This is my new toy a Sabbath Silk Road. It weighs in at 8.8 Kg with the Fulcrum Racing wheels that it came with. It’s pictured above with the Speedy Li tubs.
My first outing will be the Chester and NorthWales CTC Bob Clift Memorial ride which starts at TheWaverton Institute, Village Road Waverton. 9A.M for the 100 mile ride.
Entries are available on the line, not online.
Last year most opted for the 50 mile route with only 17 taking the 100 mile route. It was a torrid ride but I’ve come back for some more of the same by the looks of the weather.
http://www.ctcchesterandnwales.org.uk/pdf/BobCliftEntry100.pdf
Been an interesting couple of weeks, Vita wise Chris has deceided to split and form his own club. Steve Smith (Springy) won his first race for the Vita race team and Dave finished 2 seconds behind Dave Zel in the TLI Oulton Park Road Race last Tuesday.
I’m getting increasingly annoyed at pointless Strava segment updates. Yesterday I lost a KOM Segment that someone had uploaded recently. My ride was on last years Liverpool Chester Liverpool. The segment Levers Causeway to Barnston Road 2 miles.
On a slightly different tack gearing is starting to become an issue for me again. An 11-28 cassette has too big a gap between gears at the top end 21-24-28 doesn’t seem to work in the real world. One minute your OK and the next gear has you going backwards so to speak.
This is on a totally different track.
http://nabilt.github.com/diy_eshift/
Instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Electronic-Derailleur/
Good shot of Springy doing the business.
Bob Clift Memorial Ride 2012
Some last minute fettling had me fitting a Crudracer guard to the rear and then finding out minutes before I set off that I had left my Tool bottle in the shop.
Come the 9:00 start the heavens opened, made a bit of progress only to find out the chap I had caught up wasn’t on the ride.
Going up the switchback at Delamere Forest didn’t seem too bad, the rain was starting to ease off but I was still pretty damp.
Willington Corner had a scarecrow competition but the couldn’t match Great Budworth.
Tea and flapjack at the Ice cream farm. No dog begging for scraps this year.
Climbing out of Alderley Edge I got off at one stage to see if I did indeed have a compact chainset. I’d have took a picture of the Wizard of Edge if it didn’t have cars parked in front of it.
Things start to go a bit pear shaped at Bollington as the Cafe Stop has move past Pott Shrigley, it means a fair bit of climbing with no sign of the cafe. The Routesheet comes out again. Out of desparation I ask a cyclist going the other way.
There is another event going on too as I pass a sign saying 5 miles to go . On the return I see 2 Rapha Condor Sharp riders decimating the Sportife riders.
The Coffee Tavern is further than I expected and not what I expected at all. It was packed. Our ticket entitled you to a pot of tea, sandwiches and a piece of cake. There was a bit of a delay but it was worth it. Can’t see how they made money out of us.
Top place, a bit quirky. Should be on everyones Cafe list.
If there is one thing I don’t like it’s retracing steps specially hilly ones. Heading back to Bollington there was a group of 8 who hadn’t found the Cafe yet. They were at least an hour behind and it would be a long day for them.
Thought I would have to walk on Redway looking at it but it was not to be and I made it in one go. Stopped at the top and took the picture above which has Jodrell Bank in the back ground. The Tannoy from a Fete also set the tone for the afternoon.
Got passed by Bianchi guy but he was held up by the canal swing bridge in operation.
Some classic road names in this neck of the woods, how about Maggoty Lane with Maggoty wood. Next stop was the Canal Centre where I was last to sign in before it closed.
You start to get an appreciation of just how big Cheshire is or at least how little there is out there in the sticks. Phone signals are optional.
Last checkin is the Jessie Hughes Institute at Eaton. Made it with 10 mins to spare. Got offered more cake but I was all caked up by this time. Made the finish just before 7pm, it had been a long day, 104 miles.
Saw plenty of wildlife on the ride bunnies, a duck with it’s ducklings crossing the road, squirrels and by the same token there was plenty of roadkill too.
On the final leg there was a chap in a faired recumbent tricycle coming the other way. Looked a bit like one of the RedBull soapbox entries. You can’t miss it it’s canary yellow.
Had a good day in the end, knee twinges didn’t get any worse and did ease off in the end, I need to make an effort to get my weight down again.
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