new bike parts-chain maintenance

this months bike part purchases from chain reaction come to a recession induced £20...
a cool wee £3 bell for the karate monkey made by m-parts which attaches by an O ring so you can mount it to any diameter bar or as i did headset spacers- nicely out the way, no more coming up behind walkers freewheeling the clicky hope hub and coughing hopeing they hear it...ring a dingding and keep the flow going!...

and a new chain for the pugsley...

the 3rd at 1550 miles,the chain has took some abuse,look at the stretch...

im impressed at the slight wear on the truvantiv blaze chain rings (22,32) now on the middleburn cranks and the shimano SLX cassette after 1500+ miles...,remmember proberly 2 thirds of this has been on sand...,ive never had mileage out drivechains like this on my glentress bikes,VERDICT; sand and salt water isnt as bad as wind dust allweather tracks (but they are fun!)
first 2 chains have been shimano dura ace (XTR) which are zinc plated- which does eventually rust..., road salt and salt water will eat through the zinc over time,rusting is only an issue if you wash your bike and chain and dont dry and lube the chain and leave it wet...,how ever i have now found a quick spin around the street to help dry a chain then airline it before lubing it after washing seems to work well,i have found the perfect chain lube for the beach... i used to swear by squirt dry lube,and it still is good,no dirt sticks to the chain and cassette, but it is bio degradable and to be so is water based and does wash off after riding through salt water puddles on the beach leaving that dry crunch feeling through the pedals,so i think squirt is perfect for trail centres where even if raining your only out riding 2-3 hours but for the beach with salt water and freshwater crossings and sand and longer ride times im now using castrol motorcycle chain wax..

this is what i coated the inside of the pugsley frame with,i used it for years on motorcycles as it didnt come off and go over the rim and tyre like most spray grease does,it does attract a bit dirt so unlike when i used squirt lube where i just re applied some after a bike wash i now clean the chain,air line it dry and re-lube it after every beachride,so far so good...,
so i didnt buy a dura ace xtr chain this time as there now £32!!!,so ive bought the shimano HG73 at £13,it isnt zinc plated so will rust quicker but i dont expect as many miles out it as the first 2 chains now the drive chain is starting to wear,
oh check what happend to the XT shadow mechs lower wheel...

the teeth are gone!,ive never seen that,i have one on back order but it is still working ok...
the way i fit a new chain is with the bike on its wheels with chain on smallest front and rear rings to get most slack,i recommend 2 things.., a workshop chain tool and a bent spoke to hold the chain to make the join on shimano chains...

people go on about how hard shimano joining pins are to use..,i dont know what the problem is..,with the chain held with a bent spoke and a workshop chain tool instead of some small multi tools it isnt an issue..,chill..., take your time,if you turn the pin through the links a bit too much and it goes tight you just use the inner holder on a workshop tool and a light pressure will be enough to free the link..job done easy..
the last thing you want for riding on sand is the greased condition a new chain comes in so i had to de-grease it..,if i had any parrifin (kerosene if you live USA/canada)then i would have soaked it in a bath of that then dried it and waxed it but having none i used the chain cleaner with TFR costic cleaner (undeluted)
heres the other tool you should have if you ride offroad...

it will save you money long term,i paid £23 for a park tools chain cleaner as you can buy replacement wheels and foam as a kit though mines 3 years old and still ok,you could buy there bio degradable cleaner (pricey) but i just use costic TFR, parrifin is really good but you shouldnt wash it down the drain..,i pour it into sawdust which then goes onto my open fire-burns well!, note; NEVER use petrol as it will melt the brushes on most chain cleaners!..,the chain is the most neglected part of the bicycle..,we are all guilty-but when you can and do look after it and your bikes gears change as smooth as silk on a bike YOU BUILT and YOU MAINTAIN well that is a really satisfying feeling...-so go clean your drivechains...

saint andrews day

its saint andrews day today, scotlands patron saint..
and it should be a public holiday for scots..!,nevermind...
today is the main celebrations day of scotlands homecoming year,
theres a fireworks display in edinburgh tonight,
heres information on celebrations

yesterday at nearby athelstaneford was the return of the saltire to its birthplace,

it was then taking by horseback over the garlton hills from the village...

traditional dress would have looked better but nevermind,the horses were turned out immaculate..

and on via the local ridgeroad to church in haddington for prayer and blessings

the ridgeroad was quite appropriate for part of the ceremony considering its importance in local history and battles that shaped scotland...

the saltire was then paraded by torchlight through haddington to the mercat cross where there was a street party including singing by scottish singer karen mathieson (no relation!) and scottish band capercallie,however the weather was terrible with gales and rain,cold rain too coming out the north to north east (scandinavia),it was freezing cycling in the rain,my friend trav and i cycled up onto the ridgeroad for photos of the procession,we were the only ones there!!!,there was probably 200 folk at the village,probably the weather put folk off going,we biked back to my house into wet and wind that cut to the bone,damp cold is the worse..,rosey cheeks were soon warmed up with cups of steaming hot tea..,good fun though..

border boundry beachride,eastside

todays beachride started early,leaving 6.30am it was pitch dark and frosty as i rode east by road on the pugsley down to dunbar and then on cycle paths to cockburnspath to return home along the coast,ended up out for over 6 hours and nearly 40 miles,20 odd miles of coast and around 18miles were on tarmac riding out,on with the pics...
east of dunbar around 7.30am,getting light,on a beach access road,once the A1 east of the cement works...

the new sustrans section of cycleway passing torness station,dont worry it isnt the radiation making my light so bright..its a hope HID...

the county border with berwickshire at dunglass dean...

and sign...

the john muir way passes here too,also part of the north sea way...


dunglass dean has 4 bridges spanning it,the railway viaduct,the old concrete road bridge,the present metal A1 roadbridge and below the old stone built original bridge...

a lovely old road now a path descends the dean to the old mill onto the coast,i filmed riding down,its very scenic and has amazing old trees and the ultimate retreat cottage...



on the beach the view east towards coldingham moor.sky getting brighter too...

there was quite a big surf getting up too...

a short distance along the coast is bilsdean and its burn with waterfall further up,with a fast incoming tide i wasnt going to get to ride over the now covered flat rocks to reach the rock arches so had to leave the bike at the foot of bilsdean and walk round over the big rocks...

even pugsley wont ride over this!...

i had to be quick at the arches or would have to climb up the cliffs to get out...



up in bilsdean i did some filming,heres the waterfall..,

and leaving the waterfall headed west along the john muir way to thornton loch...

a few surfers were out,this guy was good...

the beach along past the caravan site was empty,it was only 11am...

along the power station walkway passing the dunbar lifeboat...

there is a good refrence sign here...

theres flat rocks from here you can ride over onto skateraw beach and its limekiln...


now a sandy beach to the barnes ness lighthouse...



theres still about 15miles to home,3 miles from here to john muir and over the bridge onto john muir park,will write about barns ness and dunbar another time..,
i got wet feet at the bridge at west barnes,water was up to the top of the tyre on the other side so by the time i got home feet were cold..
theres something satisfying and rewarding about sitting with your feet up,resting tierd legs in front of a fire after after a big day out,im burning hornbeam this now,a hardwood,its what the cogs on watermills and windmills were made of because of its hardness and has a fine grain and wears evenly,heats the house nicely too...

heres some filming i did...Part 1...



and Part 2...

keeping the dream alive!

thats what my friends who i used to ride motorcycles with who dont own a motorbike this now say im doing...today i went out for a spin instead of going cycling,the roads are salt free after all the rain a few days ago,i didnt bother about winter riding and salt damage and used to kill bikes,brand new bikes ridden into the ground after 4-5 years hard use on and offroad,i cant afford a new motorbike every few years anymore so this one has to last (why i bought a bike with a yamaha XT600 motor)..
today i went a ride and filmed up the road from garvald village into the lammermuir hills to the whiteadder reservoir,the biggest reservoir that supplys east lothian,proberly my favourite road on the motorbike and ideal on a trailbike,
the road climbs and dips passing the old and new monastries,you used to see the monks driving there farm tractors in there robes!,guess health and saftey wont allow that now...
past the iron age hillfort at white castle with an outstanding view north across the county including traprain law,north berwick law and the bass rock,my camera dosnt do the view justice...

a layby with information sign gives access to the hill fort...


also to the west is a good view of the pentland hills south of edinburgh...

the climb from garvald village up to here and over the top of is a test for any cyclist...,ive climed it on the pugsley!,and was well out of puff at the top...
over the top of the side of an unnamed hill but marked at 1131ft the road starts to descend above the whiteadder water,this bit of road is great to cycle as the dips give you momentum to ride up the otherside...the film i made dosnt show angles very well but hopefully this pic explains...
looking north from garvald...

and south towards the whiteadder reservoir...

the only hillfarm on the road is johnscleugh (cleugh means summer pasture)
along from the farm acess road is an old railway goods wagon minus its undercarrage once used for a feed store for sheep...

below the wagon the view up the vally to johnscleugh farm...

joining the main road from gifford to duns you roll over a cattlegrid and down over the resevoir on either side on a armco railed causeway...


the resevoir is stocked with trout and theres boat hire too so you can fish on the shore or on the water...

theres loads more to see and do around here,lots of biking with the herring road-a 20 mile fish cadgers route from dunbar on the coast over the lammermuirs to lauder in the borders,then theres all the shooting tracks,sheperds quad tracks etc...,just have to watch at times of year where you go,sheep and grouse moors being the biggest income on the hills i stay off april,may,august,sept,october,
gets a bit wet in winter but ideal on the pugsley,ive ridden all day up here and hardly seen a soul..,saw no cars today on the hillroad!!,busier sundays,
heading home i went the main (gifford) road to see across to the expanding windfarm over to the east of the lammermuirs at crystal rig,theres still turbines going up,need to get up there soon and have a look around...

heres the film i made now on youtube...