Hello again!

So its been a while since I have posted anything here. I would apologise but its a reflection of how busy and good fun the last couple of weeks have been for me. Lots of fun evenings with friends, work has been busy, and oh, spring arrived!

The benefit of spring arriving is that the evenings are lovely and perfectly suitable for a quick ride after work. But also, they are perfectly suitable for going to the park or the pub with friends. Some resistance was definitely needed this week!

But I have managed to get some rides in. Last Sunday I had a friend visiting and once she left to travel home I got out on the bike. I did a swift 32 miles in just under 2 hours looping around Regent’s Park and to and from home (pretty proud of this!).

Weekends are for cycling!

I planned on a big ride on Saturday but then I won Arsenal tickets so that threw a spanner in the works! Instead my Dad came to London and we had lunch then watched the game. Also, it pissed it down all day so wasn’t exactly ideal cycling weather!

The new bike: part 2

Some of you may have read my post last week about the issues I had with my new bike last week. The good news is that I have a brand spanking new replacement – well done Halfords on this front.

However, I wasn’t exactly ecstatic at the customer service I received from them when trying to resolve the fact that their shoddy attempt at building my bike lead to a potentially very dangerous incident for me.

Missing crank bolt?!

How did that happen? I was leisurely cycling to work this morning and then “wobble”. Uh oh. Stopped to have a look and yes my crank arm was coming loose. And I had failed to pack my multi-tool to tighten it up! I was far enough from home to decide it wasn’t worth going back, and close enough to work that I could walk. I didn’t want to be causing any damage by riding on a loose crank arm.

I got to Liverpool Road and remembered Micycle- an independent bike shop/workshop. Conveniently they open at 8.30am so I was able to pop in and borrow the hex key to tighten the arm. “That should do it” I thought, and off I went again. 200m later…. bang bang bang as my crank arm bounced down the road. Great. Luckily, I had not picked up much speed so there was no crashing, but it could have been much worse.

Easter Weekend- including first out of London ride

This beautiful long weekend has been lovely. For a variety of reasons: 5 days off work, catching up with old friends, sunny weather, relaxing and a little bit of cycling! All in all I am sad to be returning to work in the morning.

The first non-London ride

OK that picture is a little misleading as I didn’t quite cycle to Old Harry’s rocks on the Dorset close, but it was part of the same trip visiting friends! I didn’t manage to take any pictures on my ride, so thought this was a good substitute.

Saddle sore!

Wow. This new bike comes with one uncomfortable saddle. Seriously sore after only 15 or so miles yesterday even wearing padded tights (in the freezing cold!). Extra pain on the commute to work- poorly finished tarmac is not my friend!

Never had this problem with my leisure saddle on old rusty, but that saddle is just not suitable for the racing frame. So I need a new one. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should look for in a new seat? Female opinions particularly welcome!

New bike! And first puncture…

…ever. That’s right- prior to today I have never had a puncture. And today I collected my new bike. Sods law. More on that later though- for now it’s all new bike glee!

New work wardrobe needed?

Today I ripped a lovely pair of my work trousers whilst mounting my bike. Nightmare. Mostly because this is the third time in recent months. And these trousers are not made of flimsy fabric! Very annoying! I prefer cycling to work in these “normal” clothes rather than cycling clothes as it’s a short journey and saves changing when I get there. I guess it’s time to go to the shops again… This time for something non bike related.

Also, new pedals arrived today! Dual sided Shimano A530’s. Ordered via Wiggle and arrived with a free bag of Haribo sweets- strange! Just awaiting the bike now so I can hook them up and start falling over when I fail to unclip in time to stop!

Today was a good day

Today two very good things arrived in the post.

1. My new phone (from which I am writing this post)
2. My cycle2work voucher!

Sunday is a day of rest.

Football today. It was bitterly cold. 1 degree and bitter, bitter winds. I cycled over to Regent’s Park (only about 4 miles) and prepared for our match. I had a conversation with my Swedish team mate about how it’s not this cold in Sweden because there’s no wind chill apparently. That, and they don’t run around a field for a couple of hours in just some shorts and a t-shirt. It is kind of ridiculous when you think about it! Sure, play during the winter- but why not dress appropriately?