Ahhhhhhh

That feels SO much better.

53 miles, took my time about it (3h 13m) since I had to get into town
first and order a birthday present and then went looking for a bike shop
in Ely to see if they had some new gloves I wanted.

I love maps, but I hate roads when they don't look like how the map
shows them. It's very rarely I can go somewhere totally new via the
route I *want* to take according to the map. There will always be
something which will take me the wrong way. No exception today.

Practised the spinning stuff, went well - found I was getting an extra
rear cogs worth of speed. In particular found that *concentrating* on
the leg movements permits a measured increase in cadence. You reach
your regular cadence and then focus on what you're doing and you can
bring more and more cadence out of your legs, which isn't physically
demanding, your legs aren't getting tired from pushing since you're not
pushing but spinning, but does of course increase your speed.

Insert is too wide, though, it doesn't sit flush with the sole of the
shoe and so pushes up too much into the middle of my foot. After 45
miles my foot was definetely not fully happy. Need an insert
specifically for that shoe. Actually, need a new shoe, this one's two
years old.

--
Callas

wrote:
Go fixed. Happens for free. You try pushing squares and you'll find
the up pedal telling your foot otherwise...

I'll have to try it.

I was doing 104 cadence today though! that's more than I'd realised or
thought I was doing.

68 gear inches or
thereabouts will see you most stuff around Cambridge. Barrington hill
is an embarrassing 5mph up (and you pulse the brake on the way down to
keep it under 25mph). Other than taht....

People keep talking about Barrington hill to me. I have *no* idea which
hill they're talking about, but I *must* have been over it. But I can
only think of one or two noticeable hills in around Cambridge, and none
of them are really significant.

Could you describe where it is?

--
Callas

Callas writes:

That feels SO much better.

53 miles, took my time about it (3h 13m) since I had to get into town
first and order a birthday present and then went looking for a bike shop
in Ely to see if they had some new gloves I wanted.

Practised the spinning stuff, went well - found I was getting an extra
rear cogs worth of speed. In particular found that *concentrating* on
the leg movements permits a measured increase in cadence. You reach
your regular cadence and then focus on what you're doing and you can
bring more and more cadence out of your legs, which isn't physically
demanding, your legs aren't getting tired from pushing since you're not
pushing but spinning, but does of course increase your speed.

Go fixed. Happens for free. You try pushing squares and you'll find
the up pedal telling your foot otherwise... 68 gear inches or
thereabouts will see you most stuff around Cambridge. Barrington hill
is an embarrassing 5mph up (and you pulse the brake on the way down to
keep it under 25mph). Other than taht....

Oh, and trackstands are a doddle. You almost look cool doing them.

G

Callas wrote:
Practised the spinning stuff, went well - found I was getting an extra
rear cogs worth of speed. In particular found that *concentrating* on
the leg movements permits a measured increase in cadence. You reach
your regular cadence and then focus on what you're doing and you can
bring more and more cadence out of your legs, which isn't physically
demanding, your legs aren't getting tired from pushing since you're
not pushing but spinning, but does of course increase your speed.

Been meaning to ask, what exactly is 'spinning'?

Callas writes:

wrote:
Go fixed. Happens for free. You try pushing squares and you'll find
the up pedal telling your foot otherwise...

I'll have to try it.

You'll never look back. It also makes a great pub bike.


I was doing 104 cadence today though! that's more than I'd realised or
thought I was doing.

I find I cruise at 90-120rpm. It took some time to get used to it
though...


68 gear inches or
thereabouts will see you most stuff around Cambridge. Barrington hill
is an embarrassing 5mph up (and you pulse the brake on the way down to
keep it under 25mph). Other than taht....

People keep talking about Barrington hill to me. I have *no* idea which
hill they're talking about, but I *must* have been over it. But I can
only think of one or two noticeable hills in around Cambridge, and none
of them are really significant.

Could you describe where it is?

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.c...multimap.y=111

It's between Barrington and Haslingfield (not far from Foxton, to the
south of Cambridge on the A10. One side is a very sharp 0.3mile
rise. The other is more gradual but can be a bit evil

the other is Lime Kiln hill, Shelford Road into Fulbourn then back
along Cambridge Road (past ARM). Repeat 5 times. Not THAT tricky but
again a bit of a stretch.

Other than that you have to go over the A505 into Hertfordshire and go
around Elmden (between Royston and Saffron Walden. If you did the
London-Cambridge, it's the last significant rise before it went very
flat on the Sawston Bypass

G

wrote:
Callas writes:
wrote:
Go fixed. Happens for free. You try pushing squares and you'll find
the up pedal telling your foot otherwise...

I'll have to try it.

You'll never look back. It also makes a great pub bike.

Pub bike?

I don't drink!

Problem also is I just spent a lot of time and effort getting some
wheels sent over from the States, 'cause they don't sell 'em in the UK.
So I suspect I'm not going to swap over soon. But it is something to
try, because it's there.

I was doing 104 cadence today though! that's more than I'd realised or
thought I was doing.

I find I cruise at 90-120rpm. It took some time to get used to it
though...

120 is a lot.

Could you describe where it is?

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.c...multimap.y=111

Fantastic! I've not been there, I think, I don't use back roads, too
many bloody stops to look at the map. I'll go there tommorow.

It's between Barrington and Haslingfield (not far from Foxton, to the
south of Cambridge on the A10. One side is a very sharp 0.3mile
rise. The other is more gradual but can be a bit evil

0.3 is short, but it's better than nothing and prolly the best I'll get
round here.

the other is Lime Kiln hill, Shelford Road into Fulbourn then back
along Cambridge Road (past ARM). Repeat 5 times. Not THAT tricky but
again a bit of a stretch.

Yeah, I discovered that earlier this month. It's up and down in both
directions with no actual sustained slopes.

Other than that you have to go over the A505 into Hertfordshire and go
around Elmden (between Royston and Saffron Walden. If you did the
London-Cambridge, it's the last significant rise before it went very
flat on the Sawston Bypass

Nah, missed the LC, injury. Been to SW more times than I can count,
though, but from Cambridge or down from Newmarket.

--
Callas

Lardychap wrote:

Callas writes:


wrote:

Go fixed. Happens for free. You try pushing squares and you'll find
the up pedal telling your foot otherwise...

I'll have to try it.


You'll never look back. It also makes a great pub bike.


I was doing 104 cadence today though! that's more than I'd realised or
thought I was doing.


I find I cruise at 90-120rpm. It took some time to get used to it
though...


68 gear inches or
thereabouts will see you most stuff around Cambridge. Barrington hill
is an embarrassing 5mph up (and you pulse the brake on the way down to
keep it under 25mph). Other than taht....

People keep talking about Barrington hill to me. I have *no* idea which
hill they're talking about, but I *must* have been over it. But I can
only think of one or two noticeable hills in around Cambridge, and none
of them are really significant.

Could you describe where it is?


http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.c...multimap.y=111

It's between Barrington and Haslingfield (not far from Foxton, to the
south of Cambridge on the A10. One side is a very sharp 0.3mile
rise. The other is more gradual but can be a bit evil

the other is Lime Kiln hill, Shelford Road into Fulbourn then back
along Cambridge Road (past ARM). Repeat 5 times. Not THAT tricky but
again a bit of a stretch.

Other than that you have to go over the A505 into Hertfordshire and go
around Elmden (between Royston and Saffron Walden. If you did the
London-Cambridge, it's the last significant rise before it went very
flat on the Sawston Bypass

G

I think I know barrington hill? as Chapel Hill - are they one and the
same? The road layout certainly looks the same at the north end (foot)
of the hill.. the turn meaning you have no speed on the approach at all.

It still sees me walking up it.

One day I'll manage it in one go...


--


Velvet

Velvet in opined the following...
I think I know barrington hill? as Chapel Hill - are they one and the
same? The road layout certainly looks the same at the north end (foot)
of the hill.. the turn meaning you have no speed on the approach at all.

It still sees me walking up it.

One day I'll manage it in one go...

Is this fabled "hill" in the flatlands part of the Action Research
Cambridge Wheel? It's been a while since I rode it, but I do recall a
sudden surprising ascent after a turn which left no momentum to make it
easier!

Jon

Jon Senior wrote:

Velvet in opined the following...

I think I know barrington hill? as Chapel Hill - are they one and the
same? The road layout certainly looks the same at the north end (foot)
of the hill.. the turn meaning you have no speed on the approach at all.

It still sees me walking up it.

One day I'll manage it in one go...


Is this fabled "hill" in the flatlands part of the Action Research
Cambridge Wheel? It's been a while since I rode it, but I do recall a
sudden surprising ascent after a turn which left no momentum to make it
easier!

Jon

Not sure, but that sounds like an exact description of it to me!! Not a
junction you can go round at any sort of speed at all because of lines
of sight and the sharpness/approach to it, and as soon as you're on the
side road that forms the hill, it's heading straight up, and up, and up,
and more up...

--


Velvet

Velvet in opined the following...
Jon Senior wrote:

Velvet in opined the following...

I think I know barrington hill? as Chapel Hill - are they one and the
same? The road layout certainly looks the same at the north end (foot)
of the hill.. the turn meaning you have no speed on the approach at all.

It still sees me walking up it.

One day I'll manage it in one go...


Is this fabled "hill" in the flatlands part of the Action Research
Cambridge Wheel? It's been a while since I rode it, but I do recall a
sudden surprising ascent after a turn which left no momentum to make it
easier!

Jon

Not sure, but that sounds like an exact description of it to me!! Not a
junction you can go round at any sort of speed at all because of lines
of sight and the sharpness/approach to it, and as soon as you're on the
side road that forms the hill, it's heading straight up, and up, and up,
and more up...

That's the one. I remember it well. Myself and a bunch of roadies were
leading the ride when we realised that a guy on an MTB was keeping pace
with us. We didn't realise quite how impressive this was until we saw
that he only had one arm (And thus couldn't haul on the bars as we
were!).

That was the ride where I learnt what it meant to "bonk" and had to go
in search of food in Henlow (They were doing Cambridge-Woburn Abbey that
year).

If they are still running it, it was a good ride and generally pretty
well organised so worth doing.

Jon