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Today June 2021

OreoCookie

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Dec 2, 2017
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My other maintenance task was to replace a tyre. I'd been waiting for an excuse to swap this one, but figured it had a few more rides left in it. After an emergency stop on the Tamagawa to avoid hitting a little kid who danced down some steps into the path, the decision was made for me. (No flat, because Gatorskin.)

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Holy motherforking shirtballs, that is one scary-looking tire. 🤯 Weren't you scared to ride it?!?
 
My other maintenance task was to replace a tyre. I'd been waiting for an excuse to swap this one, but figured it had a few more rides left in it. After an emergency stop on the Tamagawa to avoid hitting a little kid who danced down some steps into the path, the decision was made for me. (No flat, because Gatorskin.)

tyre1-jpg.31517
No Bosch ABS, eh? Ruined a perfectly good donation to the British Museum! ;)

I don't think I have any tires that develop these kinds of cracks in the rubber. How much are the tires exposed to sunlight, except on rides?

On the Bike Friday I was replacing them about twice a year because they wore out rather quickly with the smaller 20" tires.

Now with the 650B on the Elephant, tires seem to last forever. The main difference is the number of cuts in the tread, like from rolling over small bits of glass or metal or sharp edged gravel. With the narrower tire at higher pressure it would collect so many of these that at some point I'd not longer feel comfortable riding it even if the rubber itself has not worn too thin.

The wider tire at lower pressure wears more slowly and even when it loses its file tread pattern, I really have to search for small cuts to find any, as it tends to just roll over stuff rather than getting injured.

Aging vs. wear is also a bit different depending on how many bikes you actively ride. You probably spread your riding over more sets of tires than I do.

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A couple of days ago I replaced the button cells in my Garmin speed and cadence sensors. Technically I only needed to do it for the speed sensor as cadence was still being picked reliably but I figured, given I had installed both sensors at the same time last year (first set of batteries) and both most likely use the same ANT+ chip and self-discharge will be the same too, the cadence sensor couldn't be so far behind. That way I now have peace of mind until the end of the year (time on the bike: 7 months).

I am thinking of starting a maintenance calendar to enter dates around when I should again replace consumables such as brake pads, shifter cables, etc. rather than guessing and looking backwards when I already see symptoms of end of life on those parts.
 
Got myself my 3rd pair of Endura Humvee shorts.


Might be a bit hot for summers (I think they were made for UK muddy trails) but they do have zippable vents. Especially like the roominess of these shorts, good for MTB and the "map pocket" is so convenient. Big plus also is these shorts are relatively not loud (compared to other MTB shorts), I can use them on non cycling activities.
 
June is kinda sucking donkey balls.... Day 3 of a headache that has kept me off the bike more or less. I can physically ride, but with the headache I worry about getting my heartrate up too high. I don't need any additional stimulous to intensify the pain. And yes.... this is a sad 'normal' I have been dealing with for over 20 years and I have learned to just let it pass before I get too active again. At least this time I didn't have the little blood vessels in my eyes pop. That is how my wife usually knows one of these headaches has settled in. I hope to be good by the weekend.
 
Woke up this morning and the headache has subsided - but it is raining.
Meh... I got dressed, grabbed a change of clothes, grabbed my rain jacket and Fargo and pedaled in to work.
I would rather ride in the rain without a headache than in perfect weather with one.
 
Well, will I get verbally assassinated today. I made it past May, but June 4th is doc day.
 

Well, you don't have to wait any longer. I waited 2 years this month for the answer and the answer was a NO. My cycling days are for real as of today.
Like I mentioned in one of my post here: Met the wife in Akasaka. KiwiSimon is probably saying " maybe you shouldn't have gone there that weekend ".
I think he knows what I'm referring to.
 
Got myself my 3rd pair of Endura Humvee shorts.


Might be a bit hot for summers (I think they were made for UK muddy trails) but they do have zippable vents. Especially like the roominess of these shorts, good for MTB and the "map pocket" is so convenient. Big plus also is these shorts are relatively not loud (compared to other MTB shorts), I can use them on non cycling activities.
I have a pair of the lightweight 3./4 length ones which are really thin. I wear them all the time, off the bike too, without the pad. They weren't cheap, but are really good for Japanese summer. I wear them when hiking as well.

On my mtb, I wear them over an old pair of Specialized SWAT bibs that have a better pad and (crucially) pockets in the rear. I'm mostly a roadie, and when riding my mtb, I really miss the rear pockets you get on road jerseys. I hate riding with a backpack too.
 
I have a pair of the lightweight 3./4 length ones which are really thin. I wear them all the time, off the bike too, without the pad.
Same here, especially during 'rona time where I spend lots of time at home and I don't have to be presentable. Mine also have pockets with zippers, which rarer among running pants (although I don't understand why …).
 
This morning's shenanigans

It was a solo ride and the pace went between spirited and tourist. The flowers were in full bloom. The were just just pretty, they smelled amazing!
 

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Same here, especially during 'rona time where I spend lots of time at home and I don't have to be presentable. Mine also have pockets with zippers, which rarer among running pants (although I don't understand why …).
From spring to autumn I do almost all my rides in uniqlo shorts. With the Brooks saddle I don't really need a pad which gives a lot of choice what to wear. The uniqlo shorts have a zippered pocket on the left with a small pocket inside the pocket where I can keep my (bike lock and house) keys so they won't rattle or scratch other stuff in the pocket. The 65% polyester / 35% cotton blend works well enough for sweat (which is more of an issue for jerseys than for shorts). I have about half a dozen of them in different colours that I alternate between.

I would have loved to do my June Century ride this weekend, but too much else to do before then so it will have to wait...
 
Since my Vertere / Okutama beer run a few weeks back, I've been more focussed on running and weights to ensure my whole body is getting a good workout, not just my legs and liver.
Well this weekend, I jumped on my touring bike and shot down to Baird Beer in Shuzenji, via Hakone. To say it was a tough ride would be a fair assessment, due to the amount of switchbacks there are going up from Odawara to Lake Ashinoko. With about 1,000m of altitude gain, I knew there had to be some payoff and the downhill sections into Kannami and then Shuzenji were phenomenal. Except for buggering up my front derailleur and only have the small and just about the medium ring when the bike wanted to. Probably a quick fix, but annoying.
The cycle back this morning didn't go so well as it was pissing it down until 1pm, so in the end thought it would not have been a good idea to cycle up through Gotemba and back again with a broken front derailleur. Managed about 170km when I was aiming for 240km over this weekend, but I had a massive grin on my face after Hakone and felt like I had achieved something special. I know that others have done that route, but it feels like a rite of passage has been achieved.
  1. Pic number one was along the Sakaigawa cycling course. Went from my house all the way to Baird, trying to avoid roads as much as possible.
  2. Hakone Yumoto station and not knowing the pain to come.
  3. Lake Ashinoko. Have to admit, I almost shed a tear as I knew that this was going to be a challenge. A good challenge that I will do again but my word, it felt great to have got to the top of Hakone Toge and then fly down.
  4. Baird Brewery for their weekend anniversary. The beer did flow and I passed out at about 9pm or so.
  5. Cycling back to Mishima and had to stop at the Hansharo Refractory Furnaces for a quick respite from the rain.
 

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Since my Vertere / Okutama beer run a few weeks back, I've been more focussed on running and weights to ensure my whole body is getting a good workout, not just my legs and liver.
Well this weekend, I jumped on my touring bike and shot down to Baird Beer in Shuzenji, via Hakone. To say it was a tough ride would be a fair assessment, due to the amount of switchbacks there are going up from Odawara to Lake Ashinoko. With about 1,000m of altitude gain, I knew there had to be some payoff and the downhill sections into Kannami and then Shuzenji were phenomenal. Except for buggering up my front derailleur and only have the small and just about the medium ring when the bike wanted to. Probably a quick fix, but annoying.
The cycle back this morning didn't go so well as it was pissing it down until 1pm, so in the end thought it would not have been a good idea to cycle up through Gotemba and back again with a broken front derailleur. Managed about 170km when I was aiming for 240km over this weekend, but I had a massive grin on my face after Hakone and felt like I had achieved something special. I know that others have done that route, but it feels like a rite of passage has been achieved.
  1. Pic number one was along the Sakaigawa cycling course. Went from my house all the way to Baird, trying to avoid roads as much as possible.
  2. Hakone Yumoto station and not knowing the pain to come.
  3. Lake Ashinoko. Have to admit, I almost shed a tear as I knew that this was going to be a challenge. A good challenge that I will do again but my word, it felt great to have got to the top of Hakone Toge and then fly down.
  4. Baird Brewery for their weekend anniversary. The beer did flow and I passed out at about 9pm or so.
  5. Cycling back to Mishima and had to stop at the Hansharo Refractory Furnaces for a quick respite from the rain.
Kudos. Great ride. The first long ride I did in Japan, back in the olden days, was Tokyo to Osaka. Day 1 was up and over Hakone and down to the original Baird Taproom in Numazu. Those switchbacks up the Old Tokaido Road came pretty close to defeating me, but I held on. Happy memories.
 
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