Apres Velo Blog

I have 2 SingleSpeedSyco friends: Bernd and Paul who LOVE building bikes and one of their absolute passions is building and riding single speed MTBs. Paul has 5 completley different SS's that has built from different metal frames to suit different terrains and moods. He scours the internet and buys all the bits and pieces and builds them. He's incredibly fit and when he rides with you it's like riding with the crocidle from Peter Pan -the one who ticke, ticks behind you....it's his heart monitor. When you hear that ticking noise you know you gotta get a move on or else you're gonna get your butt kicked.
I did an artwork inspired by both of them -BUT of course they were upset because I put more than one gear on it. SO, I promised to do some single speed artwork next.

Meanwhile, Bernd who has been my team mate at the Mont 24 hour and Ourimbah Festival of Fat Tyres and sat with me for hours while getting stitched up is freezing his um, Cycle Nuts off in Europe.

Red, rash covered, angry, sore, butt. That's how it's feeling these days leading up to the Tour Down Under. Oh, yeah, i've got the good knicks but it still hurts. I use the chamois cream with the same compulsive obsessive behaviour i tackle everything in lfe: if a little bit is good, go totally overboard whether it's chamois cream, coffee, peanut butter toast, running or riding distance....go mega quantities. So, i slather on so much Chamois cream i'm slippin' outta my knicks.

My lovely friends have been accompanying me on some of the rides: my husband tells me not to kill them when i take them. Huh? Dave has come along twice now (so it must be good fun) and has been excellent company, we did the 4 Gorges ride in the rain. It is always raining when i do that ride and that must be why Arcadia and Galston are so green & lush. Then he backed up for the epic ride last weekend up to Ettalong in scorching heat. We got a Ferry back to Palm Beach and then cycled back to Mona Vale. These have been 120km rides.  Stu came along on that one too. I've never heard the unflappable Stu swear but he did at 70kms last weekend when i asked him how he was. Totally Forked he said. He isn't responding to my emails. 

Stu got a puncture on the Woy go to Woy Woy (Spike Milligan) RD and we had to patch up his spokes with band aids. That was fun and it seemed to do the job. My favourite wound dressings are the stretchy fabric extra big ones, but the narrow ones are excellent for patching up all sorts of other stuff. Never leave home without the First Aid.

Back to the Baboon Butt: those pro riders must have tough undercarriages; the skin must be like elephant hide, thick, leathery and calloused. Imagine Lance's.....naaah, don't go there. I'm getting myself ready for the 9 days of riding and the Mutual Challenge which Len and I are doing. It's 165kms on road. This morning I rode early, getting up at 4:15am and cycling for 2 hours. I've had my 2nd breakfast and thinking about whether i can squeeze a 3rd one in before lunch.

Here is another muesli bar recipe from my friend Evan which I made and took on the ride on Sunday. It's pretty good.

Brake lever play important

 

When a road bike's brakes are ideally adjusted, you'll be able to pull the brake levers almost halfway to the handlebar before the pads touch the rims. This play in the lever travel is useful for three reasons:
 
First, it helps you find just the right braking power. If the pads touch the rims as soon as the levers are pulled, it's hard to feather them for smoothly graduated braking. Of course, for obvious reasons you don't want the levers to reach the bar before you attain full braking power.
 
Second, it helps you get your fingers around the brake levers special for riders with shorter fingers. You'll have more hand strength for firmer stops when your fingers aren't still extended as the pads touch the rims.

 

Third ,it adds a little more clearance between the pad & the rim so when you’re out of the saddle & the rim flexes a little it won’t touch the brake pad & slow you down.
 
Adjust your brakes this way and you'll feel the improvement. Then you can do something else to enhance braking control when you're in the drops: Use just your index fingers to pull the levers.
 
Modern road bike brakes are so good that you shouldn't need to grab the levers with a full fist. In fact, doing so robs your fine touch and can cause more braking action than expected. The wheels could skid and cause you to fishtail or even fall.
 
One-finger braking from the drops is adequate in almost every situation, even emergency stops. If two fingers work better because of your hand size and lever shape, fine. Most riders will never need more.
 
Braking with hands on the hoods

 

When you're riding with hands on the lever hoods, two fingers from over the top should give you plenty of braking power. Again, adjust the cables so that the levers come back about 30-40% of the distance before pad/rim contact. This improves your leverage