9th March 2015 Season uncompacted tarmac.

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Monday 9th 40-50F, 5-10C, light breeze, clear sunny start rapidly ended in overcast. Did my usual walk but anticlockwise. A hare came racing down the track towards me and reached within 10 feet before it realised I was standing directly in its path. It stopped, paused for several seconds and then raced back the way it came. Even managing to collide with another hare which was following as they both dived through the hedge. Something was shrieking loudly in the woods but I have no idea what. It sounded like a bird but may have been an animal being attacked.

The verges are becoming populated with snowdrops and Winter aconites. A dead fox [road kill] had been joined by quite a large fire extinguisher this morning. The number of tracks from vehicles falling off the road on corners is growing more ridiculous by the day. One idiot had even managed a "wall of death" on a 45 degree grass slope and still regained the tarmac afterwards.

I have been given a chore to collect something  17 miles away to the north west. The wind is still south westerly so I should not be too troubled except, perhaps, on the way back. It is expected to reach 50F, 10C again, so I shan't be overdressing today. It will be interesting to see if yesterday's shenanigans will affect me today. I haven't been doing many miles this year.

Left after coffee as it brightened up. I wore my thinner jacket, scull cap and gloves and was cool but not too uncomfortable. Not as energetic as yesterday with an occasional ache in the knees and hips. The windmills couldn't decide whether to turn or stand still but I felt a cool headwind all the time I was out. I took 5 hours to do 40 miles with 40 minutes stopped time today for shopping and eating sandwiches. A little tired by the time I arrived home but not too bad considering.

Tuesday 10th 46-50F, 8-10C, bright start but becoming cloudier. Breeze building to an eye-watering wind. Walked my usual route and saw a Nuthatch, Serin and Long-tailed tit within a few yards of each other. I started the day feeling achy but the walk sorted me out.

Sunny, but blowing a hard crosswind as I rode north. I was having to hang over the upwind wheel to stay in a straight line.  Coming back, with the wind now a couple of degrees behind me, made a beneficial difference. I keep practising my aero position to get used to steering over bumpy surfaces, mud and loose gravel.

The state of the roads only ever gets worse. Even when the kommune [local authority] sends workers out to fill the potholes they always leave an overfilled, projecting lump. Sometimes it's just a smack of the shovel and on to the next.  Others may get a quick going over with a small diameter [garden type] roller. Neither technique compacts the resulting hump enough to level it with the road surface. No doubt they rely on passing lorries to finish the job. Except that they don't! If I had a penny for every sunken drain cover in my path I'd be a rich man! I'm sick of the double standards of expecting people to become cyclists. Only for them to be put at risk on the crappy roads, bumpy cycle paths and endless debris. Only 15 miles today.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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7th March 2015 Hot and cold

Saturday 7th 40-45F, 4-7C, windy, heavy overcast. Supposed to stay dry, windy to 30mph gusts and cloudy. Still no emails. Another hour and a half expended on rural walking. Several Shelducks were sharing the village lake with the jovial Mallards. I left my ride until after lunch as it was brightening up. It was blowing so hard that I was cruising at 20-22mph while sitting bolt upright. Saw a few MTB'ers out training and having fun. Only 10 miles for me.

A mysterious track-way which cuts deep into the hillside suggest great age. Except that it doesn't really lead anywhere as it meanders between two very quiet country lanes past a retired farmhouse. The Danes call farms which are no longer used for agriculture nedlagt. Google translate suggests closed but ned means down in Danish and lagt means laid. Unfortunately laid down farmhouse doesn't really mean much in English. So many rural houses are ex-farms that I keep trying to find a better English word for them. How about downgraded? No. That sounds like it is less than it was. Many are smarter now and often gentrified. In an odd turn of events I heard that the demolition fund has been subverted to repairing old, half-timbered and thatched farmhouses. The problem is usually the original layout of many small rooms. Sometimes with low ceilings. Not to mention the great expense of heating them well enough to stay dry and healthy inside.

Sunday 8th 41-50F, 5-10C, bright sunshine but already windy. It is expected to gust to 30+mph again. I wanted to do a reasonable ride today but will have to avoid a nasty headwind coming home. It is all very well managing 20 miles in the first hour but the hours consumed in getting back again is ridiculous! Walked in blinding sunshine, being buffeted by the wind, up to the woods and back by the small lake. A couple of Mute swans were cruising amongst 30-odd Mallards. Discouraged by my presence they took off and joined the Herons in circling behind the enclosing trees.

A bird of prey was enjoying the up-draft too. Medium sized, with smooth, tapered, but slightly curved wings made it slightly unusual. At least compared with the usual soaring planks of Buzzards. Probably a Peregrine falcon. Light body but largely unmarked beneath with darker upper wing surfaces. Still trying to decide on a ride which will avoid a constant headwind.

All the plans of tricyclists and men do long but go astray. Before I had my second wind I was overtaken by an untidy gaggle of a local bike club's weekend warriors. I sat on the back because they were going so slowly. When they dropped to 16mph on a short rise I'd had enough. I climbed out of the saddle nipped up to 22mph and rode away from them. Putting half a mile on them by the time another mile had passed. I was parked, unpacked, locked up and on my way into a supermarket by the time they finally cruised past. A larger bunch passed going the opposite way.

Things settled down after that as I headed for Korinth. Where I was joined by a young chap on his MTB. Who chatted in perfect English as we rode along together towards Arroskov lake and the palace. He turned off along the gravel track which runs tight around the lake while I pressed on by road.

The Trykit has a lunch break.

I have never seen so many falcons in one day! A pair of Peregrines were wave riding on the roadside trees while I munched a chicken sandwich and a banana. Then I drank one of the four boxes of apple juice which I had purchased earlier and carried for a foolish number of miles. The drink had warmed up nicely in the balmy temperatures. Normally I find drinks far too cold to enjoy until summer arrives.

I was seriously overdressed for the first delve into double figures C this year. With only the Junior saddlebag for storage I had to lash the unwanted clothing on top. I could easily have worn fingerless mitts today.

The leg home could have been very hard work and would have taken ages riding on the hoods. Thanks to the aero bars I could add an extra four-five mph quite effortlessly. Four hours exactly to do 41 miles including the lunch stop. Three and half hours travelling time with half an hour due to stops according to the GPS logger. Not bad considering the gusty gales.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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6th March 2015 Ultegra CS-6800 11sp cassette images Pt2.

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Despite the heavy overcast I persevered with photographing the 11 sp Ultegra cassette. The corrugated cardboard provides a neutral background. Using a darker or lighter background will usually confuse a camera's light measuring ability. Once fitted, it is difficult to capture the fine detail of this sophisticated unit.

Face on view and the sprocket sizes [tooth count] are all clearly stamped on each sprocket. As is 11s. The asymmetric perforations and wildly different tooth forms are interesting.

Oblique front view with more detail.

The tooth forms are different between the sprockets themselves and even around the circumference of each sprocket. Presumably the complex ramps are an effort to speed gear changing under load.

It is difficult to measure easily but I made the 11 speed Ultegra 40mm in depth. While the 10 speed is 38mm across the sprockets. The lockrings add a little extra. 

Front view of the disassembled cassette to show the carriers, sprockets and spacer rings. A far cry from the crude and heavy, 5-speed, solid, screw-on, sprocket blocks of my youth.

Rear view of disassembled cassette showing the carriers, sprockets and spacer rings. The two smallest sprockets have their own spacers built in.

The overall width of the 11sp cassette is supposedly too much for many/most 10 speed, bicycle freehubs.

Rear view. The carriers may be slightly askew relative to each other as they have not been located on the freehub splines.

The main carrier is non-magnetic and likely to be a light [aluminium] alloy. The smaller carrier looks rather like some sort of engineering plastic. Marked PA-CF suggests poly-amide carbon fibre reinforced. 

The sprocket cutaways are quite considerable. No doubt adding to the overall lightness of the cassette.

Oblique, rear view to show the two carriers and cutaway to the larger sprockets.

The square alloy pipe is just to prop the cassette on edge for photography. It is fitted into the plastic, decorative hub designed to keep everything together in the packaging.

11 speed Ultegra chain and box including joining pin. The HG-X compatible [road and MTB] CN-HG700-11 chain replaces the 6800. The links are coated with SIL-TEC inside and out for long life and low friction. Supplied already wet with oil, Shimano emphasises regular lubrication.


Interestingly, there are no instruction included in either package. The supplied multi-language sheets refer the buyer to their cycle shop supplier or a skilled cycle mechanic. Though there is reference to an online fitting manual for competent and professional bike mechanics the lack of a printed version does Shimano no real favours IMO.

What if the buyer has no access to the internet or is off the grid after purchase? A lot of equipment is bought online these days. With little chance of useful advice from some box shifting dealers. There may even be language problems when buying internationally online.

A couple of large and simple drawings is all that is required to ensure the correct chain length, fitted the correct way round and the correct fitting of the chain joining pin from the correct side using the correct tools. Perhaps Shimano are fed up with paying compensation to knuckle-dragging incompetents? Those who expect to be subsidised for their lifelong, drooling idiocy by a sympathetic jury and silver-tongued ambulance chaser.

http://si.shimano.com

Direct links to Shimano's PDF documents below:

Cassette details: http://si.shimano.com/php/download.php?file=pdf/dm/DM-CS0004-03-ENG.pdf

Chain fitting:  http://si.shimano.com/php/download.php?file=pdf/dm/DM-CN0001-02-A-ENG.pdf

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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