Dawes Ultra Galaxy 853; making more out of an ace bike, Pt 2 of 3...

So.... time to get a disc brake on the front, and not having the correct spoke lenghts needed (that would be 285mm) i handed the front rim and Deore hub into local bike shop  Mikes Bikes who soon had the wheel laced up in a couple of days...

Searching on eBay turned up an unused still boxed Avid BB7 Road Disc brake calliper and disc at a `Buy it Now` price that saved £25 on a new off the shelf item so i hit the Buy button!...

After being miss sold a non Dawes Disc fork with incorrect for a Dawes Galaxy steerer length and axle to crown length and weight that says it is cheap steel and not a Reynolds steel i have now returned for a refund.
As i should have originally done i ordered a Surly `Disc Trucker` fork that has the same axle to crown length as the Ultra Galaxy and which arrived in under 48 hours from SJS (St Johns Cycles)

Stripping the short Canti brake cable from the bars before removing the stock fork...

I then measured the stock Dawes steerer tube length to then cut the Surly fork steerer to same length...

And used my steerer cutter tube-home made by a friend!...

Steerer tube cut and smoothed with some M40 paper then i inserted and knocked in the star nut...

Lower headset race needed seating which a hand sliding tool made easy work of...

Surly fork on, and due to no spare steerer tube spacers i left the allen key locking Canti brake mount on as it also works as a lock to keep the headset secure...

Before fitting i stripped the Avid BB7 calliper and Copper Greased the adjuster and back of the break pads before refitting....

Back on and trued up and ready to go...

I had to fit a longer new front cable which required a bit fettling to route ...

How i do it is remove the pivotal plastic item that holds the cable and thread the cable through it and gently pull and if needed use a small flat bladed screwdriver to get it into place, grease on it holds the plastic end caps in place and it onto the brake cable nipple...

It`s a wee faff but this way is a bit easier!...

Using a Road Avid BB7 road brake calliper you have to fit the supplied cable adjuster...

Ready to roll...
With blue skies today and a mid afternoon high tide not ideal for beach riding on my Fatbike i took the Dawes for a short local loop of around 10 miles on local gravel roads...

Some new signs for the recent;y resurfaced tracks through Binning Woods...

Big sky! as i headed around Tyninghame and on to Seacliff...

Combines will be out in a couple of weeks to harvest the Barley that is nearly ready!...

Across some of Becky`s Strip byway before home via some of the John Muir Way...

Loads of stuff like this for riding a bike set up like this around here...

Part 3 of 3 will be finishing the project with fitting a rear disc brake once i source all the parts needed...
More soon...

Every Valley; New Album by Public Service Broadcast...

Probably one of the best British bands at the moment is PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING and they have another album which has been available on pre order and is due this week on the 7th July...

I like a new Album for Summer, and no doubt this will be a cracker and more good tunes to cycle to and make some good tracks for cycling films...




Update ; 
New album arrived from Amazon yesterday 6th July!, and it is ace!

More soon...

Back on the coast!...

Great to get out on the coast again cycling after a few weeks away!,
Tides on Sunday were not ideal with a 9 ish high tide so was not in a hurry to ride west from North Berwick (NB) on the John Muir Way (JMW) then out to the ace view over the dunes of Aberlady Nature Reserve...

A favourite view...

Down through the dunes and onto the exposed low tide sands of Aberlady Bay...

The better condition westerly sub wreck had just appeared out the with drawing tide...

While dark clouds loomed across to the west over Edinburgh it was a big sky overhead here to the east!...

From the wrecks it was time to get going as be another good half hour until the sand would be dry around the sub wreck,   great listening to the rythmic sound of the waves as you ride along side them, Here is a minute`s film of it!


Beachride; 2nd July 17,  WW2 X Class Sub wreck from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

Over the rocks before Gullane as be another hour or so waiting for the tide to reveal the sand around them...

Kite surfers were out making the most of the conditions...

The coast was quiet from day visitors as i linked up the smaller bays towards Yellowcraigs...

After Scorpion rocks it was over the black pebbles that i call xylophone trail with there noise...

Another minute film...


Beachride; 2nd July 17...Xlophone rocks from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

People in pics on Broadsands at Yellowcraigs give a good perspective of expanse of beach as the tide goes out here...

Roaring down the flat beach with the tail wind and the roar of Fatbike tyres!...


Beachride; 2nd July...Broadsands from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

A few small beaches then into West Bay at NB, and time for an ice cream!...

Relaxing ride on the coast...

More soon...

Saturday Day Trip; Peebles, Gypsy Glen Drove Road and Glentress

Stuart organised a ride around Peebles on Saturday riding from Glentress.
I travelled down with Craig and we met Stuart, Brian, Donald, Callum and Gary for what turned out again as always with Stuart`s rides a great day, split between old school mountain biking out on the hills and then a play around Glentress in the afternoon, rounded off with fine chips in Peebles.

Up in the hills;
We rode a 16 mile loop from Cardrona Forest up onto the hills to join the historic old Drove road that descends to Gypsy Glen in Peebles.
Having not cycled for two weeks i was surprised that my fitness was better!, legs and lungs working well on the short steep climbs out Cardrona Forest and out on the hill. the weather was warm in the vally with a cool breeze making it perfect weather.  big sky views up on the hills and the usual adrenalin fuelled descent to Gypsy Glen...

Droving days;
The Old Drove Road to Gypsy Glen is very historic and the preserved walled Right of Way is one of the best examples of an interesting bit of Scottish history. The book `The Drove Roads of Scotland` by A.R.B Haldane is a fascinating read of the men who walked cattle from the Trysts of central Scotland to central England...

It is documented how the men worked their passage home by boats while their dogs walked back on their own accord stopping for food at the roadside Inns stopped at on their journey south, a fascinating story...
Pics of the Drove road south of Peebles leaving Gypsy Glen...

Today the sound of hooves are a distant memory... and we descended to only the noise of the westerly wind and Skylarks overhead...

Here is some film descending the historic old road once used to walk cattle from the Trysts in Scotland to England.  The walls are still there that stopped the cattle wandering.
Song is `Classic Girl` by Janes Addiction...

Gypsy Glen Drove Road Descent; 1st July 2017 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.


Glentress;
Brian, Callum and Gary headed for home so the 4 of us went for a fun ride around the Blue route and added Spooky Woods descent (Red) to the loop for fun,

You never take many pictures at Trail centres as often not many views so as usual here just a few short films of some of the descents

Spooky Wood;
Always a hoot and bit of a giggle on Fatbikes!, here i am chasing Stuart down and we had a ball!

Glentress; Spooky Woods descent, 1st July 2017 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.



Berm Baby Berm;
Fun pumping the berms!

Glentress; Berm Baby Berm 1st July 2017 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.




Falla Brae onto  Done Good;
Down we go, following Donald...

Glentress; Falla Brae & Good Game 1st july 2017 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

Superb day riding old school historic routes with MTB trail Centre trails with good company...

More soon...