Use for a towel #42, and a 154 mile ride

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. An excellent book, and I have
been quite excited since I heard that they were finally making the film.
Eventually the date of release comes closer and closer, and it becomes
apparent that living in glorious Aberystwyth has its downsides - only
one cinema screen... and it's not showing Hitchhiker's! Hmm. This is
one not to be missed, so what to do? Aha. Make a joke with a friend who
lives in Shrewsbury, the nearest big town, that we could ride there and
watch it.

Two weeks later and the joke becomes reality, and with two good friends
on their bikes, I set off on my 29er, headed for Shrewsbury, 76 miles
away. The road out of Aberystwyth towards the English border is
beautiful, especially when you cover 30 miles by 9am.

At a remarkably consistent 10.5mph we pushed on, past breakfast, second
breakfast brunch, lunch, afternoon snack, through tea, before making it
to Dave's house in Shrewsbury in time for dinner. Part of this exercise
was to see just what it feels like to ride over 75 miles in one day. It
feels good! The amount of food, water and sugar that one can consume
seems almost unlimited, and we were still hungry later on.

Due to being on the side of A roads the whole way I didn't get many
comments from passers by. A handful of honks from trucks and cars was
about as good as it got. I did manage to achieve my ambition of
shouting 'it' at someone else though... a Reliant Robin coming the other
way was on the receiving end of a triumphant yell of "OI, mate, you've
lost your other wheel!!". Hehe.

My KH Fusion cover airseat conversion was working a treat, but I still
had my first experience of the infamous Butt Butt'r. I had my doubts,
but no longer. If anyone else thinks that it sounds silly, or that they
wouldn't need it... think again. Your friends may laugh hysterically
when they hear what it is, but the ego pain is a lot easier than the
other pain that would otherwise continue! Who would have thought that
the Elixir of Life could be bought in tubes from the internet?

So, we went to the cinema, towels to hand. The kiosk man didn’t feel up
to making a concession for a ticket, despite a straight-faced request
that I had got my towel and could I ‘borrow’ a ticket please? But after
paying, it was a superb film. Possibly the best kind – where it’s
possible to quote along with the script even on the first time of seeing
it.

The second day is where it would get more interesting. 76 miles is all
well and good, but two days running is more of a challenge.

The sun was beating down, our tans were coming along nicely and the
chocolate milk from lunch was just making its journey down the path to
the everlasting stomach, when my riding height dropped a small but
substantial two inches. A flat airseat. Nice. Nothing a quick
puncture repair can’t fix though, and within minutes we’re back on the
road.

Five minutes later… down again. Hmm. But on a downhill stretch, so my
cycling friends were off into the distance, so I made it about another
mile or more, effectively on a seat base. Something every cushy airseat
user should do now and then – it's good for the soul. Once we
regrouped, I had another look at the tube in my seat. The folding up
inside the cover seems to make it rather susceptible to abrasion, and
large punctures.

Any advice to prevent this?

With another 50 miles to go before getting home for the night, something
had to be improvised. What could possibly work? Thanks to the
indelible advice of Douglas Adams, I had my trusty towel with me.
Rolled up, it fitted snugly (very snugly) into the cover, and made a
concoction vaguely resembling a saddle. Towel fabric may be nice a soft
and fluffy when in a loose sheet, but when rolled tight and sat upon it
gets amazingly hard. Still, I thought. Worth it, if only for the claim
that I did it. After about 25-30 miles of the torture it seemed to get
better. Whether the towel was moulding to me, or whether I was getting
more and more numb, I don’t know.

My triceps have been having a good work out though – constantly leaning
down on the handle trying to relieve weight from the seat.

The other, more concerning, issue that arose from a ride of this scale,
were my Achilles tendons. The phrase ‘red hot iron bars’ would be
useful. During the second day they got tighter and tighter until I
could still ride, but after dismounting, could barely walk. It felt
like I might have to give up at some points, but as the day went on it
seemed to pass. Fairly scary though. I did do warming up and
stretching before riding, and after longer breaks… any advice on this
problem of tense tendons?


Conclusion… 154 miles in two days on a 29er is very possible. Average
speed of 10.4mph. Chocolate milk is good. Butt Butt’r is good. Always
know where your towel is.

- Sam


--
redwelly - on top of the world
------------------------------------------------------------------------
redwelly's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4518
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40337

...all I did to see the film was walk two blocks from the pub to the
theatre. After reading your story I feel like I was cheating Hey --
my legs were sore too! But that was from dancing on the bar after
several shots of Jagermeister, a bad move, and a bad landing. Butt
butt'r wouldn't have saved me there...

Great story! Just goes to further Ford Prefect's theory of life, the
universe and everything else.


--
maestro8 - Mad Scientists for World Domination

Those are my principles. If you don't like those, I have others. --
Groucho Marx
------------------------------------------------------------------------
maestro8's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7871
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40337

redwelly wrote:
*Five minutes later… down again. Hmm. But on a downhill stretch, so
my cycling friends were off into the distance, so I made it about
another mile or more, effectively on a seat base. Something every
cushy airseat user should do now and then – it's good for the soul.
Once we regrouped, I had another look at the tube in my seat. The
folding up inside the cover seems to make it rather susceptible to
abrasion, and large punctures.

Any advice to prevent this?
*


Have some foam in the airseat as well as the tube, so you can ride on it
flat.

Joe


--
joemarshall - dumb blonde

my pics http://gallery.unicyclist.com/album483
------------------------------------------------------------------------
joemarshall's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1545
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40337

Realize this is an older thread, but I missed it first time around.
Nice story and nice ride. It's still a pretty small club of people that
have ridden 150 miles in two days on a unicycle. Wish I was a member...


--
tomblackwood

Tailgate at your own risk.....

"By George! The man's a genius!"
Murde Mental
------------------------------------------------------------------------
tomblackwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3762
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40337

I saw the movie about 2 weeks ago... I LOVED the books (especially the
three "first" ones... I must have read them at least 4 times). but I
was a bit disapointed by the movie... something I can't explain...
maybe the french translation...
I couldn't wait for seein g that movie, so I didn't ride 75 miles that
day... I wish I had, that way the movie might keep in my mind for a
longer time.


--
Zzagg

Zzagg - Air Circus Team (Nantes)

Riding day, dream away...
Still riding, still dreaming.

please excuse me for still thinking I can write correct english :-o
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zzagg's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6847
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40337

redwelly Wrote:
Thanks to the indelible advice of Douglas Adams, I had my trusty towel
with me.

Always know where your towel is.

- Sam

Every hoopy frood knows where his towel is.

Nice tale and well done for riding that distance, sorry I missed it 1st
time round.

I saw the film and was only dissapointed by the ending, it wasn't
supposed to be about the guy getting the girl, but that's hollywood for
you.

T.


--
DarkTom

-\"just eat less pies, and then the loads on your seatpost will be
less.\" - johnhimsworth

\"i am a girl\" - amanda.gallacher

\"mud is the ink we use for bodypainting our homage to the muni
sport.\" - goldenchickenii
-
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DarkTom's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6515
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40337

DarkTom Wrote:
Every hoopy frood knows where his towel is.
QUOTE]

A common misconception. Hoopy and frood are both nouns. Hoopy,
despite ending in a "y" is not an adjective. Tut! And it's about 26
years since I read the book.

"You know that hoopy, Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows
where his towel is."


--
Mikefule

So, do you ride with a club?

No, but I carry a heavy spanner.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mikefule's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/879
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40337

I work at a bike shop and we usually suggest that one uses some sort of
powder on their bike tubes before replacing them in the tire to avoid
pinch flats and the tube sticking. It may be worth while trying this in
the airseat coversion.


--
Brian O.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian O.'s Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/10744
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40337

Mikefule Wrote:
A common misconception. Hoopy and frood are both nouns. Hoopy, despite
ending in a "y" is not an adjective. Tut! And it's about 26 years
since I read the book.

"You know that hoopy, Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows
where his towel is."

Seeing as they are both made-up words that do not appear in the
dictionary, I can use them in any way I desire. Anyone who has read
the book will understand and (hopefully) appreciate my comment.

Please refrain from being supercilious.

Or in Glaswegian: get it up ye ya wordy trumpet.


T.


--
DarkTom

-\"just eat less pies, and then the loads on your seatpost will be
less.\" - johnhimsworth

\"i am a girl\" - amanda.gallacher

\"mud is the ink we use for bodypainting our homage to the muni
sport.\" - goldenchickenii
-
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DarkTom's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6515
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40337

DarkTom Wrote:

Please refrain from being supercilious.

Or in Glaswegian: get it up ye ya wordy trumpet.


Or as we say in Nottingham, guitar tonnit yer daft bogger. Ah
were tekkin't ****.

It's a sad day when people who read science fiction and fantasy aren't
up for a bit of pointless pedantry. I have read the book many times
and did appreciate your comment. I hadn't realised Glaswegians were
such sensitive souls. I will re-read my Para Handy in a completely new
light.


--
Mikefule

So, do you ride with a club?

No, but I carry a heavy spanner.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mikefule's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/879
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40337