Drop bar cycle on bone dry February trails...

Chris suggested a wee ride out to test his newly acquired Surly Disc Trucker, so i pumped up my Dawes Ultra Galaxy i converted to cable disc brakes and he popped along for a quick afternoon blast around a local loop i often cycle...

This was the last forecasted sunny day before a change in the weather forecasted for the weekend so it was good to make the most of it. Despite shod with road touring tyres Chris was hooning it on the bone dry trails,  i kept close behind with the 41mm Surly Knard tyres giving great grip being in their ideal riding conditions and was grinning like a dafty capturing some ace riding footage of touring bikes going flat out through woodland trails!..

Up to a favourite view point near Fenton tower, the hazy low sun was not ideal for distant views but did not matter, Chris was loving his new rig, i was puffing away trying to keep up!...

Past the tower...

Then flat out down the mowed field boundary - the best kept paths and boundaries are around this farm

Back through the estate and it was a stunning afternoon to be out cycling...

Snow drops, Daffodils, and Wild Garlic all out now in the woods..

Back at HQ and a coffee and blether about touring bikes - Chris has done a lot of touring around Europe and owns a lovely Thorn Cycles Raven, a bike that will need no introducing to touring cyclists...

The Victorians invented bicycle touring and bike packing with frame bags etc over a 100 years ago, Mountainbiking  as the term of off road cycling became known from several origins, the most known were the Klunkers of Marin County and the Tom Ritchie made frames.
But the oldest known off road cycling Club was invented in England and is still active today - The Rough Stuff Fellowship, they cycled road and touring bikes all over the countryside and mountains. Ropes and Hike a bike were the norm in the early days of Victorian cyclists and later the CTC.
Now we have `Gravel` and `Adventure` bikes,  originally invented by the Victorians, and being now marketed by many manufacturers in the Millennium as something new to do!...

Here is a film that will give you a giggle, Hooning it through the woods on 40mm tyres and drop bars :)
Song is `Niogax - 2014` by Boards of Canada



More soon...

Dawes Ultra Galaxy; Roughstuff trails and green lanes...

Out on the Dawes Ultra Galaxy,
A 853 Reynolds tubed Tourer i converted to disc brake and with wide 41mm tyres, and Alpkit cross bars,  makes for a real comfy ride off roader for a 700c wheel bike,
A real magic carpet ride...

Wee film,
Song is `Dawn Chorus` by Boards of Canada


Dawes Ultra Galaxy; Summer Roughstuff Pt1 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.


More soon...

Dawes Ultra Galaxy 853; Making more out of an ace bike, Pt 3 of 3...

Rear Disc Brake Conversion...

Time to add a rear disc to the Dawes Ultra Galaxy by way of fitting a a2z mount.
I fitted one of these years ago to an early Cannondale Super V, and although  different to this one now advertised, that original one worked fine with no issues so i was happy to splash out and buy another for £26-that`s a lot cheaper than a disc mounted frame!...

The instructions say it is only intended for Aluminium drop out frames with large flat drop outs.  I could see why when i fitted it and the mount caught the steel seat stay ends where they met the flat drop outs.
I marked them with red marker pen that you see in the pics then got grinding, as you do......

15 mins with the bench grinder and back and forward to re fit them on the bike to try and they soon fitted fine!...

Canny beat a bit garage tweaking!...

I tried the hub with disc rotor fitted (1st pic) and set up the calliper so it spun in line and would be ready to refit once the wheel was relaced to the disc hub.
I then stripped the rear wheel rim and took the new 185mm spokes, tool, and wheel jig etc inside...

With an early Sunday evenings bed after a mad weekend i woke early and was up at 5am as loads to do this week after work every day with planned  DIY on the house. I laced up the Dawes wheel and soon had the Shimano XT rear disc hub trued...

Job done and off to work on the Pashley and a lovely morning...

Busy day at work fencing and other stuff but here is a pic of the hens lol..

4pm home time and roasting hot as i got a heat on cranking home into a warm easterly headwind...

Home and out to the man cave and a final true of the wheel before refitting the tyre and adding the cassette and disc rotor and mounting up, all sweet and spinning nice...

Adding a rear cable after i stripped the Canti brakes and canti brake seat stay rear cable, i added the supplied BB7 Road cable adjuster on the front section and then ran a section of rear cable to the  calliper to get everything operational. A full outer rear brake cable would have been better for off road grit etc instead of the stock set up but this will do for now...

Job done and a quick spin around the block and all is fine. Seat bag removed as swings about and the small Top Peak mount won`t interfere  with the seat pack if i do use it, i need another better rear light and another Zefal rear guard as it`s useless with no rear guard as a commuter, but it is ready to go for the commute tomorrow!...

More soon...

John Muir Way Commute home...

This weeks weather forecast showed a wet Wednesday all day when i looked on Sunday evening, Then the forecast changed as it seems to do on a day to day basis!, to a cloudy day with heavy rain in evening by 6pm. I can be home by 6pm easily enough and still have an off road cycle thrown in as i would prefer to do so.

Before i post up the ride home from work off road some news...

Harvest has started! :)

Just 2 local fields, but spied them late last night riding home, the big combine that cut the top pic was long gone but a smaller one sat in the other field.  The other winter Barley fields will be harvested in the next week or so around here then there will be a a few weeks until the main event kicks off, Oil seed Rape, then Spring Barley and Wheat, good to see!...

Off to work and the over cast sky would all day threaten to rain at any time with moisture in the air...

Then bang on 4pm just before cycling home after work the rain came on!, typical! lol..
It was only a light rain or as said around here `Drizzle`,  but i stuck my Paclite waterproofs on anyway before leaving work,  then realised i was caught out for being seen on public roads as not having a front light on my bike!, doh!!!,

So with a plan to stay off road to avoid any issues i started to ride home on the John Muir Way.
This also meant not having the slog of road riding home into a strong easterly headwind that had swung round from the south since this morning, so all was not lost!, cycling home off road would be more fun anyway for myself!...

Too dark for sunglasses today!, which were covered in tiny specs of rain and now useless  anyway!..., And there would be no lovely country side scenery pics today either!...

Down through Yellowcraig woods and nice to keep out the light rain and wind in the woods.
Some tree work has been going on here as i pottered through the woods, not in a direct line on the many lovely woodland paths to exit across the field back on the JMW towards North Berwick town...

The Dawes bike was built for touring on tarmac and gravel roads, and so fine on the sandy loam trails here where the tall head tube and high mounted drop bar is comfortable enough...

Across the field towards North Berwick (NB)...

Sandy loam soil here being a raised beach...

As they say here in Scotland it was a `Dreich`day! lol
Not much of a view on the coast!...

Through NB and up out of the town and a cloud shrouded the top of NB Law as i cycled south,
No views to be enjoyed from up there today!,
Good thing was i would be soon out the wind and some of the light rain behind the wall that the JMW path follows south out the town...

A young Swallow sat on a gate was getting fed by an adult...

While over the wall was Dad, Mum and the Bairn!, with `arses to the wind and rain`!...

It was proper minging weather!, another Scottish saying!,
But as the saying goes `No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing`,  and i was dry and comfortable,  and riding home off road where i can choose my route to keep out the wind and that light rain was ideal...

Leaving the JMW for a bit and through the local estate where everything was lush green, with a strong scent of vegetation...

It is like a small micro climate in here with all the moss and ferns...

I rejoined the JMW and through farmland tracks i had planned to ride to the next village (East Linton)  where i could then get home on farm tracks with a tail wind home, but i did not need to - there was no rain!, how weird is that?!, must have been confined to the coast. The main road where i spun home for a half mile or so most cars i saw did not have any lights on so i spun home,
Happy days!  ha ha!...

The garden was damp from what looks like an earlier rain shower but dry and warmer,
It just shows how different the weather can be here with the coast and with onshore wind and rain conditions often so different a mile inland!...

More soon...