Feed Your Faith http://feedyourfaith.posterous.com Most recent posts at Feed Your Faith posterous.com Wed, 13 Oct 2010 09:56:00 -0700 Simple Pleasures http://feedyourfaith.posterous.com/simple-pleasures-and-no-instant-gratification http://feedyourfaith.posterous.com/simple-pleasures-and-no-instant-gratification

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It's been an age since I went for a ride with some friends and came back with a metaphorical new bike. The weekend was 3peaks and friend Colin Dennis, author of the excellent Ernest Press Dorset Mountain Bike Guide. I was riding a friend's Santa Cruz Stigmata - a loaner so riding extra carefully and, well, just not quite at home. Bemoaning the gap in my cycling fleet.

Driving back after the race (Pleasure in lots of pain) Colin mentioned that he was selling his Kinesis Crosslight ... a while later while chatting about upcoming work, the Crosslight came up again and then I committed to buying the frame, fork and wheels. No details, no particular date for the transaction in mind.

A friend Jo has always impressed me with his ability to draw up lists for events and get excited about the preparation. My list:

* need STI's (units, not uncomfortable disorder), rear mech, chain/casette, cables ... bar tape ... ehm, Froglegs!

Initially, I was keen on the Microshift gearing system and would have gone for that, if ebay hadn't dangled some cheap Ultrega STI's at me and someone on Singletrackworld hadn't been selling an XT mech for, well, nothing really. Well, not nothing, ultimately, I WILL be fitting a mountain bike cassette for next year's 3peaks.

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A few days of fun web browsing fulfilled my compliment of parts, then a steady trickle of parcels started arriving to my wife's dismay/kids joy - 'dad, it's still your birthday!!!'

Unusually, the BIG (kids in ecstasy- Dad!!! look what's in the hall!!!!) 48 hour parcel arrived in 34, so last night I started a two-day build, initially planning to build in a frenzy tonight for a shake down ride tomorrow. It is always a pleasure to have the time to lay composite parts out and plan. STI units and gear/brake cabling first (like eating your brussell sprouts before cheese mash). A mug of tea and time, plenty of time. Bed.

Today, I worked from home and spent a happy lunchtime hour wrapping bar tape and setting up Froglegs (easier than I'd been lead to believe). Riding the long way to get fish for dinner, the inevitables where ironed out, gears settled in, brake judder sorted. Like a pair of Levis, it never feels right until you put down some power tests and tweak accordingly.

So now, I have an excellent cx bike in my fleet and am about to fillet Sea Bass (today's catch) and get clothes ready for tomorrow morning's cx ride.

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 Simple pleasure.

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Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:26:00 -0700 Pleasure in Pain. Lots of pain http://feedyourfaith.posterous.com/pleasure-in-pain-lots-of-pain http://feedyourfaith.posterous.com/pleasure-in-pain-lots-of-pain

The 3peaks cyclocross race is intense. Ridiculous, unique. Amazing. 60km with 2000m of ascent. And technical descent. Yes. Up. Up. Up. Down. Fast. Up. Down. Fast. Up and Down. On a road bike with skinny knobblies.

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Pen-y-Ghent is the last and most draining effort. Arriving with a clear sky, tents pitched. It's off to the pub to eat with friends and to meet like minded souls. People you know from other times/places. January dinner in Strathpeffer 2008? Surely not? Yes. Important? No. No it is not.

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The last effort hurt. Ingleborough and Whernside have depleted energy/increased lactic build. Road explosions have only served to ring cramp alarm bells. Pain is good. Pain has been ok all day - my head is well. My body is weak. That's easy to fix.

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It's all tarmac and tarmac is met with as much explosion as I have left. The slight incline has me going backward. The finish line in sight, I let my vision go and just go.

2008: 4hrs 33mins.

2010: 4hrs 22 mins.

2011: sub 4hrs and NO punctures! Huge respect to anyone who got close to 3 & 1/2 hours.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1254662/BMR_0692.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sIQgsGM0vst Philip Hodgkiss Philip Hodgkiss Philip Hodgkiss