Bike Tag!

So after getting back form the track I had an afternoon to myself and had heard about a thread on the forum (LFGSS) called bike tag.

Basically the idea is someone takes a photo of their bike near a London Landmark (or somewhere easily distinguishable or else its no fun!) and then you have to find that spot, take a picture of your bike in the same place and then find a different place for the next guy to hunt down. Luckily the last post was not too far from my house so off I went...

The previous place (on the South side of the Thames inbetween Surrey Quays and Greewich) The boat in the picture is some Navy vessel that's been moored up for the past week or so;

The new place - shhhh, it's a secret for now!

Track Training @ Herne Hill

No update last week as I never managed to take any pictures, which would have made for a boring post! First session on the track was last week and just got home from today's session. Currently I'm doing the basic training sessions from 1pm - 2pm on Sat afternoons. Generally the session is split into three parts and consists of 6 man team pursuit, 20 lap race speed and 2 man pursuits to finish. The bike feels good and the training is going well, give it a few more weeks and who knows, I may advance to the intermediate sessions.

A couple of pics of the track, not great as they were just taken on the phone camera but better than nothing!

The Back Corner

The Finish Line!

Spin Training @ Hearne Hill

Down at the track again lastnight for a session in the pain cave. Similar session to that posted earlier this month. Legs are hurting this morning on the commute into work, but its all good and hopefully all this hard work will set me up nicely for the track proper!

Planning on heading down to the induciton session at 11.30am tomorrow followed by the beginners session straight after.

Dolan Track Champion

So after my last update I got hold of a chain and got the track bike up and running. Only just had the stitches out of my head after the accident but couldn't resist a blast up the road and back. My excuse was getting the seatpost setup at the correct height, ahem...

Here's a few pics of the new weapon by the Thames;

I'm very very happy with the bike, its pretty much my dream bike since I got into fixed gear riding. Yes we'd all love a Sir Chris Hoy carbon fibre bike but we don't all have sponsors! Just one thing left to do this Saturday and that's give it a maiden voyage on down at Hearne Hill, I can't wait!

The New Track Bike!

Here is an initial photo of the new dedicated track bike;

*Note its missing a chain!

The spec is as follows;

Dolan Track Champion aluminium frame
Alpina alloy seatpost
Alpina straight blade track forks, undrilled
Aplina integrated headset
Miche Primato track BB 107mm
Miche Primato Advanced track chainset, 48T chainring
Dura Ace 15T cog & lockring
Deda Track drop bars
Truativ 110mm stem
Bioflex carbon saddle
Look Keo Classic pedals
Hutchinson Equinox folding tyres, 23mm.

Overall I'm more than happy with the way it looks and want to keep it in pristine condition so it will be living in my room and getting transported to Hearne Hill in the car!

New Wheels for the Track Bike!

Here are a few pictures of some wheels I've been waiting to build up for a while. These will be used on the track only, hence no braking surface on the front rim.

They are Dura Ace HB7600 high flange hubs laced onto Velocity Deep V rims in titanium grey. The wheels are slightly mismatched, the rear being a 36 hole with double butted spokes and the front being a 32 hole with plain gauge spokes. This was due to me buying things at different times/places and wanting to get the wheel build done in time for the track season and the new frame. Regardless you'd have to have a keen eye to spot the difference and I still think they look great. It doesn't bother me for now, maybe re-lacing the front with double butted spokes can be a job for a rainy day?!

Crash!

Had a fall off the bike on the way back from work on Monday (28th Feb). Cab turning right into the cycle lane as I was heading past the Hilton Hotel near London Bridge. He hit the brakes and so did I, only thing is I ended up over the handlebars still clipped into the bike!

Long story short i ended up with a few minor cuts and bruises, a badly bruised shoulder and 5 stitches in a gash on my forehead. Healing up now though and will be back on the bike next week.

I was riding the purple bike at the time of the accident. Initially all seems ok apart from bent handlebars but I'll strip the bike down and rebuild it before i ride it again just to be sure and check for any signs of damage.

The Purple Bike

So this is a picture of my current all purpose bike for getting around London, mainly to work and back, but given the current status of my Fuji it's become my only working bike at the moment.

The frame is a 1953 Humber "Streak" made from Reynolds 531. Nicely lugged and powdercoated in metallic purple. The original forks proved to flexible so I replaced these with a cheap set of steel forks off eBay. The wheels are currently mismatched and slightly hipster but hey, this bike see's hell and back on a daily basis!

I'm thinking of building up a set of retro style wheels and adding a riveted saddle in time for the Tweed Run on the 9th April.