There comes a time in the creative process where fatigue strikes, and I’m both numb of bum and brain. This is fleeting and easily dismissed on the road, or trail. Well, assuming of course, I’m not breaking in a traditional leather saddle. The saddle is where I do much of my contemplation of wider dilemmas and escape life’s exhausting noise. Chances are, come a ride's end, whether it be 20 or 50 miles, I’ve mentally drafted a plan of action and just need to transcribe.
The present political climate,
the mobilization of people towards a very dark avenue often creeps into my
thoughts. Not on the bike specifically, but my rights to ride, to be, to live
and let live aren’t something I take for granted. Fascism doesn’t ignite or become
tolerated overnight, rather, it knocks politely and speaks softly. The rhetoric
is steadily dialled higher, mobilising people from outrage to organised street
violence. Extremist views then become mainstream and normalised.
There’s also a lot of money to be
made. Nothing new, we’ve been here before. The same “patriots” engaging in the
street violence, intimidation will talk about their grandfathers and great
grandfathers' participation in World War II. They will do so with pride,
oblivious to the fact these men were battling against precisely the fascism
they are buying into and fuelling. These politics of rage are also intertwined
with anti-intellectualism and a profound lack of critical thought.
Meandering along the lanes,
turning a steady cadence aboard Muffin, engaging the brake lever and feeling
the Spyre SLC bite the rotor progressively, it occurred to me. I’ve a tendency
to ignore rear brakes much of the time. In addition to double- checking the
alignment and piston travel, I needed to go back to basics bedding in Ursula’s
rear brake. Get those pads and rotor nice and warm along some sweeping
descents, bring the bike progressively to a walking pace. Rinse and repeat until
optimised.
I’d also come across a NOS
Shimano BR517 at a very tempting price, so indulged as a contingency. It’s a
single-piston model and surprisingly compact alongside a Spyre. Yes, my
temptation is palpable. However, I’m determined to get an impeccably behaved
Spyre. I also decided to get a little more scientific with calliper alignment,
courtesy of this tool.
Progressively cooler weather and
falling leaves has seen my sudden switch to 3/4lengths and this Castelli Do Di
Ci Jacket Castelli Do Di
Ci Jacket | cycling-not-racing. Temperatures have typically around 9, or 10
degrees when I’ve headed out, creeping up to 13 or 14. At the upper end, arm
warmers and a micro jacket should suffice, especially if rest stops aren’t planned
but flats or similar sneaky mechanical can flip the script.
I’m still defaulting to mitts,
although occasionally it's been cold enough that I’ve reached for these Cycology Life
Behind Bars MTB Gloves Cycology
Life Behind Bars MTB Gloves | cycling-not-racing Talking of script flipping, shorter days and
longer nights have seen the arrival of these Msagicshine Ray 3000 Endurance
Bike Light with ANT+ and Seemee400 ANT+. The Ray 3000 Endurance Bike Light With
ANT+ boasts a maximum of 3,000lumens and eight modes, carried across three
settings and sequences. Starting with the low beam, which in my view covers
most bases of road riding. We have 375lumens (cited as a 22.5-hour run time),
two 750lumens (10.5 hours and 13.5 hours) and 1500lumens (4.5 hours). Next
comes a hybrid setting comprising of 1500lumens (6.5 hours) and the full
3,000lumens (3hours).
Finally, there are two flashing
modes, only accessible via the wireless remote. One of the traditional
limitations of integrated battery models are run times, especially in the
highest settings. These might be fine for those who primarily ride through the
suburbs but want to let loose along the backroads for a few miles. However, the
10000mAh lithium-ion cell employed here promises 4.5 hours from the 1500lumens,
which is practical for longer exploratory rides. 3,000lumens is really for
trail and gravel duties.
Night flash ranges between 165
and 900lumens. I was initially curious as to whether the remote from other
models, including the Hori 1300 Magicshine
HORI 1300 Front Light | cycling-not-racing would also engage the Ray3000. I wasn’t expecting it to, but stranger things
have happened. Staying with the remote, I’ve
mounted ours to lever hoods for convenient, mid-ride toggling. Aside from
illustrative purposes, I’ve positioned it inboard to prevent potential damage
in the event of a spill. It can also be paired with some computer head mounts
for further tunability.
The nicely machined stock mount
required two shims to achieve vice-like tenure on the Genetic Neuron Accessory Bar GENETIC
NEURON ACCESSORY BAR | cycling-not-racing
Rather than porting over, I’ve gone with Denise’s stem mount and resurrected
the OEM Coospo CS600 Coospo
CS600 GPS | cycling-not-racing- I may replace it with another of the
Magicshine Allty …
The Seeme 400 is another design producing
400lumens in the braking and daylight flash. There are five modes catering for most riding contexts. Three
flashing and two steady. There’s a third
diode poking out from a turret at the base. Referred to as the “Optitracing”
light it casts a broad arc at the tarmac, which is really effective. The Seemee
200 V2 was my first introduction to the Optitracing concept, and both these lights seem particularly good
choices for trailers, recumbents, tandems and tagalongs. The 1600mAh lithium-ion
cell also ensures generous run times.
On the subject of upgrades, I’ll retire Denise’s Venerable Tektro levers for Dia Compe GC08H come the next cable change. These Genetic Karyotype bottom brackets are earmarked for the Holdsworth and Muffin when their existing units get the grumbles. Muffin will have a 42-tooth Tibia chain ring next time round.
