I always find it amazing especially during the winter months that road........

Cyclists don`t use full length mudguards, I can only think they must enjoy cleaning their bikes and themselves a lot! I have full length SKS mudguards on all year round and would be lost without them.

I only take these mudguards off when in the past I`ve been on a Rough Stuff event, Rough Stuff is what cyclists these days call Off Road. Also back in the days gone by on club ride if you had no mudguards or even a rear mud flap and the roads were wet and mucky you had to ride at the back of a group.

 Normal size rear mud flaps have been around for years like the one above which I use today on all my bikes. But on club rides back in the day a lot of us made our own extra long mud flaps out of old large detergents bottles like the one below.

But these days you can now buy extra long mud flaps from a number of companies like this one from a London company called RAW at  http://rawmudflap.uk/about/

So with full length mudguards and mud flaps and even extra long mud flaps  there`s really no excuse these days for winter club riders getting themselves or their club mates covered in muck from the roads!    

I can remember as a 13 year old getting a.........

Raleigh bike for Christmas (second-hand of course) money was tight in those days! Sometime later I got one of those Lucas mileage meters with its annoying click-click-click everytime the front wheel went round. It didn`t stay on the bike very long!

Then when I started cycling again in 1979 and got into touring in 1980 I got one these.

Then of course when Cyclomputes came in I went for the Cateeye ones, and still used them today, the Echo-7 and the Beta-2.

 Don`t think I will ever change to all those new thingymajig that nearly all cyclists seem to have nowadays.
I`ve always kept a record of my day ride mileage but sadly these have now been lost, and it was only in 2006 that I started save my yearly mileage again.  So when I came across this club I thought if only I had kept a record of all my rides!
                                                    http://www.300k-cc.co.uk
I don`t know any of the current cyclist on the list but I do remember Doug Brunwin on the `Roll of Honour` list. Rode with Doug in the early 90`s when I rode with the Forty plus CC.

Here we go again the clocks have gone back so darker evenings and......

...I really can`t understand why some cyclists feel the need to ride without lights?

I always have lights on my cycles all year round, I don`t like cycling at night anymore but you never know when you may need them. A puncture or any other problem can stop you from reaching your destination before the lights fades. I used battery Cateye lights, the front has 2 modes flash -constant while the rear has 3 modes rapid-flash-constant. They are cheap and the battery life is okay, the front takes 2 AA and the rear takes 2 AAA.

I also have Pedal Reflectors that are cheap to buy and easy to fixed onto your pedals.

Also have a light on my helment, but I`ve only used it once when I got caught out in some thick fog during a morning ride, it wasn`t foggy when I left home.I once set off on a lovely sunny morning and few hours later found myself in darkness in a nasty thunder storm sure needed my lights then.

Looking at other Cycle CLubs Blogs and Facebook & Twitter......

...I`ve always wonder why so many have to do selfie? Is it because they feel left out of the Photo? Or they need to prove they were there too? Or they just like see their own face!
To me most selfie look rather ridiculous anyway with the taker head/face stuck in front like that.
Another thing that get me is why some cyclists have to take pictures of there food? Don`t they eat when they are at home? To me there`s much more interesting things to photo in our countryside and towns than a all day breakfast or a slice of cake!

                                          Snape Quayside, Suffolk August 28th 1990

                                               Cley Mill, Norflok 24th March 1989

As you see I don`t need to do selfie, even though I mostly cycle alone.

Hmmm I don`t know who wrote this or where ....

I got it from but it makes me smile.

MOUNTAIN BIKE BLUES

I am a brand new mountain bike
My owner`s pride and joy
I`ve chunky tyres and umpteen gears
I am his favourite toy

I`m bright and clean and shiny
My owner`s joy and pride
And every weekend without fail
He takes me for a ride

He loads me on his Volvo drives
Fifty miles and then
He lifts me down to ride three miles
And drives back home again

There`s just one thing that puzzles me
The roads we ride are flat
They say that I`m a mountain bike
A mountain? What is that?

I always greet other cyclists with a morning or afternoon and a friendly wave.....

I also greet horse riders and walkers the same way. Motorist that give me the right of way even if I don`t have it and they don`t have to give it either, they will always get a a thank you and wave from me.
But some cyclists will past me without any acknowledgement whatsoever! Perhaps I`m not riding the latest carbon state of the art cycle or wearing the latest design cycle wear? Or maybe its my Saddlebag or toe-clips, which are old fashion among many cyclists today.

Another thing I find annoying is the way some cyclists will overtake me (most overtake me these days) a bit too close and then whip in front of me, what all that about? There`s a Road Safety Campaign going on at the moment telling motorist to give cyclists at least 1.5 metre clearance when overtaking us, perhaps some cyclists should also be told of this too!

I`ve always regretted giving away my.........

Dawes Galaxy which once again I brought from Rory O`Brien in 1980, I really can`t remember how much I paid for it. But in those days Dawes Cycles were manufacture in Birmingham Eangland, and with every new cycle you got a 22 page owners manual. Which covered everything from riding technique to the derailleur system, also it had your model name and frame number, the Galaxy  number was CJ5823.

The Galaxy was the start of my touring, with Rough Stuff weekend along the Southdown Way, camping weekends in Suffolk & Cambridgeshire. Week long Youth Hostel tours, plus I rode the Galaxy on most club runs.

I can`t remember the year I had it respray black or why black? But the saddlebage in both photo`s is still in use today unlike those every-ready lamps!

I gave the Galaxy away to a neighbour in I think 1992 I didn`t ask anything for it just that he as much enjoyment on it that I had, the neighbour moved away sometime afterwards so I don`t know what happen to it!