The Thames Bridges 2017

Its been awhile since I've ridden a decent distance so me and Bumble B headed to the Thames Bridges ride for the Stroke Association. We have done this particular ride a few times over the years and combines riding around London and rising money for a good cause.

Me and Bumble B arrived a little later than I had planned but its a pretty far distance from "The HiVE" to the start of the Thames Bridges start at Kings House Sports Ground near Barnes Bridge Station. Took me about 2hrs by train. I finally arrived at the start and got all registered. As always Bumble B causes abit of a stir when he arrives on the scene.

I was pretty much ready to go when a fellow Brompton rider Sylvia came up to me asking if I could  help with her Brompton. Being the gentlmen that I am, I could never turn down a lady in distress.

Turns out some how the straps for the rear rack for wrapped around the rear wheel sprockets and locked up. Tried to undo it but it was so tangled up I had to take the whole rear wheel off. Just when I did that the rear sprocket of her 3 speed pretty much fell off in my hand. Got Sylvia all sorted ready for her ride. She was doing the 8 mile ride so me and Bumble B waved her off on the start line.

Sylvia getting ready for the off

Me and Bumble B was pretty much ready to go but had to wait a little while for the safety briefing from the marshals and then we was off.

I didn't take many photos as I was mostly focused on making sure I was going the right way and cause there was a lot of other cyclists about I had to keep my wits about me so not to run into anyone.

Unlike other years of this ride, there was only 1 stop at around the 22 miles mark. Good supply of water, peanuts and other goodies for the hungry cyclist that has a few miles to go.

Refueling

While we was there I met this gentleman who came up to me and told me that he had seen us on this ride before and the legend and I inspired him to do this ride on his 70s Bickerton no less. Kudos my man, KUDOS.

This kind of thing really makes the legend happy, inspiring people to do things they couldn't think they could do.

Legend inspiring legends

Not long after we left the feeding station I started to "bonk" abit. I knew I probably would is why i made sure I ate a few bananas and took a few cereal bars with me. I didn't eat properly before I left the HiVE as I was a little excited to get going I suppose.

I just put my head down & got on with it while eating and drinking as much as I could counting down the miles to the finish. I was on my own for a good few miles so didn't really have anything to distract me from the "bonk". Finally caught up with a few others on the ride which made me feel much better and the "bonk" feeling started to fade away & I felt stronger.

Saw the tents in the distance and knew we had made it so really pushed in on the final straight to the finish line to the huge cheers of everyone.

The legend had done it, which big smile and congrats from everyone for a good ride. All I wanted was FOOD and lots of it. I finally found the food stalls and ordered up a HUGE cheese burger with pulled pork. I didn't even give myself a chance to take a photo of it as I just wanted sink my teeth into the meat and savour the taste explosion going on in my mouth.

IT WAS GLORIOUS

Finally had to make my back to the HiVE. Just as I was exiting my station I unfolded Bumble B and heard a *ping* I thought what the hell was that? I started to roll Bumble B and noticed something was jammed up in the rear wheel, had a closer look and found this.

I know my unfolding skills are awesome but I didn't figure they where THAT powerful. Lucky I actually have a brand new rear wheel on order from Brilliant Bikes.

I'd like to thank everyone for the support and cheers as well as the organizers of the Thames Bridges Ride.




till the next ride, bee safe.....

Rapha London Nocturne 2017

Well today was the first event that me and the legend have attended for a VERY long time.

The legend was all prepped and ready to rock and roll. Thanks to the guys at Brompton Junction London for giving him a complete overhaul, fine tuning and race fit.

Fully prepped & ready to rock

We haven't attended the Nocturne for a couple of years so I was a little nervous if i was honest but once I was on my way there I felt a lot better and knew I would be seeing all my cycling friends again which i haven't for a long time.

Was going to try and meet up with my cycling partner in crime My Orange Brompton & Mark "King of the Hills" but with everything closed off and blocked it was going to be impossible for me to get there so I went straight to the registration desk and signed up.

As always the legend gets lots of attention, a few folks said they remembered us from the last time we attended, well we are kinda hard to miss, just saying.

Under wraps

After makign sure Bumble B was all tucked away and safe I went a wondering around with Orange and Mark to check out the riders area.

Rapha Stand

The guys looking abit serious starting to get their game faces on.

Mark "King of the Hills" & Orange Brompton

Slowly but surely the riders area started to fill up with more riders and bikes. Many hand shakes and hellos to everyone. Started to check out each others bike to see what improvement have been made and any secret additions. Its all hush hush of what they have done.

More Folding bike racers

Joe Browns machine

 When I checked out Joe Browns machine I thought "Damn his got a dinner plate for a chain ring on !"

60 or 63 Front chain ring

Some serious machines for the other bikes racing today with their turbos and rollers.

Warm up area

As we was walking around me and Orange Brompton got interviewed by a camera crew, abit embarrassing but got to get used to the attention we get when in full Brompton race mode. Will try and look out for the footage and post it here if it made it though editing that is. Notied the camera man taking a few very close up shots of Bumble B, so glad he got cleaned up and I re aligned his strips. Cant have the legend looking back on TV now can we.

Ready to turn and burn

It was time to get ready for the race, all the riders gathered together to get to the start grid. Lots of good lucks and safety talks, picked a number out of a hat which put me pretty close to the back which was fine by me, I didn't want to get in the way of the hardcore racers as I was in for the fun of it.

Short video of the start of the race and you can see what a great start I got. I was pretty surprised at how fast I managed it :D

Thanks to James Houston for filming and sending me this :D

Just as I was crossing the start/finish line when I started one rider went straight into the crash barrier and it looked pretty bad, I hope that rider was ok. I think there may have been about 2 crashed in my race but I hope the riders and bikes are ok and where able to ride on.

I have to say while we was racing there was a hell of a lot of encouragement from the crowd cheering all the riders but seemed that me and the legend got a lot more cheers at times. Even more so on the final straights as the crowd where banging on the advising boards and I actually physical feel the sound.

As always I heard, well more like felt my cycling buddies though out the race on different parts of the course cheering me and the legend on, they really do stand out as I know exactly who it is even though I probably got my head down focusing on the race.

The course I feel was more technical than any I had raced before. I noticed that on the corners I would catch up to people pretty fast just cause I took the racing line and didn't slow down on entry so then my exit was much faster. Being central London though there was some major head winds in places which was another thing to battle.

The race was 10 laps and I did about 8 laps before the race finished and riders where asked to slow down and return to the riders area. Not bad for me so I'm ok with that.

Took a little time to recover and then me, Orange and Mark headed out to where some of our LBC friends where hanging out. Found James, Alasdair, Chun-Han, Roger, Sam, Alex and Chris. Lots of hugs and hand shakes and chatted for a good while. Chun-Han had said to be before the start of the race that she had something for me. I had no idea what but I knew it would be something I'd love.

Awesome wooden Bee

Awww I was really touched by this gift, the power of the Bumble B is strong with everyone that knows us it seems and that hasn't changed at all. :)

Orange Brompton and Bumble B

It was a good day and enjoyed meeting everyone again. Thanks for all the encouragement, cheers and comments on BBB and my outfit.

Big thanks to Rapha

I've always enjoyed the Nocturne and training begins for next year....

till the next ride, bee safe.....

Guess who's back home?

Finally my boy is back home at the HiVE.

His been away far too long and I've truly missed the little guy.

The troublesome top tube hinge is still stiff even though its been changed twice. From what the surgeon (Mechanic Marco) says that the hinge may have slightly bent a little so the pin doesn't just drop though the hole like it should so making it a little stiff to fold. He will be getting a better explanation of whats happened from the high IQ folks at Brompton HQ in the next day or so.

Other than that BBB is pretty much completely overhauled and riding like new. Brompton Junction even gave him a really good clean too which was a nice little surprise. I haven't been looking after and cleaning him as much as I should do the last year or so.

Because BBB is so clean I can see there are a few areas of paint that have come off so Brompton Junction gave me a fresh batch of touch up paint to sort that out when we have the time. 

till the next ride, bee safe.....

Complications...

I had a call yesterday afternoon from the head surgeon (mechanic) at  Brompton Junction London.

There was a slight complication with BBB's routine surgery (overhaul) as I was supposed to pick him up that day.

Nothing serious but the head surgeon (mechanic) wanted to keep him in a few more days. Everything went to plan other than the hinge replacement didn't take as well as it should and the surgical team wanted to do it again just to be safe. Which gives me a few more days to get some other bits and bobs ready for his return to the HiVE.

Pre Op

So in the mean time I'm riding red "Loaner" Trust me its not LEGENDARY!!

Red is a S6L and its the first time I've ridden a S Type. Finding that I'm pushed forward quiet alot and a lot more weight is on my hands and wrists so I'm glad I didn't get a S type back in the day. I will be glad to have BBB back thats for sure

The Loaner "RED"

Yes folks you heard it here first, the LEGEND will be out racing at the Rapha Nocturne London Folding Bike Race. The race starts around 17:30 on the 10th June so be there to cheer on the legend's return.

till the next ride, bee safe.....

Death of another rim

Over the last few months I have been getting the sense that BBB's rear wheel rim maybe wearing out. Under braking I would feel a "pulse" as it were. It's happened before so I know the signs well. 

Ever since I got the new black AeroHeat rims I have been looking after them much more than the double walled original Brompton rims. Even with all the care I have taken with them the rear rim visibly split. 

I basically came back from meeting up with the LBC gang that was having a ride down to the Olympic Velodrome at the Olympic Park. I wasn't on the ride itself but needed to see a few folks as I had some Brompton bits from "Ben's Box of Goodies" (once again thanks Ben)

On closer inspection I could see the rim had actually split on both sides of the braking surface as you can see with the photos below.

Splitting Aero Heat

Opposite side also splitting

It was an emergency so I went straight to my local bike shop ran by Noah who now had his own bike shop just down the road from me. Noah was the first person to ever service BBB so I knew I could trust him with my boy.

Noah changed the rim over to a spare original Brompton rim I had but told me that the AeroHeat Rim had some structural cracks. I didn't know about this and thought I had just worn it out but check this next photos out for the true horror. Another 2 huge cracks *shock horror*

HUGE crack #1 :(

These cracks where on the opposite side to each other on the INSIDE of the rim where the rim tape goes. I wouldn't normally remove the tape to look so I wouldn't have seen it myself with my normal checks.

I thought damn I've been riding with that for at least a couple of months as that is when I noticed the "pulse" under braking. As you can see it hasn't been knocked or hit anything as the rim looks in good shape and lots of metal on the braking surface.

When I got the AeroHeat rims on BBB the original double walled rims where relatively new so I saved them. I didn't think I would be changing the AeroHeat rims so soon.

So the Stats I have for this Rear AeroHeat Rim:
Brompton BWR 6sp hub & Velocity
Born:     May 7, 2015
Died:      Apr 16, 2016
Mileage: 3,047.7 miles

Quick message to Phoenix Cycles and looks like I can get it changed under warranty where I got the AeroHeat rims originally so BBB is there now getting another AeroHeat so his all matching again. The whole reason why I got both rims changed back then when only the rear rim had worn out was that he could be in line with his color scheme.

I currently have a loan Brompton which happens to be black and yellow so not to much of a shock for anyone seeing me without the legend who should be sorted over the next few days.

til the next ride, bee safe....

Review: The "Bee" Travel Bag

Well many of you know how much the Legend & I love black and yellow.

An idea came to me one day when I saw people commenting that to travel on the EuroStar as you have to carry your Brompton in a travel bag of some kind due to the rules. Well I could easily get a IKEA bag which is the perfect size or an official Brompton Travel Bag but you know the legend, he always wants to be understated. *shakes head*

So I asked the very good and talented friend Valeria Lopes (Valeria's Bike Accessories) to see what we could come up with for the Legend.

What can I say Valeria came up with this....

Yeah your eyes are not playing tricks on you but yes a black and yellow striped travel bag for BBB.

As always the build quality is second to none and its made from the same tough wearing material with the other black and yellow items she has made for us. This also had a nice inner lining and very well stitched zip and handles.

Strong Zip goes 3/4 of the way round

Long handles for easy over the shoulder carrying

In we go

I wasn't sure on just looking if BBB would fit as he has clipless pedals and cow horn handle bars which make his profile a little wider than a normal Brompton but I didn't need to worry as BBB fit in just right and zipped up perfectly.

Snug as a bug

All packed & ready to go

The tough material made carrying BBB over my shoulder really easy. Even my clipless pedals or cow horn handlebars didn't poke me in the back and with the long shoulder straps made it probably the easiest and nicest way to  carry BBB.

The mark of quality & that personal touch.

I'm VERY pleased with how this came out and forever grateful to Valeria's Bike Accessories for turning an idea into reality.

So then folks if you're thinking of something for your Brompton that's a little special or an idea that's popped into your head but don't have skills to make it a reality I can't recommend Valeria's Bike Accessories enough to help you do just that.

Now I seriously can't wait to go travelling with the Legend to show of his custom travel bag. >:D


till the next ride, bee safe.....

Shredding tyres

Yesterday was an interesting commute to work. 

Had to fight a major head wind which isn't new to me & the legend but about a mile from work the front wheel felt odd. I had a look and I saw I had a slow puncture happening. Just about managed to get to work before it was fully flat & unriddable. 

When I got home I had a good look at the tyre and I saw this. 

Yeah pretty bad. Pretty much shredded the front tyre with 6 deep cuts & looks like we've gone though sand paper to boot. I don't remember going over anything as shape but 9 times out of 10 you hardly ever see what causes punctures to begin with. 

So BBB is off the road till I get some new tyres delivered from Brillant Bikes, which have been ordered since last night. Give schewble Marathon's a go again as I've have had 4 bad Marathon +'s lately. 

til the next ride, bee safe

The Bumble Bee Effect

After a great review from my cycling partner Mr. OrangeBrompton regarding the bobble hats from Big Bobble Hats last month I just had to check to see if they have a suitable bobble hat for me.

Well ofcourse they did and I just had to get it.

I won't do a review as I can't really improve on my cycling partner's review to be honest. I will put the link in at the end to his post.

So here is a few snaps on the Bee Big Bobble Hat.

Also last week I found this great little shopping bag at my local Wilko store for only 70p

If' its black & yellow, 9 times out of 10 I'll be having it :D

St. Crispin's Day Night Ride 2015

Last weekend the legend and I did our second St. Crispin's Day Nigjt ride, this ride was 100 mile loop on St. Crispin's Day when the clocks went back 1 hr signalling the end of British Summer.

This event last year was our first "Century Mile Ride"  we had ever done and had great memories of it. As soon as we found out it was open for registration for 2015 we of course entered without question, In matter of fact we entered twice by accident we was THAT excited about it.

A quick email to the head "Minion" Rob and everything was sorted but at the same time we also had the honor of being made"Brompton Minion" by Rob and asked me to get as many London Brompton Club members to attend this ride. When entering this ride each rider gets a cycling cap & bottle of wine/juice. We of the London Brompton Club would be getting a specially designed limited edition version of the caps which was an added bonus for our members.

On the day of the ride I had to change BBB's rear tire as I noticed the sidewall of my Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire was looking abit odd. A possible sidewall failure which we have had a few times in the past, so better to change it out now than wait for it to fail on the out on the road especially on a 100 miler.

Sidewall Failure

Bumble B was prepped, cleaned and ready to go. We was meeting a few of the LBC clan at Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner, Geoff guided a small group of London Brompton Club members to the start at Chiswick Boathouse

Getting to Chiswick Boat House in good time we all signed in, got our passports & cycling caps

On the stroke on midnight we all set off. This would be a the first cold ride I've been on for quiet a awhile but I made sure I layered up properly and never felt the cold at all other than the exposed areas of my face. The route was taking us though central London showing us a few sights before we headed out west towards the first cake stop at Halliford Mere Lakes and Pavilion.

Coming up to the 30 mile mark I wasn't feeling so great. I felt very drained and hardly any power in my legs. I was really needing to get to the cake stop pretty badly so I could have something hot to drink and rest a little.

Once again it was a little hard to spot the entrance and I heard a few riders missed it completely. Lucky I remembered from last year the entrance and called out to the rest of the LBC that I was with that we nearly passed it.

Stamped Passport

Hot chocolate and a few slices of lemon cake & I felt a whole lot better. I guess I was "bonking" slightly as to why I felt so bad earlier plus it was pretty cold night even though I had layered up properly..

Our little group left the cake stop but we went the wrong way. We was supposed to go anti-clockwise on the loop that would take us to the Twyford to pick up the wine/juice & have hot food.

We had gone to far to turn around and go the right way so we just continued as it was the same distance anyway. Thankfully James & Simon where great at navigating our way to Twyford which was a welcome sight.

Got into the hall and was greeted with the smell or hot food and drink. But first things first I had to sign in and get my little "passport" stamped. I was greeted by a few of the LBC members who had gone ahead. Big smiles and greetings exchanged. Then I knew I had done the big chunk of the ride and it was just a mere 44 miles back to the end. After wolfing own a great  chicken stew which I remembered from last year and tasted just as good if not better.

Passport stamped

Our little LBC gang left the warmth of Twyford Scout HQ & back into the darkness.

It was time to eat up the miles and get this ride finished with. With the darkness & cold finally giving way to the light & warmth of sunrise we could all feel the energy returning.

The 30 odd miles to the the Halliford Mere Lakes and Pavilion for the final cake stop and refill. I charged up my Garmin Edge 800 making sure I didn't stop it to make sure I didn't loose any data like I did last year at this time. Didn't stay too long this time as we wanted to really get the ride finished with as tiredness for me was starting to catch up with me again. It's been a long time since I've done a long ride and I knew my fitness level wasn't as good as it should be.

Another Hot Chocolate, a few biscuits, water refill and a quick photo. Kind of missed the view when we first got here

Daylight at Halliford Mere Lakes

On the way to the finishing line we passed though Bushy Park right next to Hampton Court Palace, We stopped for a little photo with the gang.

We was coming up to the 100 miles and felt good seeing it on the Garmin. Just a couple of miles later we was done, my 2nd century ride in 2015 & my 3rd one ever.

Finally done our 2nd St. Crispin's Day Night ride.

The London Brompton Club

 It was a great ride and good to see all the St. Crispin's Day Minions again.

Who's a lucky boy? ;)

St. Crispin's Day Night Ride 2015: DONE

After a few photos had to tackle the most important thing the bacon roll and lovely cuppa tea.

As always here is my cycle data, this time COMPLETE :D

Just before leaving I noticed you could purchase one of the St. Crispin's Day cycling jerseys & for £5 you couldn't go wrong. Luckily I managed to get one in my size which I wouldn't be surprised was the last one.

It's not as thick as my Bumble B winter cycling jersey, especially along the arms but then again I think this cycling jersey is more for autumn than full on winter.

Bee Cycling Cap

Want to thank everyone that attended the ride, cheered us on and everyone at the pit stops along the way and organizers of the ride. I especially love the custom Bee cycling cap Rob sourced for me as well as a few Brompton specific caps for the rest of the London Brompton Club.

till the next ride, bee safe.....