Whitwick / Coalville / NW Leicestershire Riders

I’m not out either tonight guys. My Back is still playing up, I’m moving more freely but I don’t want to risk it. I have an appointment with the Chiropractor on the 26th, I have no idea when I’ll be back on my bike. I’m well cheesed off, all work and no play is no good for my sanity.. Let alone my increased lack of fitness…..
Have good ride tonight, I’ll re-iterate what rascal said… “Lucky barstuds”

Baaah, big jobs. I won’t be able to make tonight either, so won’t get to see Danny getting thrown OTBs 🙁

Baaah, big jobs. I won’t be able to make tonight either, so won’t get to see Danny getting thrown OTBs

From a post just prior to last week’s ride:

I ran that through Google Translate and it came up with:

“It might be raining, I do not want to get my shiny bike and trendy gear mucky. I am too soft to ride in the rain”.

Weird, huh?

The case for the prosecution rests.

I hate you, you know that, don’t you?

I hate you, you know that, don’t you?

Yes. And I get off on it.

Jim, do you possess voodoo abilities? The reason I ask is that tonight’s random mechanical was contributed by me, less than ten minutes into the ride. The new forks were amazing, by the way(!)

[/url] image[/url] by Danny H 456 rider[/url], on Flickr[/img]

[/url] image[/url] by Danny H 456 rider[/url], on Flickr[/img]

I might have to file this one under ‘could have been a lot worse if I had been on a big day out or had been putting some serious pressure through the pedals’.

Oh well, new parts already on order. Should be fixed for weekend hopefully……. 😕

Bloody hell dude, I’ve never seen that before. Could have been really nasty. I got a bit distracted when I was stabbing the doll with the pin, missed the tyre and hit the bottom bracket. Sorry.

So, er, good ride then?

Shit, that’s proper ****! It went with a rather loud snap that’s for sure 😯

If you’re going to break something you might as well do it properly.

Good ride, dicked around in the woods for an hour or so, then I think we went up around the Quarry, Nature Reserve and Monestry. I’m sure Scandal will be along shortly to put me right!

I’m actually quite pleased with my guess of what had happened of ‘the spindle has spiral-cracked’. Turns out that’s exactly what happened!

The pics don’t really do it justice as the crack runs in a nice spiral from one set of splines to the other. It has borked the BB as well because the only thing stopping the coil coming totally unwound was the bb sleeve and bearing cover, so the cover pushed out on the spindle when I took it out. It then split when I tried to get it off of the spindle.

Thinking about it, this could have been far, far worse. If the crack had run all the way to the end of the spindles the crank arm would have come away far more – if real effort had been going through the pedals at that point I think there would have been quite a lot of pain involved. 😳

Still, that part of the bike is all stripped down, threads cleaned, ready for a new BB and crankset. Cost £130 from Wiggle for a Zee crankset, new BB, new pedals (fancied an upgrade) and new chain (needed one anyway) – so not as bad as I first thought. 😕

I’ve been impetuous and selected priority delivery, so should be ready to sort either tonight or tomorrow, so Saturday ride should not be affected.

See you next week – Woodhouse Eaves Village Car Park 7pm Wednesday 20th August – ready to ride (or at least ride for ten minutes before having to walk back to the car).

P.S. it was all the more galling because I felt like I was flying along, what with having a fork that actually works etc.

It broke because your fork is too short. Search your feelings. You know it to be true

It broke because your fork is too short. Search your feelings. You know it to be true

Feeling chipper after not tiring yourself out last night are we?

(Mind you – I’m an easy target on that front).

selected priority delivery

Good luck with that, the two times I’ve paid for delivery it’s took longer than using free delivery, hopefully I’m proved wrong 😀

Good luck with that, the two times I’ve paid for delivery it’s took longer than using free delivery, hopefully I’m proved wrong

You people know how to kick a man when he’s down(!)

Nice, really like the look of the Zee cranks. Take it you won’t be using the 36t ring 😆

Fathomer was correct, enjoyed the woods last night, I think I’ll have to get in there a bit more and put together a few more runs.

That is the most impressive crack I have seen in a while!

Great to be back out. Cheers for leading us round Matt, and Danny for the random mechanical.

Danny looks like your getting quite an upgrade… Don’t want to tempt fate or anything.. What’s next on the list?

That’s why I’m sticking with square taper bottom bracket..

That’s one hell of a mechanical. Will be back out in 2 weeks time trying to keep up as haven’t been out much lately.

Anyone out at the weekend?

Jez. I’m out doing my ‘usual’ on Saturday morning if you’re keen. Obviously this depends on my bits and bobs turning up tomorrow so I can whack them on the bike in the evening. Shouldn’t take more than half fan hour to put it all together again.

I’ll give you a shout tomorrow on here if I am riding on Saturday morning. I like to start early (8am ish) on a Saturday.

Might see you then?

I’ve had a spark of inspiration for the Saturday 30th August Peaks trip.

I am tempted to resurrect my ‘Castleton Killer’ route and try it out in decent conditions. It is a ride I attempted with a couple of mates two days before Christmas 2011 in icy high winds and with snow ‘on the tops’. It had to be cut short that day owing to a combination of rider fatigue, encroaching darkness and general hardship.

I reckon it will be a great ride now – even if the weather is not great over the next fortnight. It takes in some lesser used tracks (two of the lesser used bridleways around Mam Tor) and also ‘The Beast’ – which I know Scandal hasn’t ridden before.

So that’s the plan (in my mind anyway). Bring plenty of food if you are interested (although the Fairholmes café is at roughly half-distance as well)………

How many miles is that Danny? Would like to join you – I’ll see if I’m likely to be allowed

Ooo, got a provisional pass out for this, as long as granny can look after Boy while Girl goes to a birthday party

How many miles is that Danny?

Don’t really know, but a basic description is:

Climb out of Castleton on broken road to Mam Tor. Side of Mam Tor to Hollins cross. Descend Backtor Bridge bridleway. Road to the Jaggers Clough bridleway. Ride this, descend Jaggers Clough and climb back out to Hope Cross. Descend the Beast. Push up Hagg Farm or road to Rowlee Farm. Climb to the ‘junction’ at top of Hagg Farm. Descend Locerbrook. Have snack at café. Climb Bridge End Pasture back to ‘junction’. Descen Hagg Farm switchbacks, over road, down to bottom. Pick up Wooller Knoll concessional climb. Descend to Roman road. Turn left, descend to Hope. Road to Edale. Climb up to Hollins Cross again, then descend the lesser known bridleway back into Castleton.

It is a real killer(!) Last time we had lunch at the Ladybower Inn as we needed to be inside (it was barely above zero without the wind chill). Then we did all of the return leg to Hope, before bailing and riding back to Castleton on the main road.

We’ll need to start early and take our time – it’s not a route for early climbing heroics(!)

Sounds great Danny, certainly looking forward to it. Possible to get an early start?

Wot no Cave Dale? Surely no ride around Castleton is complete without a trip down cave dale with a massive comedy OTB landing at some narky red-sock’s feet

You can add on a loop at the end to take in Cave Dale if you like……….

Seriously, though – one way to do it would be to climb Chapel Gate and road it over to Cave Dale at the end(?)

I’m pretty certain that would be a bridge too far for me, though…….

Can’t say I’d be sad to skip it. I’ve already ridden it all 3 possible ways (on my wheels, on my feet, and on my arse)

Can’t say I’d be sad to skip it. I’ve already ridden it all 3 possible ways (on my wheels, on my feet, and on my arse)

I was hoping you’d say that.

Jez (and anyone else who’s up for a morning outing tomorrow) – my components have arrived safely and will be put onto the bike this evening – so if you want to kick off a 3 – 3.5 hour ride at 8am tomorrow morning in Woodhouse Eaves, you are more than welcome!

Post up if you want to come.

Can’t make tomorrow but glad my prediction on the delivery was wrong 😀

Anyway, as it’s a slow afternoon in the office and I’ve nothing better to do, I’ve just plotted Dan’s intended route. Think I’ve got it right, though not sure on way back up Mam Tor. 23.74miles (38.2k if your that way inclined) with 1,168m of climb!

Looks like a nice route that, should be a laugh 🙂

Might be able to make a ride tomorrow too, depending on ‘er indoors. Usual start point at 8am?

Usual start point at 8am?

Yes – Jez, if you are coming it is the village car park, not the Curzon like last time(!)

Looks like a nice route that, should be a laugh

Yep – but it will definitely be one for marshalling of energy early on. The café stop options are pretty good, mind – Fairholmes lunch (definite). Small diversion to Woodbine at Hope (maybe, but probably not). Pre-last climb Edale station café (almost certainly).

With this in mind an early-ish start is the best option – that way we can take our time and enjoy it, rather than it becoming a hack.

Sounds smashin. So when you say “early”, what time in Castleton? And which carpark?

Sounds smashin. So when you say “early”, what time in Castleton? And which carpark?

You’re not getting mixed up here are you?

Tomorrow (16th) = local ride starting WE village car park at 8am.

Castleton is 30th Aug = start in ‘last’ pay and display in Castleton as you go out towards Winnats. Probably want to be turning pedals BY 9am at latest. We don’t have to use the car park, however, as there are loads of free parking bays on the roads out towards Winnats.

Hope this is not genuine confusion?!

no, this is not “genuine confusion”, I do realise that tomorrow’s local ride and the 30th’s peak ride are not the same thing. I’d already established that tomorrow was 8am in WE, I was merely enquiring as to when and from where you expected the big ride on the 30th to start.

Fool

Good – I just didn’t want you merrily chugging off to the Peaks tomorrow by mistake.

See you in the morning Mr Bastardos Belowski.

You two need to get a room 😀

Arrghh ffs, I can’t make it tomorrow now. The missus has pissed all over my plans 🙁

I can feel a tantrum coming on

C u at village car park at 8am

See you in the morning Jez. Bad luck Jim lad.

New crankset and pedals on. I quite like it, but cranks are just cranks at the end of the day, really(!)

Fathomer, you have the route spot in except for the last climb onto Mam Tor (as you said). I was planning to go all the way to Edale on the road and do the ‘main’ climb as

A) it is easier than climbing from backtor bridge

B) it allows an Edale cafe stop.

It’s going to be a great ride, so long as we can ward off cramp. The last time I tried it we had to bail, I ended up rolling into Castleton with one leg stuck out straight to the side. Mind you, the first climb was into the teeth of an epic gale that was pitching stones off the hillside at us. Each of us got spun around 180 by the wind on that climb at least twice. Leaving the sanctuary of the Ladybower Inn at half time was difficult. We opted to descend the Beast as the gale was blowing straight up potato alley and so would have meant pedalling all the way down that.

That is an option this time, but as Scandal hasn’t ridden the Beast before, I thought we’d go that way.

Anyway, with a nice long August day on our side, we won’t be under any pressure.

Scandal.

Just to whet your appetite for The Beast: