USA Northwest Fatbikers October 29 2011

Friend Ward across the pond in the US was inspired by our own UK Fatbike meet here in September so he organised a meet and ride at Ocean Shores Washington State,
I looked up Google Earth and here is a map of there ride -:)



A lovely film with the perfect soundtrack; "Down By The Beach" by Diggsville

Skillz (another youtube film)

Plenty time to browse films this now, another cool film showing some cycling skills,

As most comments on the film have said `mute to watch`, nothing wrong with the song, maybe it just does not suit this film, so try this;

Click on the film to watch, mute and pause, then click on the lower song, then hit play on the film, and enjoy...

Magicshine 872 lights, update, and more...

Feeling better at home i have been tinkering and getting more lights to play with for once i am riding again, hopefully in a week or two, -:)
As mentioned a few weeks back i had bought a 2nd Magicshine 872 light from there UK ebay shop to get more light for filming with the Go Pro HD camera...


Well the second lights battery was faulty and as soon as the charger was disconnected it would read 7.6v, they should read 8.4v...


I only got just over an hour burn time instead of 2 on full power, this has been an occasional fault of Magicshines that has popped up on reviews and various forums,
I contacted the ebay shop about it, at around 4 pm on a Saturday afternoon, and got a reply from Richard that same evening at 7pm saying;
`sorry about problem, return battery for replacement`,
Replacement came 5 days later, easily before they had received the battery i returned, that is service i cannot complain about,

I was after a small torch light with a spot beam for my helmet to use as an extra light for looking about off the trail, around corners, opening gates etc, and road riding between trails - the Magicshine 872s have a spherical flood so you shouldn't really use them on roads...


You also need a spot beam light to ride in mist, the flood lights just reflect the light back, One condition where less light is better!,

So i ordered an Ultrafire P10-R5 which is 350 Lumen's (claimed) lighting which was a bargain at £13 (without battery) from the DX (Deal Extreme) website,
i did have to wait 4 weeks for delivery from Hong Kong, this seems the normal delivery time from them...




This little torch is easily powerful enough to see with on its own at night if no one is behind you with more powerful lights...


The torch has 3 beam power settings and a fast and slow blinking setting,

I bought a USE Exposure helmet mount, costing more than the torch at £17!
to mount the torch...




At £13 this wee torch is a no brainer, you could buy 10 of these torches and a charger and 2 batteries for the price of one USE Exposure light which has the same claimed power!...


One 872 lamp (on 3/4 setting) and this torch helmet mounted is more than enough power for night riding with friends,
The 872 lamp will give 2 hours burn time on full setting,
3 hours on 3/4,
4 hours on half setting,
6 hours on low setting,

3/4 setting on one 872 lamp is more than enough light to ride by!...


But to film i still need more power!, enter the latest purchase;
The beast!

A CREE XM-L T6 kicking out 1300 lumen's! (claimed), and a bargain £15 on UK ebay (without battery) from a Hong Kong shop, it arrived in 10 days...


Bigger and a bit heavier than the P10 torch but unbelievable power,
a white spot beam that cuts through the dark like a big light saber!...




How can a torch of this quality and power be made and shipped half way around the world for under £20?, unreal!...




See how white the beam is, this is under streetlights...


This torch also has 3 beam power settings and a fast and slow blinking setting,

Both torches were bought without a battery but there are deals for the torches with batteries and chargers with different dealers,
I bought a charger and two 18650 batteries for £12 on UK ebay,




So with this big baby helmet mounted the Go Pro camera should always have light where ever i am looking, so when riding down a trail and i look off either side we should see the trees and stuff to the sides and and it hopefully gives a better film to watch,

To use it filming i made up a mount from a plastic bicycle pump frame mount with velcro strap, the ones that mount through bottle cage mounts,
secured to a jump helmet using 3M snap velcro and cable ties...


With the jump helmet having no peak i stuck on a self adhesive Go Pro mount on the front...


Torch and camera mounted...




Cannot wait to try this set up out once i am back cycling again, the torch should give at least 1 hour burn time on full power, long enough for filming, and burn for longer on lower settings if needed,

I also bought two mounts for fitting torches to handlebars for again a bargain £2 each on ebay...


So these cheap torches can also be used for road cycling,
with its 3 beam power settings and blinky modes its ideal and rechargable battery so no spending money on Lithium batteries,

Ultrafire P10-R5 mounted on the pub bike...


There is a lot of brand snobbery here in the UK on some forums regaurding Far East cycling products, from lights like these to parts by the likes of Superstar Componants (which i cant fault for pedals, brake pads, BBs, and headsets) so be good to see how these lights last, the preformance is more than enough!,
I don`t race and don`t require more than 4-5 hours lighting so will only be able to comment on there reliability for trail and beachriding, down to Temperatures of (hopefully again!) -15Celcius,

Once riding again in a few weeks i will blog the lights and torches run times and make some films, canny wait!...

One World...

I am seeing one of everything again!
One tv, one clock on the wall, one mug of tea etc,
I walked to the hospital a 1/3 mile yesterday and looked at the sun and fluffy clouds blowing by without squinting, I think i will always appreciate having my sight after this scare.
I will still be off work and not cycling for a couple of weeks yet, but it is so good to see stuff ok again and be able to do some reading, TV, and browse the web again! -:)

Still no idea what it was that floored me, maybe a virus or infection, but as quick as my eye sight went blurry it has mostly returned to near normal over Sunday/Monday, Phew...
I am still waiting for a date for a scan which may diagnose what happened...

Thanks everyone for the get well wishes!, there is a lot of good folk out there in the world!,

I can do some stuff at home now to keep busy and write some future posts,
In the meantime a great wee film that appeared online starring Ed Oxley of Singletrack World Magazine, non cyclists will have a giggle at this too -:)



Hebden Bridge to Kendal with four bikes. This was filmed for the Kendal Film Festival 2011 - Bike Night hosted by Ed Oxley (www.great-rock.co.uk) with special guest Clay Porter.



We decided to take an adventure and managed to use four bikes - Kinisis Tripster, On One Snow Bike, Labyrinth Agile, and an On One 29er.



Music:



'Battlescars' by The Travelling Band

'If You Can't Make Me Happy' by Kirsty Almeida

'Lover Come Close' by Sion Russell Jones

Grounded...

Not going to be cycling for a while,
Felt a bit dizzy last friday and balance was a bit wobbly cycling home from work, Saturday i woke up with blurry double vision!, and my balance is bad, i can not open my eyes in bright daylight and it gives me a headache.
An eye test at an Opticians on Saturday (first ever eye test) and i was sent to the Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh, They did tests but can not find what is wrong,
They took blood to test and i am going for a scan in the next few days,
So i am housebound, cant work, cant drive, definitely can not cycle!.

Good news is behind my eyes is all good, the thought of losing my sight i have to say scared me to death, hopefully they will find something in the blood tests...
I can just type on the pc or watch tv for a short while covering one eye before it gets sore, but no point straining my eyes any more than they are,
Normal blogging will, i hope resume in the near future,

Remembrance Sunday...

Thursday was the 11th Day of the 11th month, when in 1918 the guns fell silent and peace was declared after a war of slaughter of humans never before seen,
An estimated 16.5 Million people died in WW1,

Thusday was 11,11,11, a date to not forget,
Today church services across the UK will remember the fallen,

We are clever things us humans, from medical science to learning to fly and going to the moon...
Guess we as humans still have not learned enough and still we fight...

Some moving films from conflicts, please take 10 minutes of your own life to watch these films, they gave a lot more for us...

WW1...



WW2...



Vietnam...



Gulf War...



Afghanistan today...

11,11,11 Remembrance Day

We are here today because of them...

Hardtails rule...

Back in 2005 i built a Kona Cowan signature jump frame in a size large up into a fun hardtail, here is a pic of it at Glentress with a rather skinny race snake looking me 6 years ago -:)


I built the bike up with the then new out Rock Shok Pike 140 coil fork (set to 120mm travel), the metallic red frame looked ace with bling gold trimmings from Hope - hubs, brakes, headset, stem, seatclamp etc, XT 2x9 gears and a pair of Maxxis High Rollers and it stuck like glue on berms,
That aluminium frame was rock solid with no give and pounded you once tired on rough trails but on smooth stuff like Glentress it absolutely flew and has to be one of the best bikes i have owned, because it rewarded you the more effort you put into your riding...


I even did an uplift day on it at Innerliethen and rode the then newly opened Matador Red Bull run - but that was getting a bit silly, but it could do it,
In 2005 the Cove Stiffee was the `must have` hardtail frame according to magazines, i rode a few at Glentress and i don`t think they were a sniff on the Cowan, and they were £500 too, the Kona was £299...
I sold the frame after 2 years to help fund a 5 inch full suspension frame, something i have regretted ever since...
Times move on and i rarely go to trail centres now, even though there only an hours drive away down in the borders,
Most of the parts are now on my 29er bike, and the forks are on my old Cannondale Uber V, now my only full suspension bike...


I have not ridden the Dale in anger since last May, when i did a solo ride around Innerliethen XC route, i filmed all the descents riding non stop, a feet up clean through the black section of the rock garden (9 min 18 secs on) proved that even an 11 year old suspension frame can do the business when needed, was glad to reach the bottom in one piece after a flat out run, on the edge, and hang the bike on the back of the car...


So its time to hang up the Super V frame (again)...


Its been fun riding it but i just don`t need a full suspension bike for riding around local trails here in East Lothian...

In fact i don`t think you need suspension forks on a 29er for around here, and once the Suntour forks explode on the Karate Monkey its going back to the Ridged fork.
26" bikes need a fork, esp if you want to razz em through roots or down at Glentress.
This is the second strip down of the old V for a hardtail frame swap, i bought an On One 456 back in June 2010, it was fun to build up and first rides proved fun...


But it was what it was, a £160 frame, it rode fine, did its job , and that was it, i liked it but had no real urge to grab it first out my bikes to ride,
Anyway friend Paul fancied it and bought it to replace his GT Aggressor alloy hardtail,
I swapped the frame over for him and riding his GT around the square outside the house beforehand i liked the feel of the GT, though i thought the Marzocchi forks fitted were a bit too tall, as was the long stem, anyway as it worked out i ended up buying the GT frame from Paul, and we were both happy!,
It has been hanging in the garage, unsure to strip the old Dale again or not, until now...time for another build!...
The GT came with a front mech, seatpost shim and QR clamp so everything was a straight swap...


3 hours spannering and a couple of ciders later...


Before hand i ordered some stuff from Superstar Components, i already use there Flat `Nano` pedals and sintered brake pads and cant fault them for the money...
The Pike fork has a short steerer tube cut for a 4" headtube so i used a Superstar zero stack headset to allow fitting an old school DMR 70mm conrod stem i had...


I also fitted a Shimano LX cassette, a 32t chainring and chain which at £45 from Chain Reaction Cycles is again a bargain, (8 speed is even cheaper!), New Superstar Nano pedals in red to match too!...


This bike has some of my favourite parts that i have had for a long time, like the 05 Pike forks, STILL NEVER SERVICED! -:)...


I bought these red Hope Pro 2 Hubs soon as they came out, they are still on there original bearings, and this one has a super loud freehub!,
The Hope Mono mini brakes i bought new for £240 the set in 2004, they too have paid for themselves over and over, they are still on there original pistons and seals and disc rotors...


Race Face Diablous Down Hill seatpost and DMR seat, i bought these back in 2002, still going...


This bike will mostly be used for riding around the Pencaitland trails with friends in the Winton Massif...


But if we get a 3rd proper winter then it will be fitted with these that i got last night...


£80 the pair (with a £10 voucher) from CRC, to those non cyclists that may sound a lot, to myself worth every penny, oh and half as much as pugsley tyres at 2 for £90 -:)...




Cant wait to ride across frozen ponds at work...on the back wheel...


Hardtails rule, keep it real with st, er alloy too... -:)
Should be a fun bike, maybe not as good as the Kona but it feels close,
Here is the man himself from back in the day, John Cowan, on the original orange frame... Oh that GT that Dave Wardell is riding is the same XCR frame as the Aggressor,

5th November, Guy Fawkes Night

Remember Remember the 5th of November...

Here in the UK on the 5th November we celebrate Guy Fawkes Night with Bonfires and firework displays.
Its history originates from the Gunpowder Plot of 1605,
A failed conspiracy by a group of provincial English Catholics to assassinate the Protestant King James I of England and replace him with a Catholic head of state.
In the immediate aftermath of the arrest of Guy Fawkes, who was caught guarding the cache of explosives placed beneath the House of Lords cellars, Jame's Council allowed the public to celebrate the king's survival with bonfires, Days before the surviving conspirators were executed and Guy`s body burnt on a fire, which has led since to `a Guy` dummy being put on the bonfire, well this happened when we were kids but it seems to have mostly stopped due to `political correctness`...
Celebrations at Windsor, 1776...


Around East Lothian most Towns and villages have organised events with public donations for fire works and wood for the bonfire...


The village of Pencaitland has always had a good turn out, being home of `The Winton Massif` cycling crew and this year being held on a field of the Winton Estate we had to go!, living 10 miles east of the village i cycled doing a detour for filming and pictures for a future post on the other blog,
Riding up to Winton Estate an hour before sunset it was a classic Autumn afternoon, clear sky, no wind, and a golden light from the setting sun , haze and autumn leaves, a magical time of day...








Meeting at the pub 6 of us headed for an hours ride as it got dark,
Taking pics at night with a cheap camera is hard due to lack of light,
some blurry pics on the Kinchie trail...






Weather was perfect with a clear sky, mild all day the temperature now dropped, with a sky like this you know there is going to be a frost, about time too!...


Blurry pic on the old Railway path...


Around the woods then locking the bikes up we walked to the Field and it was busy, don`t know how many folk, over a thousand probably,
Bonfire was already ablaze...




Then the magic of fireworks...














Some film...



Down to the pub for a few ciders, then riding home at 1am on deserted roads, with a big clear sky full of stars, i pod on, and frost on the verges, perfect day out with friends...