The combing my hair in a brand new style blog has out grown up and is now on it’s own server. Check out www.combingmyhair.com and we start with a video…

There has been some discussion on the Bike Friday Yak list about the best way to fit the Tikit rear rack. I am not sure if this is the best way, but I found that in addition to the issue with the mudguard (fender) stay identified by other Tikit owners,  I had a second barrier to mounting the rack caused by the disc brake mechanism.

Rack mounted with mudguard secured to underside of rack

Leaving off the mudguard stays saves weight. OK not a lot, it is true. The appearance is not all it could be, but the guard still keeps the spray off. One day I may use a long spacer and bolt to get the guard closer to the tyre, but that would be for looks alone.

I am probably more concerned about the work-around used to get the rack to fit with the disc brake. I raised this with Bike Friday and they suggested a spacer, which they kindly provided with the rack. In the event I was able use a 10mm spacer.

View of rack stay and spacer

But I am not entirely happy with this approach. The distance between the dropout and the stay has to be bad news. The weight of stuff on the rack creates a bending moment on the bolt. Fortunately the bag I use on the rack is quite small (only seven litres) so I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is a theoretical problem.

Good and bad news.

Have finished the 150k version of Phil and Friends in under seven hours. Under seven hours! Six hours 58 minutes and 54 seconds to be precise. It was most strange, at one point I was 4th on the road. 4th! Now don’t get me wrong I know it isn’t a race and in fact most of the time I was worried I was going too fast and was going to blow up. Arriving at Edale Youth Hostel at 11.35 I stopped for coffee and beans and toast, and was swiftly back on the road, and then came Winnats…

Who put that there? Winnats Pass Looms

…now most people who cycle in the Peak District know that Winnats can be hard. Not particularly long,  the gradient is 20%. But today a headwind funnelled through the pass and half way up I was down to 3.5 miles an hour and the next thing I had a foot on the ground and then there was no way back. Had to walk the rest.

Still, under 7 hours! Actually, I was riding with another guy when we got to the Hollow Meadows turn at 6 hours 47. The time was achieved by riding the descent to stannington at an average in excess of 30 mph. Reckless, probably. Satisfying, definitely.

The Folding Bike Challenge training is back on track with a 50 mile Tikit stint. Joolz was on her road bike and could drop me on the hills…

She's got a gap now and Dent's in all sorts of trouble

…but by ‘turning myself inside out’ to quote the Liggett/Sherwin terminology I was able to wind her in and could tell she was suffering from the ventilated arm warmer technique

Just south of Lincoln we encountered a pair of cows

Atypically the sun shone

25 miles in we raided the local Somerfield and joined the local yoof on Tatershall village square. We almost fitted in, but the give away was our concentration on calories rather than fags and swearing.

Back to Woodhall Spa we were tempted by the services on offer

A good ride, but only 380 metres of climbing. Next week, brings Phil and Friends and an estimated 3427 metres of climbing over 100 miles. Better start eating now.

As always I am enjoying the Tour de France coverage. Even more so as Bradley Wiggins looks in contention for the first British podium place since forever.

And yet, and yet…it is Phil Liggett’s commentary which is the real draw. Apparently Astarloza’s lead in the final kilometre today was easily influenced.

Training took a dip this weekend. Had scheduled a big ride in – over Holm Moss and then see how it went. Was just not up to it, cycled out to Bradfield and just knew it wasn’t going to happen. Returned home with a not too impressive 13 miles under my tyres. It did have the advantage that I could a) watch two hours of live Tour de France coverage and b) find this story of cycling redemption on the NY Times website.

An excellent long ride out to Ashbourne last weekend – some 90 miles door to door. This was my first ride with the local CTC District Association and an excellent ride it turned out to be. The Peak District can be a busy and unpleasant place to cycle in mid-summer on main roads, but this was a well thought out route through quiet roads.

The plan now looks like this:

1. A further ride out to Holm Moss next week (60+ miles)
2. A long flat ride in Lincolnshire on the Tikit (50+ miles) – largely to test comfort after long hours in the saddle
3. Phil and Friends on 2 August (100 miles)
4. As many miles to and from work as possible, including a couple of Tikit rides (round trip 34 miles)

Sheffield 10/6/09 Pic by Mysticmogg

Was on the train heading for Sheffield when it stopped at Meadowhall. All services suspended to Sheffield due to track flooding. A train full of disconcerted passenders. Save one. Got on the Tikit and took the Trans Pennine Trail back to town. Arrived 20 minutes later. The trail runs alog the river Don which was in full flow. Was pretty wet by the time I got home, and was rather disconcerted when the front axle disappeared beneath the surface of a puddle. But hey, I was home rather sat on a stationary train 6 miles away or fuming in a stationary car.

Two years ago two people died in Sheffield floods which were described as once in a hundred year events. How frequent do these events have to become before we take climate change seriously?

Recently Chris Rust pondered whether Alpine Road in Upperthorpe is a tougher climb that Hunter House Road in Hunters Bar. The answer is almost certainly Hunter House Road, as both have sections of 14% gradient, but Alpine Road is far shorter. Which led me to do some research more broadly. Hills with such steep inclines are relatively common in Sheffield – to date Walkley Lane is looking one of the toughest climbs in the city.

(Table shows distance, estimated cycling time and metres climbed in the right three columns)

And unfortunately this morning so did average speed, distance and cadence.

Turning sharply on the descent of Walkley Lane, I went one way and the computer went the other. Centripetal or Centrifugal Force. One or the other. Anyway it hit the deck, bounced and no longer works. Closer inspection reveals that the two tabs which lock into the bracket on the stem have sheared off.

Something else to replace. Cycling should save you money and get you fit. Trouble is the fitter you get, the more often you seem to end up shelling out.