Entitlement

People’s sense of entitlement, the automatic right to things by default never ceases to amaze me- none more so, than on the public highway. For many years now there’s been an overwhelming notion that driving a car is a right as distinct from privilege and moreover one that substitutes skill and empathy with elephantine ignorance. 

Just the other day I was piloting the Ka along a heavily trafficked section of provincial town and behind an elderly man on his bicycle. Unable to pass safely without endangering he, I or indeed oncoming traffic, this slightly serene procession was rudely interrupted by the high pitched, impatient sounding of the horn emanating from a middle aged woman sporting ridiculously oversized sunglasses, clearly too beautiful to be inconvenienced.

 It’s the sort of myopia oft lamented by journalist, campaigner and author of several best selling cycling books. I am of course referring to Richard Ballantine; a tremendously   influential figure who sadly lost his battle with cancer on May 29^th aged 72. Aside from an authoritative, captivating written style, he also supported me in my formative, teenage steps towards a career in journalism proper, so news of his death proved particularly sad.

He could polarise opinion, some regarding his stance toward rogue drivers as being a little over the top but while at an academic level there might’ve been some pop psychology at play now and then, his observations proved frighteningly accurate nonetheless.

I988 saw the arrival of Richard’s New Bicycle Book, in which he remarks (p240)  “ Often when cyclists signal a turn at night, their arm is lifted above the range of dipped car headlights and absorbed by the general ink of night. The signal is literally invisible” a sentiment clearly shared by Scute design who have sent me these mitts with inbuilt LEDs, switch gear and rechargeable li-on cell.

“Safety” tagging aside, their quality of construction and padding density seem remarkably good for long, steadily three seasons miles, ruling out the dreaded tingling, the extensive terry thumb wipe located for intuitive, split second taming of runny noses.

However, I’ve ideological reservations concerning this sort of technology since it implies, to me at least, that cyclists are somehow problems who need singling out. Mass rides aimed at capturing Jo and Joanna public always depict participants wearing hi-viz jackets. Again, I’m often seen wearing day-glow on overcast winter days but suggestion that we are somehow “asking for it” sans said attire seems to absolve bad, or woefully incompetent drivers from a duty of care in the same fashion “biological urges” are often cited by defence barristers in cases of rape/sexual assault.

Focusing upon my test bench, there’s been another wealth of interesting kit arriving for my attention. First up come these beautiful leather goodies courtesy of Spa cycles in Harrogate www.spacycles.co.uk. Constructed from ultra supple, high quality cowhide and half the price of established marques, their handlebar wrap comes in three classic colours-black brown or this luxurious honey.

Seamless construction won’t detract from the aesthetic, is stronger and moreover more comfortable than stitched varieties-especially in liner type gloves. Sources suggested rolls weren’t overly generous but in practice this only seems applicable when dressing oversized flared varieties. Coverage wasn’t an issue with these 25.4 midge, enabling double ups for additional cushioning in selected areas.

Talking of which, while very tenacious, the adhesive has proven very forgiving of perfectionist un/windings, so cable replacement/ introduction of cyclo cross style interrupter levers is unlikely to present any problems-especially if sealed in situ with quality electrical tape.  Early impressions suggest six weekly rub overs with a lint free cloth dipped in proofide/similar preserve will, all things being equal, retain its youthful lustre.

As for the clips, well these are fashioned from mirror polished stainless steel dressed in cowhide toe boxes protecting smart street shoes on short commutes and affording additional refinement on longer outings. Dual layer straps are refreshingly maulable, snaking effortlessly through Campagnolo record pattern cages, although the chromium plated buckles benefited from a quick shot of PTFE based spray sparing blushes when track standing isn’t practical.  Joshua remains inquisitive about racing, so we’ve been planning a new build and explored genres in more detail.

Seemingly mean and rueful of derailleur gears, we reckon the next built will be based around a small 4130 or 6061 mountain bike frameset with sliding dropouts, rigid fork and 135mm spacing, thus enabling relatively easy transition from single speed to variable gearing, whether hub or indeed derailleur as appropriate. Talking of which, harsh winter and lots of miles sees the Univega cruising another chain/cassette into retirement.

Still plenty of mid range options out there, so it’ll be a while before I contemplate adding another sprocket. Temptation travels back and forth between Titanium and similarly exotic fork options but I’m not overly fussed and moreover, there’s nothing wrong with the triple butted Cro-moly offering, especially since while pretty, said beast remains a working bike with emphasis upon reliability. 

Tempered Frustrations

With the arrival of my thirty-ninth year swept some serious introspection and longing for greater professional achievement, while still grounded in the reality that temping remains a necessary, albeit sometimes deeply dissatisfying part of my economic diet. Petty frustrations have been eroding my resolve and self-indulgent as this sounds, the prospect of having to attend an organisation awash with consultants and managerial competence broadly on terms with the long defunct British Leyland certainly isn’t helping.

This is tempered by economic pragmatism and softened with the steady stream of very fetching kit gracing my doorstep in recent weeks. Leather saddles and accessories such as this Derwent from Harrogate based SPA cycles; commuter plus lighting from Blackburn, Cat-Eye, Electron, Knog and Lezyne have all been keeping the Univega and I churning through the lonesome lanes. Some divine force must’ve been looking upon me favourably the other evening since I’d left said tubby tourer outside all night (!) but thankfully found it still resting by the garage door come the morning…Things could’ve been so different and I can’t think how I’d forgotten to tuck my two wheeled friend safely away. 

Commuter plus rechargeable lighting designed for suburban saunters by day and faster paced road outings come the evening have been a notable growth market in recent years, with ever more lumens and sleeker styling to boot. Tipping the scales at 183g (including li-on battery) this Swedish Silva Pave’ lamp belts out 550 lumens in top for back road scratching, yet has a standard and flashing settings ideally suited to sub/urban contexts. Intelligent light is another term that’s been banded about for a few seasons too.

We’ve commonly understood this to mean a system that automatically kicks down to conserve power, thus greatly reducing incidents of unexpected failure. However, in this context, it refers to the deployment of both flood and spot beams simultaneously. Despite some initial scepticism, it’s pretty close to being best of both worlds and works particularly well atop a lid. Slightly underpowered as a main lamp for singletrack duties, it’s bang on for the sticks and offers decent economy between five-hour mains charging.  Continued, positive feedback in relation to my interviews and similar magazine development is another positive facet that bolsters my mood.

Joshua is presently contributing to this earlier sense of anxiety, having disengaged from the school curriculum and seemingly entering a parallel, Lego derived universe (similar in nature to my legendary teenage two wheeled classroom escapes). Prolonged but generally constructive discourse with his class and head teachers confirms they too are acutely aware of his academic potential but cannot fathom this particular set of behaviours either.

   

Mathematics seems to be a major mental block and in my view, the catalyst but I’m at a loss how to help him overcome his sense of panic aside from encouraging him to talk to me on the one hand, while incorporating very small components of applied numerecy in everyday and sometimes cycling contexts. Having indulged in some new camera equipment, I’ve passed an old Fuji to him-there’s plenty of creative scope and he’s certainly engaging with it for sustained periods-mostly in semi automatic P setting.

This leads me nicely to these Mac Wet sports gloves, not cycling specific but highly suited to the great outdoors, they’re increasingly developing a strong following amongst the photographic community thanks to their wind and water repellent fabrics. The latter, known as Aquatec also ensures leach like grip when conditions turn distinctly soggy but mercifully also breathes; thus avoiding clammy digits. Padding is virtually non-existent so not ideal for long outings over inclement road surfaces, although double as neat liners for breathable winter gloves. Right I’m off to chase the blues away, put some more miles on the Nidd and lights through their paces.

Fait accompli

  

With several hundred miles under my derrière, the Spa cycles Aire saddle is finally moulding to my shape, almost to the stage where we can churn away agreeably for several hours in succession. This particular feat of endurance not only boasts a very personal outcome but is strangely satisfying too. Admittedly on some levels, resurrecting the Dia Tech Gran Compe and slipping it between the Ilpompino’s post cradle was a cosmetic exercise since it compliments the fixer’s slightly faded handlebar wrap.

This also proved a timely opportunity to dress them in proofide, nourishing the hide while locking the elements out. Suspicion suggests the saddles were separated at birth-both have an untreated surface and began assuming my profile at 350 miles…I’m one of those riders puncturing infrequently for months and miles on end before being hit with a glut.

Perhaps the Ilpompino was indulging in some attention seeking behaviour but both its thorn-resistant Kenda had inexplicably, not to mention irreparably sheared around the valve stem. Mercifully, while on another mission involving 4 stroke lawn mowers, I uncovered a couple hiding away in unusual places…

Sticking with seating, I toyed with putting an old Turbo that had been doing something close to nothing on ebay but Uncle Benny let slip he wanted something more forgiving to his posterior than the OEM Velo gracing his road bike.

A more befitting 90mm Woodman stem with 17degree rise and a seven speed freewheel (yes, a screw-on!) followed suit; the latter a very fetching nickel plated Sun Race replacing an old Shimano with ailing pawl springs. Talk of the devil, he’s been here all week, replacing my twenty-five year old heating system before winter arrived-it was literally running on goodwill and held together with corrosion!

  

Talking of the devil, changing seasons-not heating engineers, these Lezyne micro/macro drive lights arrived on my desk as a timely reminder perhaps of summer’s swansong and autumn’s advance. True to Lezyne law, they look and perform beautifully.

Non- replaceable li-on cells were a little disappointing but their power to size ratio and intelligent sensors that kick down to conserve power are definite plusses. Diminutive dimensions won’t cramp fixers’ clean lines, there’s sufficient oomph for out of town commutes and as dynamo companions on Audax all-nighters. 

Clutter-phobes are arguably best served by the croquet shaped micro drives that charge directly from the USB but both employ sophisticated diodes, optics and beautifully machined alloy bodies. Lumens; rather akin to camera megapixels sells lights and might earn bragging rights amongst the chain gang but lens quality is what makes ‘em useable.

Both are adequate for navigating poorly lit roads at around 20mph and in the macro’s context at least, oncoming traffic pays heed to around 400 metres on a clear night.  There will always be exceptions to this of course-the most obvious being those who recklessly endanger the lives of others by texting, or indeed watching pornography on their smart phones.

Pre season fleet fettling also meant replacing the Univega’s final outer brake cable run-it’d been cut too short previously and thus inducing some unwelcome binding. The rear hoopl also needed a quick tweak on the wheel builder’s jig but we’re talking £7.50 nuisance value rather than samba dancing. More disconcerting was the cassette’s reluctance to budge, even using Pedro’s vise whip and a long-handled Shimano pattern tool.

A firm lunge finally won the day, freeing the lock-ring whose threads turned out to be profoundly bereft of grease. I can only assume this is the result of harsh solvent cleansers rather than sloppy installation on my part. Nonetheless, I popped the cluster in a redundant ice cream container and administered a liberal blast of WD40 Specialist Fast Acting Degreaser. Residual lube and congealed gunge receded almost immediately, leaving a rather artistic imprint behind. Alas, its solvent component also gobbled the receptacle!

Decay/abandonment, urban and otherwise has long been a passion of mine, hence I popped over to an exhibition of photography taken inside an old; dare we say notorious institution that has been earmarked for housing since its closure in 1997. While admiring the haunting imagery, often taken at very long exposures, I noted a local publisher of children’s fiction looking to hire a freelance illustrator. Not my trade but akin to the old asylum, my hard drive plays host to a series of long forgotten stories so I’ve made some enquiries…Nothing ventured, nothing gained.