One of the best things about cycle commuting is that there is almost never a dull week. This week (#5 of 2019) was certainly anything but dull. It began with quite pleasant conditions on Mon and Tue so I was glad to be back on the winter road bike. Unfortunately, my front wheel developed a fault on Tue (Wibble Wobble) so it had to make an emergency visit to the bike shop to get fixed (I got it back on Fri, see later for details).
My summer bike was hanging on the garage wall, minus its own wheels, so I decided to take the mountain bike which was prepped from the previous week. I was actually quite glad of this on Wed morning because the temperature took a dive overnight and we had quite slippy roads in places.
The wind started picking up strength though so the ride home on Wed was slow and tiring on my studded tyre mountain bike. For this reason I decided to get my summer bike off the wall on Thursday morning and give that a shot. I found my wheels buried under a mountain of cardboard boxes and bags for charity shops (why is it the garage is constantly full of these things?). Fitting them and giving a quick check only took 5 minutes, although I did manage to get my finger bandage all covered in oil in the process.
It’s amazing what a difference it can make riding a different bike. Compared to the mountain bike it was almost effortless, smooth and silent. I’d say almost perfect, but I was soon to find that hanging unloved in the garage for 5 months had left it feeling a bit grumpy…
Just to add insult to my braking problems of late I discovered that the rear caliper would stick shut when I pulled it – “BRILLIANT!”. Also, my gear changes were very stiff especially on the rear mech. I suspect that the cables need changing after corroding a bit over the winter. That’s a weekend job and not one I would contemplate half asleep at 6am before leaving for work!
Storm Erik
On Thursday night I was in 2 minds about whether to return to the mountain bike or risk the road bike with its dodgy cables for one more day. Looking at the forecast for Fri very quickly made my mind up for me! Coming home was going to be right into the head of Storm Erik. 56mph into my face on the mountain bike sounded a bit torturous.
I awoke on Fri and could hear the wind blowing outside. Worse than that it was pouring rain with it. My wife gave me the familiar ‘you crazy fool’ look, but I got kitted up, polished off my weetabix and headed out into the storm. The wind had not reached peak strength in the morning, but the rain was really lashing down and my gear became so drenched it must have doubled in weight.
Upon reaching work I squelched my way into the showers and began cleaning myself up. By the time I had wrung my gloves & socks and poured what felt like litres of water out of my boots, the shower tray was filled with a lovely black liquid. I then had to spend the rest of Fri morning trying to get my gear as dry as I could before the return journey home after lunch. This was only partially successful 🙁
I needn’t have worried about being wet however, as the wind on the way home was better than any tumble drier and had me bone dry in seconds. Unfortunately there was also patchy rain to go with it so I went from being damp to dry to damp to dry all the way home.
That wind really made for a constant battle as well. I found myself toiling heading downhill in an easy gear, struggling to make 10 mph. Despite getting battered by headwinds and crosswinds I did manage to make it home without any real concern though. Sadly one of my colleagues was not quite so lucky as he was attacked by a flying traffic cone as he made his way out of the office car park! Thankfully only a little scrape of damage.
Many people think that it is always raining in Scotland, but it’s not actually that bad. Yes, we do get our fair share but this Fri was the first time in 2019 that I have even got wet on the commute (other than from a small snow shower a couple of weeks ago). That is 1 day out of 27.
It’s definitely not a good reason to prevent anyone from getting out on their bike.
Broken Wheel
Having received word on Thu that my wheel had been repaired I went over to collect it on Fri. My mechanic had done a sterling job in removing the offending bearings and you can see below just how badly they had disintegrated. The winter weather really is hard on the components. Anyway, the wheel is now running nice and true and I look forward to getting it in use again next week. Sadly, the wheel repair cost a fair bit in parts so I have had to add that to the annual cost tracker (How Much?).
As I said at the start, cycle commuting is never dull. It beats sitting in a car in almost every way. How people put up with hours and hours a week listening to the same old droning on the radio, or staring at the bumper in front of you is beyond me. I did previously do the same when I commuted to the other side of the country for 9 years, but I would not change back again now.
Here’s hoping for many more interesting weeks in 2019!
- Magene Radar Tail Light - July 18, 2023
- Remembering - June 23, 2023
- School Run Fun - June 19, 2023
Neil Broadhurst