The Racer arrives!

The Plug racer is here! So after my little round of test riding the regular Plug, I opted for the racer version - slighly more bling and all the better for it. I swapped out the drop handlebars and stuck on the straight ones - and am slowly getting used to them. Evans had a good deal where they add on an extra 10% of your ride to work voucher - so I got some extra goodies, trackpump, new computer, and some see through grips for the handlebars.

First real blast along the crisp and sunny seafront this morning was an absolute joy.


This bike is going to keep me well fit, especially when riding against the wind. Have not switched it to fixed yet, but working on that.

The bike room under the office is now becoming a little charge bikes treasure trove. Lovely.

Fixed

Last post on the Plug. So I flipped the hub around and rode it into work fixed. Strange to begin with, but ultimately I did like the feeling of being more in control, and just having to be more aware of your environment and the road ahead. Twice I found the pedal kicking my leg back up though - first when I realised I had to stop at the junction (and couldnt flip the pedal back to start again, and had to do a lame little walk to get going) and secondly when I was going to hop up a kerb, and out of habit started to coast..but couldnt found my back leg popping off again! Apart from those 2 little incidents I enjoyed it - not sure if I am converted yet to ride fully fixed, but I am definitely going to invest in a similar single speed bike. Probably the Plug racer, black frame and red chain does it for me.

Charge Spoon saddle

After having blasted home on Friday night in torrential rain, I can safely say the bikes brakes work well when wet! Unfortunately because of moving flat and things I didnt get to ride it over the weekend, so I only have more night to ride it. On the run in this morning, I had raised the saddle a little and the fit felt better - and faster. I love the Spoon saddle - have been riding this for a few months on my other bike and it is definitely a good balance between comfort and weight -plus of course here they look well fly in brown! The only thing I think I would change on this bike is the handlebars - I would probably put some straight ones on, not sure what kind of grips you would use though. Tonight I'll flip the hub and probably crash on my way to work tomorrow. Wish me luck. As an aside, here is my current favourite bike related video clip. Nuts.

Massan from MACAFRAMA on Vimeo.

Charge Plug Test ride

First in a series of posts, having got my hands on the 2010 Charge Plug..kindly donated by our friends at Evans Cycles.


I have been hankering after one of these for a while, been keen to see what the ride is like. After picking it up last night first job was to whip off the ugly plastic chain guard (why cover something so pleasing to the eye?), bells, reflector etc. All about the aesthetics. Second job was to think about whether to fix the hub or not, and decided I am not brave enough for that just yet.

Doesn't it look lovely?


This morning I took it along the seafront to work. First impression? Speed. Lovely. The feeling of not having to think about changing gears is great! Compared to my Stumpjumper this thing is very nimble. When the wind got up and pedalling became hard, I found my thumbs automatically looking for a gear lever. It really is quite liberating not thinking about which gear...but also quite tiring..so I think riding a single speed is going to be good for fitness, or tiredness depending on which way you look at it.

Anyway I really enjoyed the first ride, now need to be brave enough to turn the flip flop hub around, and ride it truly fixed. Save that for next time.

Randonee comes round again

So more training, though far less than previous years! Here is a nice shot taken by Mr Mayfield on short sprints after work around Shoreham and Stanmer park. Route map here.

Last shoot of the season

This year we decided to get a picture for posterity. It was a lovely sunny day, but turned very cold in the afternoon. My niece Velvet looking the part in the blue hat!

I am the worst blogger in the world

But who cares.

The first half of the year rocketed by as I spent most of my time living in Leeds, working on a secondment for a client. Tiring - but incredibly rewarding and I finished my time there loving what I do even more. Now the situation has changed somewhat, but we just have to see how it pans out. I hope all the friends I made in my time there are OK. They are a good bunch.

And other stuff I have mainly been trying to surf as much as possible - which included an epic incident where I managed to crease a brand new board, bang my head, rip my wetsuit and then crash my car - all on the same day..akk! Anyway..

Onwards to what spurred me to put up a post. A nice follow up to our Kilimanjaro climb (almost one year ago to the day!)

We received an email from Valerie Todd, the director of the home - they have finally built the playground which we helped to fund. Here it is - wicked! So good to see something that everyone at work contributed to finally there, and the kids are loving it according to Valerie.