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White Hill? As in White Leaf Hill near Princes Risborough? I've only been down that - and hate it going down! It's 14% I think and I'm almost certain I wouldn't make it up there fixed. The other side of the hill, up through Cadsden, is about my max after 30miles - and I think that's around 12%.

Thanks Ed, much appreciated :-)

We're riding fixed gear, the route is not yet finalised (90% done but still trying to iron out some hills!) anyone that wants to come along can do so on fixed gear or geared - we'll be aiming for 15mph average though so on a geared bike that might be a bit slow....?

Mothergirl - the Ahaha the waiting for payday scenario - I'm self-employed so that never crosses my mind! Payday is whenever clients decide to pay their invoices! :-)

So, is no-one else up for joining us (or sponsoring us...!) for this epic adventure? You don't have to come and do all of it, just a day or even a bit of a day if you like!

Point taken - there are other equally dangerous things to do on a bike. But I do think having headphones on is up there with the best (worst?!) of them.

Given the way many people drive, I'd like to be able to use ALL my senses to avoid the f**kwits on the road.

If you want music, fit mini-speakers to the bike! :-)

Quite simply by minimising the rubbing of metal on metal. I don't ride with headphones (just about the most dangerous thing you can do on a road), my chain is generally pretty quiet anyway, but having just spun the rear wheel, listened to the hum of the chain on the rear sprocket, added some lube and re-spun it, the difference was noticeable.

Have you tired it? If not, then maybe you ought to give it a go and see if it works for you.

And while I agree a well setup bike will be quieter, surely good lubrication on moving parts where there is metal on metal contact is a good idea.... or do you run your chain dry?

I know, that working thing really is a bit of a PITA sometimes. Like today - I'd have happily done a really long training ride in heat. But no, I had work to do! Sucks ;-)

Hallelujah for the sweet sounds of silence.

I've been experimenting with different chain lubes for a little while and finally I seem to have found one that is properly silent. It's not cheap, but I've decided that "Chain Juice Ceramic" chain lube is the dogs danglies. A small squirt and whoosh, there goes all the noise.

Blissful silence.

Topless....in bib shorts. It's like a mankini with padding. Perfect. ;-)

Thank God I'm too tall otherwise I might have found myself single for more bike purchasing!

You mean there's no-one around the Amersham area.... at all? I can't be the only one!

Make it £25 and I'll pay the postage....

The plan is B+Bs that will be booked as soon as we finalise the route and the start stop points.

The first day has the most 'interesting' hills. That's the route I want to work on a bit more, both to even out the distances and also to see if I can't find one with slightly fewer hills along it!

Versalius, the exact route details are no yet concrete, but here are the three profiles of the route we're currently looking at. They will move a little depending on exact stop points at the end of each day but should give you an idea....

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8v3oi5xp9ddrm1o/Day1.png
Day 1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/komxwxxz9ig6ii9/Day2.png
Day 2

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qg023tavpr1kbfh/Day3.png
Day 3

If you look at the scales you'll see that Day 1 is a chunk longer than 2 and 3, so that needs moving around a bit, especially since that is the hilliest of the three!

Ed - You're trip sounds fantastic - and laden too...Good luck with that!

Thanks Nick...Not sure we're the sort of people that can ride 120miles in a day three times in a row either....but we're gonna give it a go!

Once our route is finalised (we're just sorting out the finer details now - like which hills to avoid!) I'll post it on here and if you want to meet us at the finish, or ride in the last bit with us, you'd be most welcome!

On the last weekend of August, a good friend (and forum member chowsh) and I are setting off to ride Coast to Coast across the country. Not the wussy Northern version, but the full-on widest part of the country version, from Pembroke (South Wales) to Gt. Yarmouth in Norfolk.

We'd originally planned for there to be three of us and it was supposed to be the London to Brussels 24hr ride but then one of the trio fell off and broke his hip (ball clean off top of femur) and shoulder and the following day, the organisers cancelled to L2B24 due to insufficient entries!

I'm writing here to find out if anyone would like to join us for the whole thing or for one of the days, or even just for sections of the days! We're open to all the above as Chris and I already know all of each others jokes!

We are doing this for fun, but also for charity. I am riding for Oxford Multiple Sclerosis research (Virgin Money Giving page here if you want to sponsor.....) and Chris is riding for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals charitable trusts (Just giving page is here if you'd like to sponsor...).

The plan is to travel down to South Wales on 30th August and then set off first thing on 31st. We'll ride all day for 31st, 1st and 2nd, hopefully arriving in Gt Yarmouth on the evening of the 2nd September.

The third member of our team (the broken one!) is now driving again and will act as our support driver carrying kit and food/drinks to rest stops.

So, who's up for joining in?

Dave

Price drops.

Chainring sold.
Anyone for saddle or bars and bar tape?

4thassassin has dibs on the chainring.

Didn't want to start a new 'city' in the other board until I know there's more than just me here!

I'm looking for people in the Amersham area to ride with, specifically anyone who might be interested in coming along on some training rides.

I'm currently training for a Coast-toCoast (Pembroke to Gt. Yarmouth) ride at the end of August. 360miles in 3days. And yes, I'm doing it fixed.

As such, I'm regularly out and about in the area putting in the miles, anything from 20miles up depending on time available. While I will be doing the ride with a friend, he lives North West of Oxford so we don't get to do many training rides together. I'm therefore looking for someone, or lots of people, in the area to ride with and help make the miles pass a little quicker.

If you're up for it, please let me know!

Dave

PS. If you fancy joining our cross-country ride too, we are open to others coming along!

Having a little clear out of a few bits that I either haven't used or don't intend to use: **

Specialized Comp Short drop handlebars - 44cm - £15**
Taken off my Langster when I switched the bars out. Done about 25miles. Two scratches from where the brakes mount and still got remnants of the bar tape on them (will try to pick it of in any idle moments!). Otherwise mint. Will include a pack of unused Specialized Roubaix tape in black.

Specialized Riva saddle - unused - £10
Black with white on the rear edges.

**Sugino RD Messenger 42t chainring - unused - SOLD
**Taken off the bike when it arrived and replaced without having been ridden. 130BCD.

Image of the items can be seen here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nue0b1r9puhp7i4/lfgss.jpg

Based in Amersham, so collection if you're near or postage at cost if you're not.

I don't understand the brit thing with the charities.
you cycle somewhere and other people donate to a charity? how is that connected?

In our case, we're riding for charities that mean something to us. Some of the charity events (go climb a mountain, trek the jungle etc) seem a bit like a holiday that someone else pays for, we're hopeful that most people will realise that this is actually quite a difficult challenge that is certainly no holiday and will require some serious effort and quite possibly pain on our part.

If you want to know why we choose our charities, have a look at the two links above.

I guess the connection is that you put yourself out doing something hard and people respect that by giving you money - in this case though, the money goes to charities rather than you.

Ed - thanks for the further info.

To give you some more background -
The two of us are riding for charities. I'm riding for the Multiple Sclerosis research unit at Oxford University and Chris is riding for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital charitable fund.
(These are links to our charity donations page should anyone wish to donate...!)

First thing to say - this is not an organised ride! The route is roughly planned, though not yet fixed in stone and we have not yet decided where we'll be stopping for the two nights or staying. It'll either be B+B or campsite. We have one 'support vehicle', with one or possibly two drivers who will be able to carry some kit - clothes, drinks, food etc.
The date is fixed (no pun intended.....) - it's the weekend that the L2B24 was due to take place: 30th August to 2nd September. The plan is to travel to Pembroke on 30th August and then start the ride on 31st, finishing by 2nd September.

As far as pace goes, we'll be aiming to travel at around 15mph average and have short rest stops every 30-ish miles, covering about 125-ish miles per day.

If you're still interested in joining up, let me know and maybe we can meet up for a ride or just a get together (or both) to make some more plans! (I'm new here, so can't DM until tomorrow, but if you head to my website, you can get in touch via the contact page.

Dave
[URL="http://www.justgiving.com/cshadbolt"][/URL]

Ed, thanks for the info. Will go take a look and see if I can find anything.

I used to run a photo forum with about 10,000 members and while I never had a nursery there, the idea in hindsight might have been pretty useful to help gently introduce new members.
From the new member side it's slightly annoying, but as Gordon279 says, what's three posts and 24hrs really?