Fatbastarding: NTA log
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Yeah I need to double-check my sizing - I'm only just on 6" tall but feel a bit hunched up sometimes. A mate of mine recommends you get the next size up from what they recommend, as he likes to stretch out a bit. He'd know, having ridden the continent west-east (Scott CR-1 I think) AND south-north (Merlin Cyrene). He's the one who recommended the Ultegra gear but then he usually buys the top of range Shimano stuff.<br />
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All this of course depends on me getting budget approval from The Minister For Finance and Entertainment. And she's a tough one <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' /> -
Just back from a 25km ride - not as cold as I thought it would be, and must say the new Nike nix are doing the trick as far as the padded nether regions go <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' /><br />
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Got in around an hour which is acceptable, seeing as how I haven't hopped on the machine for a week. :shifty: Usually when hitting the 25km ride I get a bit headachey but this time was fine. Must be something to do with (once again) a steak n pasta dinner this evening :nta -
Got about 8km into the ride today when I noticed it was fucking hard to pedal downhill. Sure enough, the rear wheel was rubbing on the brake caliper something wicked, and thus was buckled. Thinking back, I realised I'd heard a rather loud POING-type sound early into the ride, and that it was a broken spoke. FUCK.<br />
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I hate this cheap piece of shit bike. I'm going to have to start lobbying Mrs TA to allocate funds for a new rig... -
ive been considering getting some gay shorts for cycling too... find that once i hit 20miles my crotch aches for a couple of days... <br />
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last sunday i got a flattie 15 miles out of london, didnt have any repair stuff either as id loaded up on camera gear... grrrrr -
[quote name='NTA']<br />
Got about 8km into the ride today when I noticed it was fucking hard to pedal downhill. Sure enough, the rear wheel was rubbing on the brake caliper something wicked, and thus was buckled. Thinking back, I realised I'd heard a rather loud POING-type sound early into the ride, and that it was a broken spoke. FUCK.<br />
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I hate this cheap piece of shit bike. I'm going to have to start lobbying Mrs TA to allocate funds for a new rig...<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Hate that! Just had my rear wheel rebuilt after blowing several spokes at different times, major pain in the arse. Lobby hard! Push the "personal safety" line! -
cyclo - I don't think it'll count until I come back without some skin :nta In the meantime I'll just keep adding up the reciepts and letting her know how much my $400 MTB has REALLY cost :happy:<br />
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[quote name='phoenetia']<br />
ive been considering getting some gay shorts for cycling too... find that once i hit 20miles my crotch aches for a couple of days... [/quote]<br />
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You could get shy shorts - several manufacturers make them and they've got pockets and stuff as well as the padding on the crotch. I think most have removable padding too so you can just wear them like regular shorts. This is one I found on google:<br />
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[url="http://www.unoclothing.com/k_shyone.html"]http://www.unoclothing.com/k_shyone.html[/url]<br />
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[quote]last sunday i got a flattie 15 miles out of london, didnt have any repair stuff either as id loaded up on camera gear... grrrrr<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Yeah I'd stripped my bike down to bare essentials so left my toolkit at home :tickedoff: -
[quote name='NTA']<br />
cyclo - I don't think it'll count until I come back without some skin :nta In the meantime I'll just keep adding up the reciepts and letting her know how much my $400 MTB has REALLY cost :happy:<br />
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[quote name='phoenetia']<br />
ive been considering getting some gay shorts for cycling too... find that once i hit 20miles my crotch aches for a couple of days... [/quote]<br />
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You could get shy shorts - several manufacturers make them and they've got pockets and stuff as well as the padding on the crotch. I think most have removable padding too so you can just wear them like regular shorts. This is one I found on google:<br />
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[url="http://www.unoclothing.com/k_shyone.html"]http://www.unoclothing.com/k_shyone.html[/url]<br />
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[quote]last sunday i got a flattie 15 miles out of london, didnt have any repair stuff either as id loaded up on camera gear... grrrrr<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Yeah I'd stripped my bike down to bare essentials so left my toolkit at home :tickedoff:<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Or you could try: [url="http://www.ugoguys.co.uk"]www.ugoguys.co.uk[/url] for some MTB-style cyling shorts as well as shirts and other cycling stuff. Pretty good site and great service. I sleep with the owner ... :whistle:<br />
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Nick, I've just spent two days at the annual Eurobike show in Germany - staring at thousands of lush rigs - from top end carbon fibre to all-steel fixed wheels. Then of course there were all the MTBs etc. Bloody amazing!<br />
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My personal favourites were:<br />
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[url="http://www.cycles-for-heroes.com"]www.cycles-for-heroes.com[/url] (stay with the German version of this site and look for the Blackjack)<br />
[url="http://www.sevencycles.com/bikes/singlespeed.html"]www.sevencycles.com/bikes/singlespeed.html[/url]<br />
[url="http://www.storck-bicycle.de/de/index.htm"]www.storck-bicycle.de/de/index.htm[/url]<br />
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So many bikes ..... -
So little cash :shifty: Relatively speaking... That Blackjack is one seriously stripped-down unit! Makes my legs hurt just looking at it... VERY slick site tho.<br />
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Mrs the Aussie and I have had an ahem discussion on the bike situation and she's adamant that the more we keep spending money on luxury items (I had to scoff, this being a necessity), the longer it'll take to sort out our renovations.<br />
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So I'm into work early tomorrow then going to start hassling the bank for a fuckload of cash. Yes a metric fuckload (interest higher on imperial fuckload). -
Wimmin! <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' /><br />
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Guys need rewards to keep them motivated. Plus, it's for your own health and wellbeing which, you quite rightly, describe as a necessity.<br />
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It may be sneaky but a high cholesterol test like Mr Mike's or an adverse physical might tip the balance. Alternatively break your current rig a couple of teams at the furthest point of your ride and phone home for a lift - she'll soon get fed up with that.<br />
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Good luck though.<br />
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The Fixie was a beautiful piece of kit - I was quite smitten. -
[quote name='Luigi']<br />
Alternatively break your current rig a couple of teams at the furthest point of your ride and phone home for a lift - she'll soon get fed up with that.<br />
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:nta Interesting. I will investigate this after I get it fixed... Better yet, I will go for a ride on a day where we have a pressing social engagement and THEN be forced to walk home and turn up late. When she gets angry, I merely shrug and say "Well what do you expect when I'm riding such an unreliable beast?" -
The Mrs is damn good,she walks almost everynight,considering she has a full on job(works in a busy cafe) she does bloody well,occasionally i go with her on these 30 min walks but often just cant be arssed.need to get myself a bike.very hilly tho where we live..yeah more excuses i know...
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One of my mates who I cycle with, happens to be a medico and does a lot of on call stuff, which usually means shitloads of very annoying phone calls for which he gets paid not a lot. SO, he negotiated with the wife that "on-call" money goes into a slush fund for him to do with as he pleases - usually means buying bike bits! Makes the on-call more tolerable. 10 outta 10 for lateral thinking!<br />
Nick, breaking down far from home only works a few times before the wife runs out of tolerance. Last time I had to bribe her to get me! -
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[quote name='Luigi']<br />
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Or you could try: [url="http://www.ugoguys.co.uk"]www.ugoguys.co.uk[/url] for some MTB-style cyling shorts as well as shirts and other cycling stuff. Pretty good site and great service. I sleep with the owner ... :whistle:<br />
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Nick, I've just spent two days at the annual Eurobike show in Germany - staring at thousands of lush rigs - from top end carbon fibre to all-steel fixed wheels. Then of course there were all the MTBs etc. Bloody amazing!<br />
<br />
My personal favourites were:<br />
<br />
[url="http://www.cycles-for-heroes.com"]www.cycles-for-heroes.com[/url] (stay with the German version of this site and look for the Blackjack)<br />
[url="http://www.sevencycles.com/bikes/singlespeed.html"]www.sevencycles.com/bikes/singlespeed.html[/url]<br />
[url="http://www.storck-bicycle.de/de/index.htm"]www.storck-bicycle.de/de/index.htm[/url]<br />
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So many bikes .....<br />
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[/quote]<br />
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argh how jealous am i... i thought that show was trade only? something to do with your website associations???<br />
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almost brought a seven once but thought i might break it..<br />
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did you get me a set of these? Â need some TT wheels.. and the rest of my campag stuff to show up from the UK so i can finish building up my TT bike.<br />
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[img]http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/tech/shows/eicma06/eicma0612/IMG_1464.jpg[/img] -
[quote name='NTA']<br />
Hmmm... bike is in the repair shop for spokes, service, and a new pair of tyres - got rid of the knobblies and getting something more roadworthy. Picking it up tomorrow and might celebrate with a 20km ride to see if slicker rubber makes a difference....<br />
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oh dear...<br />
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lets just say yes you'll be pleasently surprised how much easier things get once you've got slicks on..<br />
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you might even get keen for this.. [url=http://www.arcevents.co.nz/k2cycle/the_k2.html]http://www.arcevents.co.nz/k2cycle/the_k2.html[/url] -
[quote name='NTA']<br />
:nta No thanks William. I have driven Coromandel peninsula in a clockwise direction and wished to God I'd just cut across to Pauanui instead....<br />
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i'll let you know how it goes then - not really made for a fulla that's 6'4 and 98 kgs... diet time!<br />
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tactic will be to limit loses going up, and make use of the pies going down.. hitting the ton going down kopu hill, so hopefully be able to bridge back up to a bunch! <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> -
Just for attempting it you have my admiration - beer always tastes better after such effort.<br />
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For my own self, I am considering: [url="http://www.gongride.org.au/"]http://www.gongride.org.au/[/url]<br />
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But will need to put in some serious training over the next month as 90km is well beyond my current regime... :nta -
Nick, if you're interested, I think I have a website giving a step-by-step method for building yourself a carbon-fibre bike frame somewhere. Now, personally, I'd lay up some Kevlar in the high-impact areas, given how carbon is, but it's not that hard to do at all, once you've any experience at all with GRP, and the main thing is a religious concern for your mix ratios and wetting everything out properly. Even as a complete amateur, I've repaired holes through a balsa-sandwich Kyrwood 505 without hard-spotting her, and believe me, that's a fuck of a lot harder. I'll see if I can dig it out, as, at the very least, you can run the "Of course, it's cheaper, but longer and messier" bit past Mrs. tA as a bargaining counter-offer. :nta