ACME Miscellany

[huggy]

Bumping this up to your consciousness again, let me know if you want to have a few laps of the boards in May...

Copy of event on the Witham Cycling Facebook page:

As a club we have secured a 2 hour Track Taster Session at the Lee Valley Velodrome on the evening of Wednesday 4th May between 18:00 and 20:00. If you would like to experience a taste of the track this is your opportunity. More details available at the link.
https://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/en/content/cms/london2012/velo-park/#track
The Velodrome charges have increased a little since our last visit in January; depending upon numbers cost of the evening will be between £27 and £35 for the 2 hour track session, this figure includes £12 for bike hire but shoe hire is an additional £7 if desired. I will initially close the book at 15 confirmed places and put additional interest on a wait list until I get more than 20 to make hiring a second instructor economical. A second instructor will allow a further 15 places and the closer we get to a total of 30 participants the more economical it becomes.
Before the event you will need to have valid CTC or BC 3rd party insurance by way of membership of one of those organisations and be a signed up member of Witham Cycling which can be completed on the day if necessary. As a club we are affiliated with CTC and members of Witham Cycling can take up discounted individual associate membership here https://www.ctc.org.uk/join-membership/setup/AFMI using our club number 90063203 which provides 12 months of 3rd party insurance.

You will be responsible for getting yourself to the VeloPark. I will probably be travelling by train to Stratford and walking from there. At least 30 minutes needs to be allowed for walking from Stratford train station to the Velodrome. You should plan to arrive soon after 17:00 to allow for checking in, changing and getting set up on a bike.

To secure your place please send your £25 per person deposit to me. An easy way of doing this is to use PayPal at this link:
https://www.paypal.me/GrantHuggins/25
I will also take traditional cash in person, please PM to let me know you are interested.

In January we had 27 people enjoy the same experience, many of whom I expect will want to repeat it. For a little taste of the evening you can see a video here: https://youtu.be/zL79IrmblTg

[huggy]

Hello Velodromers,
I hope you're looking forward to the May visit to Lee Valley as much as me, and just in case you are could I ask you book your place by way of £25 deposit as soon as you like, if you have not already done so and if you have then thank you. I have just paid for the venue hire so I am somewhat out of pocket right now!
An easy way of doing this is to use PayPal at this link:
https://www.paypal.me/GrantHuggins/25
Also don't forget that I will need to book a second instructor quite soon if we get over 15 people going, preferably over 20 to make the shared cost economical. So early payment of deposit will allow me to gauge numbers with confidence.

Bumping this up to your consciousness again, let me know if you want to have a few laps of the boards in May...

Copy of event on the Witham Cycling Facebook page:

As a club we have secured a 2 hour Track Taster Session at the Lee Valley Velodrome on the evening of Wednesday 4th May between 18:00 and 20:00. If you would like to experience a taste of the track this is your opportunity. More details available at the link.
https://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/en/content/cms/london2012/velo-park/#track
The Velodrome charges have increased a little since our last visit in January; depending upon numbers cost of the evening will be between £27 and £35 for the 2 hour track session, this figure includes £12 for bike hire but shoe hire is an additional £7 if desired. I will initially close the book at 15 confirmed places and put additional interest on a wait list until I get more than 20 to make hiring a second instructor economical. A second instructor will allow a further 15 places and the closer we get to a total of 30 participants the more economical it becomes.
Before the event you will need to have valid CTC or BC 3rd party insurance by way of membership of one of those organisations and be a signed up member of Witham Cycling which can be completed on the day if necessary. As a club we are affiliated with CTC and members of Witham Cycling can take up discounted individual associate membership here https://www.ctc.org.uk/join-membership/setup/AFMI using our club number 90063203 which provides 12 months of 3rd party insurance.

You will be responsible for getting yourself to the VeloPark. I will probably be travelling by train to Stratford and walking from there. At least 30 minutes needs to be allowed for walking from Stratford train station to the Velodrome. You should plan to arrive soon after 17:00 to allow for checking in, changing and getting set up on a bike.

To secure your place please send your £25 per person deposit to me. An easy way of doing this is to use PayPal at this link:
https://www.paypal.me/GrantHuggins/25
I will also take traditional cash in person, please PM to let me know you are interested.

In January we had 27 people enjoy the same experience, many of whom I expect will want to repeat it. For a little taste of the evening you can see a video here: https://youtu.be/zL79IrmblTg

[tedshred]

I have been elephant bike spotting. Two in two minutes today in Springfield.  Could one of them be the mysterious rr  ?

[Oscar's dad]

Perhaps they're breeding in the parks of Chelmsford.

[tedshred]

No, these were domesticated.

[jiberjaber]

Perhaps they're breeding in the parks of Chelmsford.

[Oscar's dad]

Don't tell Donald Trump's son!

[tedshred]

Moving back towards cycling...

I have just finally pulled the trigger on my new wheels for the Flyer.

Malcolm is building me 28h rear and 24h front on DT Swiss R460 rims and Zenith hubs.

To keep the (piss) artist formerly known as Tokyo and the other purists happy, the hub is double fixed.

I have been promised they will be ready in plenty of time for Green & Yellow fields which kind of commits me to riding them on that.

Now all I need is to sort out the bottom bracket shell on my Domane. It is going to Cycle Revolution for its Easter holidays to see if they can work out why I need my fourth bottom bracket since October 14 on my summer bike 

[Carlosfandango]

Blimey Ted, who fitted the last 3 bottom brackets so proficiently? Not your good self surely? Pressfit, it's a world of pain.

That doesn't seem like the required spoke count for audax either, oooer!

[tedshred]

You can be assured that I didn't fit any of them.  Given that Tippers, who produces a fair amount more wattage than I do, has only changed his once and only then because of my adventures on the Flatlands, it does look like the shell just isn't bang on.  Press fit BBs just don't have any flexibility in that regard. 

Malcolm assures me that a gentlemen of my slender build and riding fixed need not worry about having 36 front and rear like some of the more ahem muscular riders OTP.

I just couldn't bring myself to part with the additional readies for the "Pancetta" rims which would have made the wheelset cost pretty much the same as the bike.  You, Bobb and Tippers can be the Flash Harrys of the Mid-Essex scene.

[Oscar's dad]

I shall be visiting Malcolm of Glemsford this Saturday to pick up Fred's new wheels so let me know if anyone wants something picking up - I'll be in a car.

[tedshred]

Just don't get chatting for too long, he has important wheels to build.

[tippers_kiwi]

Ask him if you can take a peek at my new bike, if you can get a photo it would be Ace!

On another topic, now that I am going into the world of Fixed gear I have been thinking about a little trip with it. While I was considering a long weekend following Tomsks new 400 Route I have had a little thought that I is slowly growing on me. A Twin Town tour to Waldbrol in Germany.....

I haven't looked into it too much yet (and I haven't mentioned it at home) but the very rough plan would be something like taking the boat from Harwich on Wednesday night and following the Rhine Cycle Route down to Cologne then over to Waldbrol, rough estimate is about 400km one way.

I would probably plan to get the boat back Sunday afternoon/night so would be on the train for at least a good portion of the trip back to the port.

I'd probably be aiming at Late summer but I really don't know yet.

Let me know if anyone is interested.

[Oscar's dad]

I'll try to get a photo of your new bike.

If your adventure was at the weekend I might be up for it. But as it involves week days I can't do it as I'm running short of holiday. Sorry.

[tedshred]

We Wednesday night riders are a biddable bunch in the main.  All it takes is an evil genius to appear in our midst for us to be led astray.

Thus it was that the Hustler, Hotblack Desiato and I assembled at Spa to find OD cackling and rubbing his hands astride Son of Oscar.  We should have known then that it would not be a quick jaunt to our spiritual home.

"I'll ride with Ted at the back" shouted OD as he sped off into the night in a luminous blur.  Clearly SoO  is considerably lighter than Fred and OD was enjoying the freedom.  Meanwhile, I was lost in Witham.

We reassembled at the bottom of Blue Mills for our first little hill of the evening.  OD had decided that routes were for other people and that the obvious way to ride to Littley Green from Witham was via Wickham Bishops, Langford and Maldon.  Along the way he managed to drag us up Market Hill and TMNH.  I soon realised that you either stayed ahead of Hotblack or stayed a good distance behind.  The glare from his lighting rig is such that you are too worried about your retinas to focus on the road ahead.  If you can stay just ahead it is like riding on a summer's day.

We eventually arrived at the Compasses after a moderately paced ride to find Tomsk and whoever Oaky is this week waiting for us.  We had been promised a night of two legends but the other legend was  a no show sadly.

No sooner had we arrived than Tomsk was readying himself for the ride home.  He had Easter Arrow business ahead and could see that OD would not be a force for good in that respect. 

The rest of the evening was spent sampling Cotleigh's Tawyny Owl, Red Fox Mild, Crouch Vale Essex Boys and Grafton's Can Can.  The Quaffer's Choice was hotly contested but edged by the Tawny Owl after an impassioned plea from the Hustler on its behalf.  Talk was of the scourge of modern communication devices and OD's responsible days as the local Ranger for Sustrans.

On the way home I developed a slow puncture in my rear tyre.  However such was the merciless pace that OD was setting that I didn't dare stop to fix it so I rattled the last few miles into Witham with just enough pressure to keep rolling.

Another fine evening and it felt genuinely mild on the road.

[jiberjaber]

Ask him if you can take a peek at my new bike, if you can get a photo it would be Ace!

On another topic, now that I am going into the world of Fixed gear I have been thinking about a little trip with it. While I was considering a long weekend following Tomsks new 400 Route I have had a little thought that I is slowly growing on me. A Twin Town tour to Waldbrol in Germany.....

I haven't looked into it too much yet (and I haven't mentioned it at home) but the very rough plan would be something like taking the boat from Harwich on Wednesday night and following the Rhine Cycle Route down to Cologne then over to Waldbrol, rough estimate is about 400km one way.

I would probably plan to get the boat back Sunday afternoon/night so would be on the train for at least a good portion of the trip back to the port.

I'd probably be aiming at Late summer but I really don't know yet.

Let me know if anyone is interested.

I'm riding to Köln and back in September via Harwich, potentially route info from that ride....


http://fridaynightridetothecoast.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-three-countries-tour-viva-colonia.html?m=0

[Oscar's dad]

Good write up ted.  Another cracking night    The focus on miles rather than beer was a nice change.

PS - I liked the way it took us an hour to get to the bottom of TMNH 

[tippers_kiwi]

I'm riding to Köln and back in September via Harwich, potentially route info from that ride....


http://fridaynightridetothecoast.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-three-countries-tour-viva-colonia.html?m=0

Thanks....great stuff.

[Oaky]

BIKE STOLEN

https://stolen-bikes.co.uk/stolen-bikes/felt-z70/

pictures/details here: https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=90158.msg2009062#msg2009062

My beloved Felt was nicked today from outside the Compasses.

It was locked to two other bikes (mrs_o, Me and acorn#1) but when we came out from lunch, the middle bike was gone but the others were still there (no sign of the cable lock anywhere nearby, though)

I ended up riding home at a HR Zone 4+ on my foldy-fixie (which they didn't nick) while Acorn #1 watched her bike like a Hawk until I arrived back there in the car.

Theft has been reported via 101.  Crime reference number obtained.  I now need to talk to our home insurance providers. 

As it happens, ast the time I took it out, the home insurance was mainly selected on the basis of their purported policy aroud bikes at home, and especially away from home.  (it's the RAC, at least as brokers, no idea who the underlying insurer is).

...sooo... to be continued ....

[jiberjaber]

Sorry to hear that Mark. Must have been very opportunist.

[Oscar's dad]

Bad news matey, I hope you get it back.  The Compasses seems to be a bike theft hotspot, I imagine the local scrotes know lots of people ride their bikes there. I'll be taking my big lock the next time I visit.

[Tomsk]

That's very bad news, Oaky. We take more precautions in the badlands of Essex and don't expect this at the lovely Compasses. I hope for a good outcome.

[tippers_kiwi]

Gutting Oaky, I still remember how angry I was when someone pinched mine from the station. Hope it all comes good and the insurance let's you get something shinny and new

[rr]

Only I have a Pronto.  ted and rr OTP have Elephant Bikes, i.e. refurbed Pashley Mailstars.  Where have you been???  There seems to be so much you have missed 

Is rr based in Chelmsford ? I saw a chap riding one in Springfield when I was cycling home a couple of weeks ago.

I commute through Springfield so it could well have been me, but I did recently see someone else riding one the same colour in Springfield, so it might not have been. He was on the cycle path though and I use the road.
I strava nearly all my rides so you could check.
And I have to add that I ordered my elephant before OD got his pronto.

[tedshred]

rr, I saw both of you on my way home a couple of weeks ago.  Both with the same colour bike, we also have one in that colour.

I was the chap struggling along on a red Flyer.  I waved at both of you