Heart

0

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply

The Blue Shift itself - a Surly Disc Trucker I had built up from the frame the previous year - only really needed a tune up. I'd made a couple of adjustments, including fitting a more upright stem and filling the steel frame with waxoil to stop corrosion, but that was about it. During the tune-up I found that I fitted the clamp screw on the front derailer the wrong way, which explained why I'd mysteriously lost half the travel range on it half a year earlier! I could use all my chainwheels without rubbing again.

I went for a couple of shakedown camping rides in the local area, including one where I managed to wild camp in what looked like the middle of nowhere but was close enough to the Raceway that I assumed quad-bikes were zooming through the woods around me - but were actually some kilometres away. I also camped during the wildest electrical storm of the year, which was exciting/foolish, but the tent seemed to hold up and I (or any nearby trees) weren't struck by lightening, so I called that a win.

For distance training, I did some longish rides to Leicester (on a boiling hot day - standing me in good stead) and down into Hertfordshire. But mostly I contented myself with a little-and-often 30-mile off-road loop around Bedfordshire/Cambridgeshire villages which I'd try to 3-4 times a week. A truly beautiful route, but not super-challenging.

One of the things that had cut into my training was the quite uncharacteristic heat wave we had been experiencing in this UK summer. We hadn't seen rain for two months, and temperatures in the 30s were normal. I was half hoping that it would be cooler on the continent, but also didn't think I could take the irony if I got persistently rained on. The forecast looked dubious - lots of thunderstorms were predicted.

I definitely wasn't as fit and well prepared as last year, but I hoped that with my aim of taking things a bit easier and keeping daily distance down to <100km it wouldn't matter too much. I did wince a bit as I lifted the fully loaded bike down off my porch for the first time. I had less stuff than last time, but I'd forgotten just how heavy it was...