Great paths, great food and company and it turned into our hardest 75 miles we have ever done.

We set off from London St. Pancras towards Luton, simply because that would allow us to avoid riding out of London, and also because our friend lives there. Dave then led us out for 25 miles north on quiet and pleasant roads.

We went out on a 53 miles ride today joined by five of our friends. Never been in that part of London before and it really didn’t feel like London. Even though we were within the M25, pretty much London still, we enjoyed some rather nice country lanes.
The weather meant that we had to put on our waterproofs four times before we managed to get home as we enjoyed four rather hard showers. During one downpour we had to pull over and wait under a bridge as we couldn’t see where we were going. At least it was not cold so we didn’t end up freezing our bits off.
It was the first time I have really used my new Dakota 20 from Garmin. Before I have only played around with it here in London where I know the roads.
There are two ways of using the Dakota (I think), one which is very close to the typical DumDum erm TomTom where it will tell you when to turn with a beep and show you a big fat arrow on the screen. You can plot a route that way but you are limited to 50 points which made our route impossible …

I’m now coming up to 5,000 miles on the Surly Long Haul Trucker, aka my little Tank, and boy have they been my most comfortable 5,000 miles ever.
But, as there always is a but, the fecking LHT is the reason that I can’t ride my other bicycles any more. As my good friend at my LBS said … “Over the years as you get older you might find that you want to raise your handlebars a little bit as time goes on. You my friend have gone and done it, raised the bars by at least 20deg on your Surly and there is no way that you can go back again“.
And then there are the Brooks saddles, I do have a Brooks bum and there is no way I’m going back to other saddles.
Dirty Pia : My beloved MTB, which I have done umpteen miles on without any problems. Now I’m in agony after a few miles, too much weight on my hands and arms because of the forward leaning position. And then there is the saddle, how the heck did I manage all these miles before on that sharp brick ?
Chutney : My Speed Pro TT from …

I’m totally against using drugs while cycling, though I do take them myself. I wrote about eating in my last post and how much it does help us up and over the various hill we encounter. But sometimes you just need that little extra thing.
Bananas: Just because they contain anti cramping agents aka potassium. And is not to sweet and just help with the fuelling of your legs. Pack it in with some peanut butter and jam in a sandwich and use it to nibble on while riding.
Chocolate bars: Plain chocolate, with nuts or fancy energy bars with chocolate is a great way to graze your way a ride.
Jelly babies: Simply the best little snack to keep the hunger/bonking at bay and will keep you legs turning that extra mile.
Carbonated drinks: I can’t normally drink this stuff, but for some reason I can drink Irn-Bru. It is as sweet if not sweeter than many other drinks, as an alternative to water or energy drinks.
Chocolate Drink: Especially the Danish one called Matilde Kakao Milk I have defined as the EPO of our drug intake while cycling. If you can feel you are running on empty but it is not time …

After I read a few of Anne Mustoe’s books and a friend asked me about what to do to avoid aching muscles after exercise, it got me thinking.
I can’t for the life of me understand how Anne managed to cycle around the world, over some of the highest mountains, through some of the driest deserts, on just some dried fruits, nuts and water. Her statement that a cyclist does not need a lot of food before a long day’s cycling just blows my mind, because we can’t do anything before we have a hearty meal.
We haven’t toured much but we have already fallen into a nice ritual while touring which pretty much is centred around food.
Breakfast:
Pretty much as soon as we got up our little Jetboil is busy with boiling water for our tea. If Britain could build an empire on tea, it will for sure get us 30-40 miles down the road. For then to cook some porridge, if we have we will add some raisins and bananas.
If we don’t have porridge we will have bread, mostly baguettes, with cheese, tomatoes and if we have peanut butter or Nutella.
Elevenses:
This is quite often just a banana or an …

Up to two years ago I never tried merino wool and was pretty sure that it was just a gimmick. Thinking back at my old woolly jumpers I could only think about how itchy they were to wear.
Everyone who I knew who had tried out merino wool couldn’t stop talking about it. So since we where putting in an order at Ground Effects we got a Submerino and a Hot Toddy woman merino base layer.
True to woolly style it was itchy but not as bad as I remembered wool would be. But the itchiness quickly disappeared from wearing it and washing the tops.
The Submerino just fitted me without being to tight and the Hot Toddy fitted Peli too but the hoddie is a bit of pain. The hod just gets in the way when wearing something over the base layer.
Since I have worn the Submerino for nearly two years it was time to get a new one. Mainly because every time I find something that I love to use, the manufacture stops making it – see Ground Effect Draft Dodger among others.
The new Submerino base layer is so much better than Ground Effect old version, since …

I don’t wear lycra but don’t mind some padding on my dear derriere. I wear a normal pair of shorts with some sort of padded shorts under, more like a under liner.
This is where the Kiwi company called Ground Effect comes in with their Underdogs shorts liner. They are pretty much liners for their cycling shorts but can be used with other shorts.
I got a pair two or so years ago, which were very good. But compared to the new Underdogs the fabric was rough, a bit like sandpaper. The hem on the thighs left a mark even after wearing them for a short while. Though the pad was nice and comfy even on long and sweaty rides.
The new version is simply bliss, so soft to the touch compared to the old. Though still a bit rough compared to say lycra or cotton. The hems at top and bottom are firm which hold the legs to you but do not leave a mark.
And there is pad, oh boy, I was a bit worried when I saw the “wings” on each side of the pad as it was very big compared to the old pad. But they are soooo comfortable. The …

My old Keen sandals needed updating. So I was looking around on Keen’s website for a new pair. The Newport H2 are probably their best seller and I now know why. While looking on their site I also found a pair of cycling shoes they called the Commuter. Since my old pair was so comfy to walk in and wear I was dead keen (sorry) to try out the H2s and also the cycling shoe.
But unfortunately I could not find a shop here in London that had the Commuters in store. And if I wanted to try them on I had to get the shop to order a pair in at my cost*), which I wasn’t prepared to do. What if I didn’t fit them.
*) They would order in, if I don’t fit them they would send them back at a cost around 25% in some shops.
I then contacted Keen US, since at the time I couldn’t find a contact details for the European site. They were very helpful and got me in contact with their office in Rotterdam, who helped me to track down a pair on webtogs.co.uk who have a 60 days return policy, which is cheaper than …

Well not really, since I will go back to them any time. I got the Lake I/O SDL last year in May simply because I could get them where as As you can see they are well worn down from all the walking. Though last month I did feel a difference in the sandal in how they were clipped in and I was at first worried that it was my new eggbeaters falling apart on me again. I checked the pedals and found them ok, then I checked the cleats only find a crack in the sole of the sandals, just below the cleat.
Both sandals have the crack but it is the left sandal that has the biggest crack. Probably because I clip in and out with that foot much more than the right on my daily commute.
I have used them throughout the winter with a pair of winter socks and some over shoes and they have been warm enough down to a -5c. The soles are much more insulating that the Shimano shoes I had the winter before, as I wasn’t frozen in them as I was when walking/standing on cold pavement as I was in the Shimano’s.
The only …