NotSoBigBen

A very good mate and pretty fit cyclist ending up in hospital with a PE and other issues this week just brought this thought home to me again ... Being fit or having a healthy lifestyle doesn't guarantee a long life, but it will add life to your years. The idea that we can control our health destinies based on how we eat, exercise and live is an enticing one though!

I chatted to a chap quite a while ago and he told me they want to see the cars so they can avoid something happening. Often they are riding in dawn and dusk lighting...

I'm not sure about where most of you ou's come from but at least here on the Highveld bicycle commuters (the correct name for those going to work?) ride into oncoming traffic and don't give 2 hoots about cycle lanes ....

*Consults Google for the meaning of some words* 🤪

Don't know you from a bar of soap but just do what you do I'd say! 'rather die than let me go alone' .... Flip coffee everywhere 😂 Makes me think of a local chap that I have been 'racing' for many many years, a friendly rivalry if you will, and he has that exact attitude 😎

Look I don't know about the rest of you guys but I certainly don't have Audie Murphy skills like some seem to ...I don't even know how I'd react in most real emergency situations. In fact how do you train to 'ride into doors' .... The mind boggles!

'But isn't Monday your rest day?' Aye, you are correct, not training though I think of it more as a 'therapy' session 😎

I do recall that ... in my case both the Specialized's have been fine *searches desperately for wood nearby to touch*

I'm my experience the more I have spent on an 'upgrade' the better my perceived improvement in speed 🤪 ... Unfortunately the one thing that had a measurable and visible effect on my real speed on a bike actually saved me money!

I have varied success with PF BB's in a few of my bikes .... Specialized Tarmac .... Fitted, done over 11000k's and been quiet, not a problem, still going strong! Very occasionally (twice I think) serviced the bearings but that's about it Look 675 .... That BB noise (almost from new) initially drove me to drink! Due to some Di2 issues I had to remove and replace it a few times which also didn't help. I have taken to putting 3 spots of Epoxy on each side when fitting and that has solved it for me 😎 , now at just over 5500k's - it's my 'race' bike so also clearly not ridden as much A small detail but these are both BB30 ... I just use those 'reducer' adapters to run standard Shimano cranks Specialized Epic S-Works .... During the initial build Grumpy ( @GrahamW ) at the The Workshop advised to use a Wheels Mfg BB adapter so I could run my Shimano crank using the appropriate threaded external cups ... Bloody good advice, over the years I changed to a SRAM crank and it only needed a change to the drive side bearing! I had done over 6000k's on it when just recently I bought an S-Works BB30 carbon crank off a friend ... Removed the Wheels Mfg Adapter and fitted PF cups. Up to now it has been good touch 🪵, probably only done about 300k's since then. Again a 'race' bike so doesn't get used that much. I however will keep that adapter close by just in case My 2 workhorse training Trek Superflys ( 1 aluminium and 1 carbon) both have PF BB's that have worked flawlessly and quieter than a church mouse! With 6000 and 5000k's on them respectively ... On these I just service the bearings, meaning I remove the seal and push in some extra fresh grease now and then Just thought I'd share my PF BB experience ... In general I'd say pretty good but when it's been an issue like with the Look it can make a man 'so kwaad ek borsvoed sommer 'n krokodil'!

A reminder that if the only people who entered a race were serious contenders to win it there would hardly be anyone doing them. Now that was like those early 'Fast One' mountain bike races .... I know many don't like races like that but man I had an absolute ball 😎

Good job!

Kan nie kla nie, moet net keer of dit gaan beter 😁

Slaan my dood met 'n nat snoek ... Hoop alles gaan goed ou!

This morning's musing while riding with some traffic interruptions ... It is relatively easy to become a strong and fast cyclist with some dedication BUT etiquette, mannerism, responsibility, & general logic is not a given! Some skills cannot be learnt indoors or in 'classes' ... Ek sê maar net 😜

Some super wheelsets @nick_the_wheelbuilder ... Maybe one day when I'm big I can have some custom wheels 😎 Just wondering how many other hubbers venture into 'amateur wheel building'? I have been doing it for a few years now ... ONLY for my own use that is! Often out of necessity because I know the 'real' wheel experts would scoff at some of the crazy stuff I've done ... Quite a few odd rim/hub hole count combinations and sometimes need something that I can 'codge' up out of bits and pieces in my garage saving me a few shekels. A single wheel build for me would take 2 or 3 days to get it close to true and round, often times I get it as close as dammit and then live with it.

Yoh brought back memories of a nightmare drive from Hector Norris Park to Netcare hospital Alberhoughton last of last Christmas time 🥴 - my wife had no sympathy Background was that I had had a crazy couple of months of bike falls:- Mid August - incident with a dog left me with a broken and cut nose and having lost a 5c coin size piece of skin off my upper lip (my son fetched me, sorted at the Emergency and sent home) Mid September - In a hit and run, ended up in ICU for a week with a concussion and bleed on the brain (ambulance ride, I have no recollection of) 20th December - a fall at the track left me with a broken collar bone, 3 broken ribs and a punctured lung (my wife fetched me, dik de moer in, that drive from there to the hospital was the most pain I have endured since my life my friends!)

Just waiting for the go ahead then I'll post the one's I saw

Saw some pics and it would appear there was a damn good turnout despite the hub naysayers 😜 Well done the lot of you! Any awareness created is certainly better than none

Challenging conditions on the Highveld today ... quite heavy rain during the night, another early morning downpour. Lots of the 'lying in today' excuse type messages on the groups I'm part of but don't ride with 😜 Just did my normal, look out the window ..... wait half an hour have another look then went out with a raincoat just in case. No rain, actually a pleasant ride! I find a gravel bike to be ideal for these type of rides, water puddles around and quite a lot of stuff washed down onto the road surface.

Legend has it that Willie Engelbrecht (MHDSRIP) when asked what he was training for would answer 'just in case' ... I like that!

Easy now guys ... 😜

No worries, thanks .... I was hopeful! As you say definitely think 1x is the way to go. I'm a big fan of 1x in fact so much so I now have a road bike with 1x and will set up my TT bike like that as well

As a matter of interest what 9sp wide range cassette (11-42) did you use? I have an LTWO one but it's pretty crappy and I gave up with it ... Never could get it to shift right ... Or even good enough to be comfortable to ride with.