Search results for:

Shit, when did Southbank Cycles close? They were there for years, a proper old-school shop and then a guy bought them in the late 80’s or early 90’s, and turned them around into a much more modern place. Can’t tecall his name but he was a great guy, with his sidekick Ross. I worked in Vauxhall at the time and used them a lot. That’s a real shame to hear :(

I’ve seen a few, amazing stuff. This one was a bit bonkers tho.

Woke up with a bit of a sore lower back this morning, thought I’d ride in a bit more gently this morning so kitted up and headed off. 30 minutes and I’m in agony. Stopped for some ibruprofen and made it in to work after 65 minutes, and had to be helped off the bike. Now soaking my lower back in deep heat and trying to move carefully. Gah.

Genuinely one of my favourite-ever jokes, that. Simple but brilliant.

I had a rubbish holiday this summer. It was my fault though, I mis-read the brochure and we spent a week going around the Norfolk b-roads.

That’s brilliantly odd.

He looked pretty fat, yeah. He came into my shop on Saturday afternoon and bought some tyres and bits. He does indeed have a big white beard and looked rather like Robin Guthrie does now, which was odd. He’s very nice tho.

But yeah, Halloween costumes? FFS.

Neighbour’s new rescue kitten, Mylo. 6 months and a proper handful

Whatever she wants. She owns you. That’s just how it is with cats.

Lots of cat reassuring cuddles and fussing going on due to fireworks here in south London...

^^ applause

I’ve got an idea that Ashley isn’t going to dumb Evans down too much. If they did just start selling Dunlop clunkers and the like, they’d just be pitching themselves alongside Halfords, which would be pointless. It’ll be interesting to see which suppliers and brands will stick with them once his plans become clear. I’m guessing the Pinnacle brand will disappear too.

Personally, as a London LBS it’s good news for us in some ways. We get a lot of bikes in with Evans stickers on as the customer doesn’t want to put up with their customer service any more. However I suspect it might mean more people sourcing their own parts online and bringing them to us to fit. Time will tell.

.

It’s still not too bad in that respect, it’s just a nightmare to ride through. It seems to be a magnet for piss-poor drivers from all over the south London area

Soz, but I’m right.

It’s grim. If I head that way into town I have to join it by Norbury station and stay on it all the way to Kennington. It’s all bad but the section through Streatham is horrific. Even worse in a car, btw.

I live in Thornton Heath so I head up Norbury Hill in the mornings to arrive at the top of Knights and back up it again on t’way home. It’s a bugger.

@JurekB Going via St Reatham is too long and I bastard hate the High Rd, mad traffix so I just grit my teeth and get on with it.

I’ve ordered a Trek Conduit 2+, will give that a try and see if it helps

I hate that stuff

Innit?

Oh, and the e-bike. Rode it back to work yesterday morning while following the wife to Denmark Hill. It was wet, I was going slower than usual and I was wearing shorts, cos the weather forecast was hopelessly wrong. When I left her I turned the motor off and tried to cane it, just to warm up a bit. Got to work soaked and freezing. Getting back on my Gazelle last night was a joy.

I got given codeine after I had my tonsils out, aged 40. It was excruciatingly painful, even swallowing the pills was awful. I couldn’t swallow water and so the codeine got me constipated to fuck. What fun that was.

Why, cos that bar won’t fit under the lift handrail?

Picky.

Re the Halfords selling Brommies issue, I hear that it’s going to be Cycle Republic, rather than the usual Halfords stores. Watch this space etc etc

I took a Trek e-bike home tonight. It was a TM2+, a fairly lumpy commuter model but I wanted to get an idea. I just turned 56 last week and doing 26 miles a day is getting a bit much 5 days a week, tbh. Plus I have to climb Knights Hill in west Norwood twice a day.

Anyway it was interesting. My usual cruising speed is about 19mph but the e-bike motor cuts out at 15.6mph (25kph) and it feels like putting the brakes on. Over 15.6mph you’re just pedalling a very heavy bike. So I just stuck to cruise speed,kept it in turbo mode and used the power to get up to speed. Overall it wasn’t any faster but getting up the hill was a breeze.

One interesting point was that by the time I reached Angel from Stoke Newington I was feeling cold and had to change my top to a Windstopper and to put long gloves on. When I got home I wasn’t knackered at all and wasn’t sweating - normally I’d be glowing like a rivet. I guess I wasn’t pedalling hard enough to work up a sweat. That in itself is worrying - my ride is my only exercise and without it I’d be a fat bastard within a month. Hmm.

I’ll be riding it back tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to caning it up Norbury Avenue, a 1/2 mile steady gradient climb about a mile into my trip that I’ve had to endure each day for over three years now. Payback.

Lovely, ta!