howies®

I am drained from a week of running and riding.

I haven’t slept well due to tight hamstrings.

And this morning I am a little dehydrated.

It was raining hard.

The head wind brought me to a standstill many times and made the whole journey just pain.

I couldn’t spin in the saddle on the hills because you are a fixed wheel.

So I shouted out on the climb my hate for you , I cursed you and regretted choosing you over the bike with gears and it went round and round in my head, I nearly stopped to throw you in the hedge in anger, real tears came to my eyes as I tried to raise the pace over the last climb to work and I walked in soaked with sweat and empty legged.

Today I hate my fixed wheel.

when you ride a fixed the most important thing that you learn is never freewheel abscent mindedly.

one simple rule. and you do learn it, sometimes the hard way. you start by saying pedal pedal pedal in your head over and over, you have a few moments and the odd crash. but you train your brain.

and then no matter whether you ride fixed or free the switch is automatic.

but there are times when deep deep deep inside your brain other automated things you do on your bike over ride the pedal pedal pedal command.

last night on the way home i took of my glove, pulled the i-pod from the pocket, set a new track and then repocketed it. then i pulled the glove back on with my teeth.

and i always freewheel when i do that.

my head went into glove mode, my legs stopped, the bike bucked, my head went f–k, the bus skimed passed

Christmas 05 I was in hospital with a bad back. So bad I could only shuffle along on that zimmer frame and had to pee in that cardboard pot. Old men moved faster than me.

It was all down to years on the bike.  Never fully extending my legs and not using my stomach muscles my ham strings shortened and collaspe came often.

Running has really helped, but today after a few days biking on the fixed collapse was back.

Today had been a day of touching toes, stretching thighs, keeping the stomach flat and driving to work.

Bad back, bad day, bad mood, bad weather.

Rest, stretching, water and fun this weekend.

as i left cardigan last night on the fixed i saw a biker starting the big climb. so i hunted him down and caught him just before the brow.

he had the aero helmet, time trial bike the works.

i was coughing up lung and snacks, but found a little more to open the gap.

i need a smaller gear.

The fixed finally came back from the black smiths with just 2 thin coats of clear lacquer.

It got a Chris King headset, aThompsom post, Azonic risers in place of the drops and an old XT brake lever. The saddle is a Brooks b17 in green leather and copper rivets. they clash a little with the gold on the CK, but…

And a new chain that would moor a ship.

And then the planned ride in this morning was thwarted as I had to take the kids to school.

But it does ride beautifully and I am looking forward to tomorrow arriving. Revamped toys are a good motivator for a commute that has not changed in the last 5 years.

after a first coat of laquer that was only on one side and as thick as a book, the black smiths reblasted it and then resprayed it.

headset has now been re-pressed in and the cranks fitted.

the nice stuff to do on the not all nice things to do, to do list..

We’ve commissioned the talented Nick Hand to make a series of “soundslides” about British craftsmen. 

This is the first episode (of many) on Nick Larsen of Charge Bikes, Somerset. 

TIP: Go fullscreen (small icon, right hand corner) it looks amazing!

This had me in stitches, Thankyou mr Fenlon. 

Since I saw the original Empire begins trailer I’ve been checking the blog daily to read their first post and now it’s happened.

Here the video from the post:

I can’t wait for the film…

Just watched a great short film by Bastien Lattanzio called Perspective Line. Really well shot and great music too.