Hattori-Hanzo
Well-known member
Is that Donnie Darko coming down the hill 
Pic of the Day
- Thread starter Kilham5
- Start date
Sure as hell is ..you've got about 27 days left ..make the most of itIs that Donnie Darko coming down the hill
I'm back! Three weeks after eye surgery, been gagging for a ride & bored stiff without riding. Anyhoo, this, believe it or not is the entrance to a cold war nuclear bunker. In the 2nd picture, it's by the radio masts you can just make out at the top of the picture. People have explored it & amazingly, the lights inside still work.
Back on the bike, now with a pacemaker implanted. Two years after having the hydraulics fixed and now I had the electricals, said the nurse…
View attachment IMG_1265.jpeg
View attachment IMG_1265.jpeg
InRustWeTrust
E*POWAH Master
Blimey, impact damage though its case!
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
I broke two phones by keeping them in my trouser pocket. I started keeping my phone in my backpack. Nice and safe, but what a pain when it's photograph time or when I get a call. Now in my chest pocket, but this time I have a very tough extra case and an especially tough screen protector. It's been 4 months and so far...... (I don't want to jinx it!) 
Looks like it's hit Trump's ear and kept going ..you've been lucky
Slymobi
E*POWAH Elite
Out with the Crafty.
InRustWeTrust
E*POWAH Master
Najs, åre is a nice place . A Little bit to far away but it is worth it
Semmelrocc
E*POWAH Master
Isn't that a giant RockShox sticker on the steerer tube? You've got the wrong suspension on your bike.
Slymobi
E*POWAH Elite
Haha yep, it came in the bike box !! Makes a good Stone chip protectorIsn't that a giant RockShox sticker on the steerer tube? You've got the wrong suspension on your bike.
Mcharza
E*POWAH BOSS
Back at Livigno and fantastic biking possibilities. Still no black uber runs.
Time for a brew, N Wales.
Out and about on the old mountain roads from Killin up to the Lubreoch dam. Just over 25 miles and 2567 ft of elevation. 
Why did you lock her to the bench with your bikes? Was she planning an escape? You’ve got a few hours before the tide is in. Just saying
.
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
I went out for a local ride today, no car involved. A very nice first 12 miles ensued along various bridleways. I stopped in a small village called Westborough. It is a cul-de-sac with no through traffic, so it's very quiet. Bearing in mind the problems I'd had with my mech clogging with vegetation I stopped at the old cross in the centre of the village to clear out the grass I'd picked up. I must have done something wrong, because as I set off, the chain, mech and cassette collided and bent the mech into the cassette. (How is that even possible?).
I unbolted the mech from the mech hanger, but the chain was jammed between it and the cassette, so the chain had to come off as well. I couldn't undo the magic link, so I had to break the chain. The mech was that bent that I couldn't unclamp the gear cable, so I had to cut the cable. Once the mech was off and in my hands I could see how badly it was bent.
I coiled the chain and put it in my backpack along with the mech and then looked forward (not) to my 3.5 mile walk home.
The village cross made a useful workstand! The stone cross went missing many, many years ago, the base that you can see here was refurbished about 100 years ago, according to an elderly resident I chatted to last year. The steps were crawling with black ants, so my backpack was only put there for the photo.
As for the trip home, I could stick to tarmac and it would be 4 miles, or I could do my planned route along the river bank, 3.5 miles, or take the direct route across the fields 2.5 miles. Ignoring the tarmac option, I hobby-horsed my way out of the village to the bridge over the river and made my final choice. The fields looked dry(ish), so I opted for the direct route, which was a public footpath across the farmed fields, with unplanted areas left for walkers. Unfortunately one of the fields along the way was flooded, so I made my way around the edge of the flooded bit. You should appreciate that this is Lincolnshire in England and it is known for its heavy clay soil! After about 200 yards, my boots each weighed a ton and my bike wheels stopped rotating. I had to carry the bike and the mud another 200 yards to get to the next field, access via a small bridge.
You can see where various walkers had scraped their boots on the bridge railings. I had to scout around for a stick to scrape the mud from the wheels, but would you believe it there were none! So I had to break one off from the Hawthorne hedge nearby. Mud removal took quite a while, the clay was just like the sort of stuff that pots are made from, only thicker and stickier! It loves rubber tread!
It took me over 20 mins to get both wheels scraped clean enough to go under the mucky nutz with some extra space for contingecies. See below.
It occurred to me at about this point that if I'd opted for the tarmac route, I would have been home by now!
In the pic below, you can see where I'm going. I'm heading to the left of the shiny rooves. Right where the field track stops there is a kissing gate that only walkers and uni-cycles will pass through. The fences to the side were low enough for me to heave the bike over, just.
Eventually I got to the last kissing gate and it was just too high for me to get the bike over. If I was absolutrely desperate, I would have lifted the bike and climbed over the gate, but this was the village where I live. Somebody would give me a helping hand. The first two people I rang went to voicemail. Then another Steve came walking by with his dog. 40+ years younger and he just lifted the bike up above his head and handed it over the fence to me. Gosh! Thank you Steve!
Now I just have to get the bike clean, fit a new mech and gear cable and then see if I can straighten the damaged XT mech. Probably, but will it ever be the same?
I unbolted the mech from the mech hanger, but the chain was jammed between it and the cassette, so the chain had to come off as well. I couldn't undo the magic link, so I had to break the chain. The mech was that bent that I couldn't unclamp the gear cable, so I had to cut the cable. Once the mech was off and in my hands I could see how badly it was bent.
I coiled the chain and put it in my backpack along with the mech and then looked forward (not) to my 3.5 mile walk home.
The village cross made a useful workstand! The stone cross went missing many, many years ago, the base that you can see here was refurbished about 100 years ago, according to an elderly resident I chatted to last year. The steps were crawling with black ants, so my backpack was only put there for the photo.
As for the trip home, I could stick to tarmac and it would be 4 miles, or I could do my planned route along the river bank, 3.5 miles, or take the direct route across the fields 2.5 miles. Ignoring the tarmac option, I hobby-horsed my way out of the village to the bridge over the river and made my final choice. The fields looked dry(ish), so I opted for the direct route, which was a public footpath across the farmed fields, with unplanted areas left for walkers. Unfortunately one of the fields along the way was flooded, so I made my way around the edge of the flooded bit. You should appreciate that this is Lincolnshire in England and it is known for its heavy clay soil! After about 200 yards, my boots each weighed a ton and my bike wheels stopped rotating. I had to carry the bike and the mud another 200 yards to get to the next field, access via a small bridge.
You can see where various walkers had scraped their boots on the bridge railings. I had to scout around for a stick to scrape the mud from the wheels, but would you believe it there were none! So I had to break one off from the Hawthorne hedge nearby. Mud removal took quite a while, the clay was just like the sort of stuff that pots are made from, only thicker and stickier! It loves rubber tread!
It took me over 20 mins to get both wheels scraped clean enough to go under the mucky nutz with some extra space for contingecies. See below.
It occurred to me at about this point that if I'd opted for the tarmac route, I would have been home by now!
In the pic below, you can see where I'm going. I'm heading to the left of the shiny rooves. Right where the field track stops there is a kissing gate that only walkers and uni-cycles will pass through. The fences to the side were low enough for me to heave the bike over, just.
Eventually I got to the last kissing gate and it was just too high for me to get the bike over. If I was absolutrely desperate, I would have lifted the bike and climbed over the gate, but this was the village where I live. Somebody would give me a helping hand. The first two people I rang went to voicemail. Then another Steve came walking by with his dog. 40+ years younger and he just lifted the bike up above his head and handed it over the fence to me. Gosh! Thank you Steve!
Now I just have to get the bike clean, fit a new mech and gear cable and then see if I can straighten the damaged XT mech. Probably, but will it ever be the same?
Think how much fitter you are after today.
Now I just have to get the bike clean, fit a new mech and gear cable and then see if I can straighten the damaged XT mech. Probably, but will it ever be the same?
Probably not.
Something wasn't right before so replacing the XT mech would at least eliminate another problem area.
No one ever said it would be easy ...I went out for a local ride today, no car involved. A very nice first 12 miles ensued along various bridleways. I stopped in a small village called Westborough. It is a cul-de-sac with no through traffic, so it's very quiet. Bearing in mind the problems I'd had with my mech clogging with vegetation I stopped at the old cross in the centre of the village to clear out the grass I'd picked up. I must have done something wrong, because as I set off, the chain, mech and cassette collided and bent the mech into the cassette. (How is that even possible?).
View attachment 143968
I unbolted the mech from the mech hanger, but the chain was jammed between it and the cassette, so the chain had to come off as well. I couldn't undo the magic link, so I had to break the chain. The mech was that bent that I couldn't unclamp the gear cable, so I had to cut the cable. Once the mech was off and in my hands I could see how badly it was bent.
View attachment 143967
I coiled the chain and put it in my backpack along with the mech and then looked forward (not) to my 3.5 mile walk home.
The village cross made a useful workstand! The stone cross went missing many, many years ago, the base that you can see here was refurbished about 100 years ago, according to an elderly resident I chatted to last year. The steps were crawling with black ants, so my backpack was only put there for the photo.
View attachment 143969
As for the trip home, I could stick to tarmac and it would be 4 miles, or I could do my planned route along the river bank, 3.5 miles, or take the direct route across the fields 2.5 miles. Ignoring the tarmac option, I hobby-horsed my way out of the village to the bridge over the river and made my final choice. The fields looked dry(ish), so I opted for the direct route, which was a public footpath across the farmed fields, with unplanted areas left for walkers. Unfortunately one of the fields along the way was flooded, so I made my way around the edge of the flooded bit. You should appreciate that this is Lincolnshire in England and it is known for its heavy clay soil! After about 200 yards, my boots each weighed a ton and my bike wheels stopped rotating. I had to carry the bike and the mud another 200 yards to get to the next field, access via a small bridge.
View attachment 143970
You can see where various walkers had scraped their boots on the bridge railings. I had to scout around for a stick to scrape the mud from the wheels, but would you believe it there were none! So I had to break one off from the Hawthorne hedge nearby. Mud removal took quite a while, the clay was just like the sort of stuff that pots are made from, only thicker and stickier! It loves rubber tread!
It took me over 20 mins to get both wheels scraped clean enough to go under the mucky nutz with some extra space for contingecies. See below.
View attachment 143974
It occurred to me at about this point that if I'd opted for the tarmac route, I would have been home by now!
In the pic below, you can see where I'm going. I'm heading to the left of the shiny rooves. Right where the field track stops there is a kissing gate that only walkers and uni-cycles will pass through. The fences to the side were low enough for me to heave the bike over, just.
View attachment 143972
Eventually I got to the last kissing gate and it was just too high for me to get the bike over. If I was absolutrely desperate, I would have lifted the bike and climbed over the gate, but this was the village where I live. Somebody would give me a helping hand. The first two people I rang went to voicemail. Then another Steve came walking by with his dog. 40+ years younger and he just lifted the bike up above his head and handed it over the fence to me. Gosh! Thank you Steve!
View attachment 143975
Now I just have to get the bike clean, fit a new mech and gear cable and then see if I can straighten the damaged XT mech. Probably, but will it ever be the same?
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
Fit for what though? It is embarrassing how much upper body strength I have lost in the last ten years, or have my bikes got heavier? .........Oh yes!Think how much fitter you are after today.
I just Googled it and heavy clay soil is twice as heavy as water. ie 2kg per litre. or 124.8 pounds per cubic foot.
It felt heavier!
A few seconds on my calculator says that I weigh the same as 1.57 cubic feet of heavy clay soil! Yikes that is heavy!
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
You are referring to the chain slipping under load on the 10t gear. Everything was checked and found to be OK. When the bike was reassembled everything WAS Ok. So I suspect that it had been a build-up of crushed vegetation in the mech that had been removed in cleaning. Even climbing uphill in Boost earlier today would not make it slip, so I reckon it was fixed! Until I broke it today.
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
Memorable day though!No one ever said it would be easy ...
Sry, but I laughed a few times …couldn’t help it.Memorable day though!
You definitely deserve an “Atta-Boy” (or two) for that adventure.
Will YOU ever be the same?
I bet your other half dreads it when you've got to change a light bulb.Memorable day though!
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