Wednesday, August 30, 2006
What Difference Two Little Pedals Make...
August 27th 2006
I decided to invest in some new pedals for the new bike. Wiggle (www.wiggle.co.uk) had some great offers on Shimano Ultegra PD 6610 SPD-SL clipless pedals, so I went for those (£54) together with some Shimano road shoes (reduced to £29.99 from £50).
I spent at least an hour trying to work out how to get the shoe cleats to clip into the pedal but soon realised it just needed a bit of force. I couldn't believe the difference they made when I took the bike out for a spin. As soon as you clip your feet onto the pedals and start moving (holding onto the rear spoiler of my wife's car to avoid tipping over) you notice the difference. You suddenly feel like the bike is an extension of your legs. The responsiveness of the pedals and hence the forward motion immediateate and totally controlledNextNex thing I noticed was the difference in speed whtravelinging on level ground. With very little effort I got my legs spinning and the mph upto 24 where previously I'd have struggled to max at 18. Next the first hill - I flew up there even hitting 21mph at one point. The beauty of the pedals is that hardly any effort is wasted, all your power is turned into forward thrust. Other benefit was that they shoes donsqueakeek like a giant mouse as I pedal along - my previous trainers did due to the rubber sole on the metal pedal!
I thoroughlyoly recommend clipless pedals and a decent pair of shoes to anyone starting out in cycling. One tip - if you have wide feet ensure your shoes fit comfortably. They shoes are designed for a narrow foot and could pinch if you were a bit wide around the arch!
Fundraising Update
I've got my donation site up and running - www.justgiving.com/londonpariscycle
A few good 'uns have already donated. Special thanks to my mate David for his very generous £100 donation, and of course to all the others who quickly got me upto the £220 mark.
I also got the estate agent that is handling the purchase of my holiday home in Morocco (http://moroccanproperty.blogspot.com/) to sponsor me £150 if the sale goes through. If I include this I'm upto £370 already. I'm planning to do more 'begging' in the New Year, nearer the time of the challenge. Next event is a car boot sale. Double whammy of getting rid of the junk that's clogging up the garage and limiting my workshop space for tuning and cleaning the bike, and raise some money. I'm hoping for£100 at least.
So, £370 raised toward my target of £2500. Better get a move on!
Monday, August 28, 2006
What Have I Let Myself In for?
Beginning of August 2006
Thinking back it's difficult to remember why I decided to take on this challenge. Sure, I can remember wanting to give something back to the community. Sure, I can recall being keen to help children in the third world to get an education they deserve. And sure, I can recall wanting to get fit at the same time. But, how on earth did I agree to cycle over three hundred miles when I could only manage 3, maybe 4, miles at the time?
In any case, I made the "big decision" and before I had chance to talk myself out of it, or let the idea pass through procrastination, I signed up and paid my £99 deposit. Being a Yorkshireman and therefore stereotypically frugal with my cash, there was no way I'd forfeit nearly a hundred quid by dropping out. Hereby, if helping those kids in Africa who have to walk 24kms a day to get to school wasn't motivation enough, I now had financial skin in the game. The challenge was on...
First things first. I dusted down my old, cheap and cheerful mountain bike that I bought for £90 from Halfords about 13 years ago, and got out on the road. I did 5 miles first time out with a halfway stop at a country pub (non-alcoholic drink - honest) and nearly died on the way back. Even being overtaken by two ladies whilst struggling at what I thought was a decent pace up a slight incline (it felt like Mount Everest that first day) didn't put me off. I persevered on the mountain bike and purchasing my
first proper cycling shirt and some isotonic energy drinks got me doing ten mile trips in no time. But I had to get serious if I was going to do this. And, in contradiction of my Yorkshire tight-wad roots, I was going gaga at the bike shops on the internet. I had to get myself a new bike. So, mouse in hand I started gathering info on what bikes were best suited for my challenge and what bargains were to be had. My timing was impeccable with a multitude of 'end-of-season' sales just about t start. My heart was ruling my head though, and I was just about to buy an Italian Bianchi at £800 but at the last minute my head took over and I bagged a bargain - a Specialized Allez Triple 06 model for £429 (see image). Brilliant. You wouldn't believe the difference this bike made to my speed and distances. In no time I'd done a twenty mile trip to the seaside and back, at 5:30 in the morning.
I bought it from JE James on the web (www.jejamescycles.co.uk). Several online shops had the same bike at the same price, but JE James had the right size bike in stock. It arrived in a big box and it didn't take me long to re-fit the handle-bars, front wheel, saddle and pedals. But, I couldn't get the gears to work smoothly, the chain wouldn't go onto the biggest sprocket and when on the smallest chainset rubbed heavily against the dereilleur. I tried to adjust it myself but it just got worse. A call to the shop was fruitless - "you shouldn't need to adjust the gears" was their very helpful advice. Luckily an enthusiast round the corner came to my aid and we spent two hours tuning the whole bike up. Moral of the story - if you buy off the web expect to do some of the setup yourself.
So, I still can't recall exactly how I ended up signing up for this challenge, but I did and I'm glad I did. Not only am I already showing signs of improved fitness - three weeks in and I've lost 1/2 stone (I'm now 12 stone bang on) - but I'm hooked on cycling and now have something other than work, my kids and football to keep me busy.
The moral of this part of my blog to Paris is this - make big decisions and take major action right away. Get some skin in the game so there's no turning back.
Thinking back it's difficult to remember why I decided to take on this challenge. Sure, I can remember wanting to give something back to the community. Sure, I can recall being keen to help children in the third world to get an education they deserve. And sure, I can recall wanting to get fit at the same time. But, how on earth did I agree to cycle over three hundred miles when I could only manage 3, maybe 4, miles at the time?
In any case, I made the "big decision" and before I had chance to talk myself out of it, or let the idea pass through procrastination, I signed up and paid my £99 deposit. Being a Yorkshireman and therefore stereotypically frugal with my cash, there was no way I'd forfeit nearly a hundred quid by dropping out. Hereby, if helping those kids in Africa who have to walk 24kms a day to get to school wasn't motivation enough, I now had financial skin in the game. The challenge was on...
First things first. I dusted down my old, cheap and cheerful mountain bike that I bought for £90 from Halfords about 13 years ago, and got out on the road. I did 5 miles first time out with a halfway stop at a country pub (non-alcoholic drink - honest) and nearly died on the way back. Even being overtaken by two ladies whilst struggling at what I thought was a decent pace up a slight incline (it felt like Mount Everest that first day) didn't put me off. I persevered on the mountain bike and purchasing my
first proper cycling shirt and some isotonic energy drinks got me doing ten mile trips in no time. But I had to get serious if I was going to do this. And, in contradiction of my Yorkshire tight-wad roots, I was going gaga at the bike shops on the internet. I had to get myself a new bike. So, mouse in hand I started gathering info on what bikes were best suited for my challenge and what bargains were to be had. My timing was impeccable with a multitude of 'end-of-season' sales just about t start. My heart was ruling my head though, and I was just about to buy an Italian Bianchi at £800 but at the last minute my head took over and I bagged a bargain - a Specialized Allez Triple 06 model for £429 (see image). Brilliant. You wouldn't believe the difference this bike made to my speed and distances. In no time I'd done a twenty mile trip to the seaside and back, at 5:30 in the morning.I bought it from JE James on the web (www.jejamescycles.co.uk). Several online shops had the same bike at the same price, but JE James had the right size bike in stock. It arrived in a big box and it didn't take me long to re-fit the handle-bars, front wheel, saddle and pedals. But, I couldn't get the gears to work smoothly, the chain wouldn't go onto the biggest sprocket and when on the smallest chainset rubbed heavily against the dereilleur. I tried to adjust it myself but it just got worse. A call to the shop was fruitless - "you shouldn't need to adjust the gears" was their very helpful advice. Luckily an enthusiast round the corner came to my aid and we spent two hours tuning the whole bike up. Moral of the story - if you buy off the web expect to do some of the setup yourself.
So, I still can't recall exactly how I ended up signing up for this challenge, but I did and I'm glad I did. Not only am I already showing signs of improved fitness - three weeks in and I've lost 1/2 stone (I'm now 12 stone bang on) - but I'm hooked on cycling and now have something other than work, my kids and football to keep me busy.
The moral of this part of my blog to Paris is this - make big decisions and take major action right away. Get some skin in the game so there's no turning back.
