6 months into 2019, it's all downhill from here!
Quite a bit of work done to the bike this month, but the cost savings of the cycle commute are still notable :)
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
New Cycle Blog
(162 posts)-
Posted 4 years ago #
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My summer hols ended with a wee ride from Ullapool to Inverness. Lots of good memories from the break, but its back to the grind now.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Heatflask update for my July riding. Has anyone else tried this app before?
Posted 4 years ago # -
It's been a while since I last posted, but thankfully I've still been cycle commuting!
Latest blog is now posted:
Posted 4 years ago # -
I like Clifton Rd so much specifically for its smells since it brings back lots of lovely summer memories. However, as you say, the chicken farm is sometimes a bit too much.
Some mornings I get a tantalizing waft of bacon from a snack van.
If I included the Livingston biscuit factory on my route, I could have a double-biscuit route, but that could be a bit too much to bear.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Smells are a big part of bicycling. I nailed down the Gogar Station chicken farm as 'Satan's own festering gym kit'. Still trying to describe the smell of summer vegetation - that odd aniseed tone over the grassy and coniferous perfumes.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Smells can carry surprisingly well too. When the tree came down on Maybury Road at the weekend I could smell the wood being chopped up over the road and up the street. I'm sure with more experience I could have identified the species too.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Surprised myself with highest monthly mileage totalled in Aug. Here is a Heatflask graphic of my month:
Posted 4 years ago # -
Anyone got experience of Garmin's Incident Detection feature? It's pretty decent, but I've had a bit of an issue with it:
Posted 4 years ago # -
@CC.CC I was just about to get that but your blog has put me off. Still at least it was a false positive.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@gembo definitely better than a true negative in this case.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@gembo, you can turn it off in the settings so don't let that put you off.
I have had one false alert from my unit which I turned off without it sending an alert. By the time I turned it off I was riding along a flatish road again so ideally it would have cancelled itself.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@cc.cc these bright sunny days always have danger lurking behind them due to cheering us up into stronger exertions?
Posted 4 years ago # -
Yep.
I now have a sticking front disc brake on the hybrid, and a sticking rear disc brake on the MTB to attend to...
Posted 4 years ago # -
@cc.cc
Stuck fasteners merit an entire forum of their own. There are many techniques for removing them and you'll find them all on youtube.
The most dramatic is to drill the whole thing out and re-tap the hole to the next bolt size up. If it does come to this let me know as I have an M6 Helicoil kit you can use.
[+] Embed the video | Video Download Get the Flash Video Posted 4 years ago # -
Iwrats, do you have any tips for getting a snapped rack bolt out after messing up and snapping a drill bit down the side of the snapped bolt?
Posted 4 years ago # -
@acsimpson
Ooooh, that doesn't sound good. Is the far end of the bolt accessible? I have a set of stud extractors that will grasp the threaded part if enough is protruding.
Failing that I'd drill out the bolt very, very slowly using successively bigger bits in my brother's father-in-law's column drill. It should come free when just the threads remain. Risky business all the same.
Soak it in WD40 right now whatever you plan.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Got round to writing a new post last night after a quiet spell. Hard to believe we're nearly into the final month of the year. I hope everyone is still enjoying the riding!
Posted 4 years ago # -
Good overview of what it's like out there at this time of year.
Interesting you got 'told off' by a motorcyclist for not using a slippy, icy, leaf strewn 'cycle' path - not normal as they are minority group that often cycle (a couple on here I think).
Good to have a choice of bike - quite possible if you don't run too many (or any) cars.
MTB would be a real work out but gives a more secure ride out of town. Did you fit winter tyres at all last year? Customer of mine had the Conti winters with a sort of rubber wand tread rather than spikes. Trying to find link for them.
Posted 4 years ago # -
It's a tough gig, long distance commuting all year. Taking a break and getting the train for a couple of weeks isn't failure...
All my injury/car interactions over the years have happened during winter. The last one not long after the boy was born was enough to turn me away for years, and now I'm back on the bike I'm definatetly a fair weather commuter. Only do short school / shop runs on the shopping bike just now, and a bit on my spin bike.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Motorcyclist come in all flavours but those that last any length of time tend to have tolerable road craft. Most pride themselves in their ability to control the machine and anticipate the behaviour of other road users.
The arm-waver may just be an idiot.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Yeah, I've had a few motorcyclists "advising" me but vast majority are good. (I suppose the majority of other vehicle drivers are good as well...)
I do enjoy and get a buzz out of the challenge, even when not feeling too well, so will stick at it for now. I'm also in a stupid streak now where I don't want to NOT cycle to work...
I had Schwalbe Winters on for the snowy weather last winter and still have them in the garage. Will get them fitted when it looks like getting white.
Posted 4 years ago # -
One of my co-workers lives in Auchendinny and was moaning a bit about the cyclists there. I remember him asking me "Why don't the cyclists use the cycling path that is right next to the road?". I told him that I didn't know but I was sure they had their reasons and if the cycling path was good, they would probably be using it.
Posted 4 years ago # -
I'm guessing they mean the very short, but segregated, cycle paths over the bridge at the foot of the brae, which are normally full of some sorry of crap. Wet leaves at the moment. There's also an issue with getting squeezed into the side of the road when the lane ends.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@Bill, I don't think your colleague can be trying very hard to work out why cyclists don't use those lanes. Even if they layout was corrected so that cyclists didn't have to wait for the green light I would not be tempted:
Posted 4 years ago # -
@Frenchy @acsimpson that sounds like the place he mentioned. I suppose the problem is that the drivers rarely put themselves in other people shoes and if there is a cycling path it surely means it is good to be used.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Final post of a successful 2019. Hope everyone is still enjoying the bike commutes.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Well done for 2019. Onwards to 2020
Posted 4 years ago # -
Keeping track of all my bike related spending over 2019 has resulted in a significant saving over alternative commuting options!
Wonder what I could spend my savings on...?
Posted 4 years ago #
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