the end that I could no longer turn the pedals with a 33x36t gear. Had I not consumed the two bananas I might still be pushing the trike uphill. I arrived home weak and exhausted. A shower and a cup of tea was all I could manage. After a short nap I woke feeling extremely nauseous and could not manage to eat dinner despite a glass of sodium bicarbonate.

The likely problems should have been all too obvious. I had little mileage in my legs this year and only two longer rides of about half the planned distance. I ignored the wind forecast and had to fight a 20-25mph headwind all the way back. The only thing I did right was taking plenty of stops for photography.

Glorup Slot ice house from 1778 forces the tiny steep lane to go around it.  I had the appearance of a prehistoric mound with dry stone walling still visible around the top. The twisted trees added considerable atmosphere. The great house itself is seen in the top image on this page and has a vast estate and extensive red brick farm buildings. A pretty little church stands just to the north of the great house.

The collapse of energy levels is well known in cycling but still I ignored the warning signs. I could easily have bought food at half way home even if I had ignored the opportunity on my way to my goal. Perhaps the lack of blood sugar causes such foolishness but I was in no fit state to be cycling for the last 20 miles. It was more determination than wisdom which got me home. I was chasing two different chaps on their bikes at times on the way back and these should have given me a true measure of my weakness. Perhaps they helped me continue by giving me a target while trying to catch them? Under normal circumstances I would have overtaken both and left them well behind.

I'm not feeling too bad this morning though my knees are still tender when descending the stairs. I had a pain in my right knee from 20 miles onwards yesterday as if I had hit myself on the side of the kneecap. It didn't seem to get any worse nor hinder me from pedaling so I continued.

After Glorup Slot the small road approaches Svindinge. Parents were picking up their excited children from the school just beside the prominent church. All very atmospheric in a timeless sort of way.
    
Yesterday my shoulders were aching badly from leaning on the 'bars for so many hours. I kept trying to push myself back on the saddle but it didn't really help. My shoulders are still aching slightly. I suffered from saddle soreness from about 50 miles onwards but it was too cold to go without tights and pants under my best bibs yesterday. No problem sitting down today.

The problem with a trike is that you are supported, however badly, by the machine. On foot you would probably just want to lie down on the verge and die. On a trike you just keep turning the pedals out of habit and suffer endlessly. You don't even have the luxury of falling off a like two wheel bike through exhaustion and then lying on the verge to die. Probably every cyclist who has ever tried to push their distances and speeds will know the awful misery of trying to finish a ride when they no longer have anything left in the tank. Carrying a heavy rucksack on a long walk is not nearly so bad. The ground is much nearer and you can easily just lie down and die. The bi-cyclist must continue to the bitter end even when they can hardly steer in a straight line any more due to a lack of forward velocity.

It's not about distance so much as elapsed time to complete the ride without remotely enough energy to continue. One's vital senses contract so that small irritations become magnified. Potholes jar out of all proportion of their dimensions yet go completely unseen until far too late to avoid them. Flinty gravel seeks out the unwary rider to risk punctures and further discomfort.


Note the jarring litter bin installed by later Philistines. Another Philistine has left his modern tricycle in the picture to complete this utterly tasteless "selfie." Hopefully time will eventually forgive the intrusions to make the additions interesting in themselves.

There was so much sand and gravel on Ringe's cycle paths yesterday that one might have assumed the council was subcontracting to the Five Gorges dam project. Enough smashed glass and other debris to cover a vast landfill site if anyone could be arsed to clear it up. Every private, public and farm drive, which crosses the cycle path, distributes their own load onto the supposedly smooth asphalt. Never to be cleaned up again until the Sun grows old and dies. Yet a glance at the roadway running alongside shows an absolutely pristine surface. The road must be swept regularly while the low priority cycle paths would still have exposed fossils and 18th century horse droppings. If the former weren't soon picked up by curious pedestrians and the latter have long gone to revive 19th century rose gardens.

The unusually extensive, five chamber, burial mound between Ringe and Ørbæk. Not so much semi-detached as a complete terrace. Its situation makes is extraordinarily difficult to photograph. The traffic passes constantly in both directions at well over 60 mph. The only way to get all the stone sin, even with a wide angle lens and 16:9 format, is to stand in the middle of the road! There are lots of prehistoric remains in this area with a fortified village in the woods on the other side of the busy main road. I have added a screen shot from Google Earth to give the exact location and show the strange positioning of the road.

My brisk, morning walk down to the village started well but I soon ran out of energy on the return journey. I must still have an energy deficit from yesterday's ride and missing dinner last night. I shall have to learn to monitor traffic coming from behind given the sheer number who cross to the opposite lane on corners! The broken windmill has already been repaired and the blackened rear doors have been replaced. How did I miss that?

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