July report

Some of the blogs I read contain a small summary of the mileages ridden, weather and other assorted information. It's quite interesting to see, especially if you know the person is training for an objective such as an event. I'm neither training for an event or fastidious enough to record that level of detail. I do know roughly how many miles I've done and July being a good month, I'm proudly displaying my stats today.

Commuting has been pleasant, wearing shorts every day. The route has not been as fluid of late with 2 sets of temporary traffic lights, but during the holiday period, now the schools are off, the roads are much quieter so that makes up for it and makes for a more leisurely ride. I know July has had some wet and cool weather locally in the North West but I've managed to avoid it by having a touring holiday in Germany - more detail to come...I've a lot of catching up to do since things have been so busy of late.

There won't be many months I will ride more than two or three hundred miles, but now I have, it's something to aim for again.

Commute: 63 miles
Leisure/training: 107 miles
Touring: 502 miles
Weather: warm and sometime wet

Blackburn Grand Prix

Last night Blackburn town centre hosted a number of criterium races around a half mile course around the shopping centre. The public were encouraged to have a go before the official races got underway. It's good to see local events like this encouraging participation.

Forest trails expand in England

There may be a long way to go to catch up on Wales and Scotland for mountain bike trails, but every bit helps. The recently (partly) opened Altura trail in Whinlatter Forest in the Lake District looks nice. Singletrack MTBers will want to add it to their todo lists. There is a map on the Forestry Commission website of where these man-made trails are in Whinlatter. They circle round Hospital Plantation, Comb Plantation and Beckstones Plantation through some steep and windy forest.

Looking at that map brought back memories of cold November days watching the RAC rally as powerful rally cars tackled the tricky forest roads. These days Rally GB doesn't get out of South Wales, so it is fitting that man-powered craft have replaced them in the Lakes.

Single Track Magazine reviewed it here.

Forestry Commission link.

Gear review: Dawes 'Sport/Touring' saddle

I originally titled this post 'What is this instrument of torture?', so you can guess the conclusion of this review.

Having recently got a touring bike, I thought I'd post some of my experiences with it. More details about the bike and ride will follow in future posts, but this entry is about the immediate changes needed to be comfortable on the initial rides. The bike is the entry level Dawes tourer, the Horizon model. Being at the entry level means some 'value engineering' and one of the parts that must have saved some money is the 'saddle', seen above. The brochure describes it as a 'sport saddle' on one page whilst on another it calls it 'touring'.

I put saddle in quotes because it is a euphamistic term for this perch looking approximation for what cyclists might sit on, but it transpires it isn't anything of the sort. In fact it is something far removed from that and should only be used to inflict pain on an unsuspecting enemy. It was obvious from the start, the saddle was uncomfortable and probably had to go but I decided to try it just to be sure. I was soon wishing I hadn't.

If you're a regular reader, you probably realise I frequently ride but I don't often do large mileages. Recently, I've been on a few longer rides and can use those for comparison of this new saddle. My existing commuter has a Specialized spongy rubber type saddle and has been comfortable when I've done 30-40 miles. My mountain bike has a stock Scott saddle that came with it and is not so comfortable for a full day out but is tolerable nonetheless.

One of the first rides on the Dawes was for a distance of 27 miles. Three days later I was still suffering. I like to think of myself as fairly normal when it comes to body shape (though others might dispute this conjecture) but this Dawes saddle was definitely not made for a human. Whilst it looks like it has been anatomically designed with a cut out for the perineum, there is insufficient area at the rear to spread the load and nearer the nose of the the saddle, the edges of the cut-out create pressure points that cause soreness after only a few miles.

So the saddle has to go. It'll probably end up in the bin although I'm tempted to offer it for sale on an SM site!

What to replace it with? There are so many saddles to choose, many having elaborate and scientific designs using high tech materials and gels. Having had a Brooks leather saddle in the past, I decided to eschew these modern contraptions and replace it with a B17 standard. I'm taking a long term view, understanding these saddles adapt to the shape of the rider and therefore need a 'running-in' period, which can be about 12 months. Some riders find them comfortable from day one. I'm certainly anticipating a better initial experience with the new Brooks
but if I'm not totally comfortable with it before our tour in July, I'll temporarily swap the saddle from my commuter.

Carboard bike - whatever next?

I don't know what they're smoking over in Sheffield but it must be good stuff. Final year student, Phil Bridge, has designed a hexocomb structured cardboard bike that costs only £15 to make. The concept is based on the idea that companies wanting to advertise can use these disposable bikes to promote their wares and because the bike doesn't cost much it won't be attractive to thieves.

It sounds like a wacky idea until you realise this is a serious project of the Product Design course at Sheffield Hallam University. It's waterproof and should stand up to 6 months of constant use.

Sheffield Hallam article link

BBC video link