When I woke this morning the weather had changed. The sun wasn’t shining and the sky looked ominously grey. Despite that, I was determined to kick off my early morning cycle regime. Even though I’m retired I still have enough going on in my schedule to keep me from getting out every morning, so it was important that I didn’t put it off.

I set out just after seven. The forecast on the radio said there would be a light drizzle with occasional heavier showers through the day. Well the first of those “showers” started about five minutes after I left home and continued for the whole hour I was out. Luckily I had worn a waterproof jacket but the rest of me was sodden by the end of my ride. It’s actually the first time I’ve ridden in the rain for quite a long time. Wet riding was all too common when I commuted by bike so it’s not something that I’m really adverse to. In fact I prefer a bit of cool rain to high temperatures.

Just need a bit of determination to keep up the early mornings and develop it into a routine.

I had been out walking yesterday with my camera. The temperature in Scotland finally headed towards 30° and the heat finished me for the rest of the day. Today’s forecast is for just as hot but I really did want to get out on my bike.

So at 6.30 I got up, readied myself and went out. It was still cool and there was also the added benefit of the canal towpath being quiet. I cycled for about an hour. Now I can stay indoors in the cool and shade without feeling too guilty. I should really get into a habit of doing my cycling early in the morning. It is so much more enjoyable.

I went out on the tourer again this morning, having re-fitted the crank. It seemed to be OK but if I’m honest I was nervous the whole time I was out. When I got back home I stripped the crank down again, removed the spacer on the left bearing of the bottom bracket and built it back up again. I had hoped the extra 2.5mm of extra length on the axle would give more of the splines for the crank arm to grip on to. It didn’t and the crank just moved left and right by the amount of the spacer. I’ve put it all back the way it was and hopefully it will hold. I’m not sure that it wasn’t just an error I made when fitting the crank previously. When the new arm arrives I’ll compare the two for wear and see if replacing it will make any difference.

One other thing that I did change was the angle of my bars. I set them so that the “bull-horn” is slightly more vertical. Just a slight adjustment has proved to be much more comfortable when I’m riding with my hands resting there. I’ll just need to reposition my bell. I had placed it on the stem as there’s not much room on the bars but it’s not easy to access there in a hurry. A bit more experimenting needed. Apart from that everything is settling down nicely. I should organise a camping trip soon!

As the sun was shining this morning and it wasn’t forecast to be too hot, I decided to take out my touring bike for a run. I hadn’t used it it for a while, maybe not since I fitted the x2 chainring set-up. Well, not for a longer run at least. So, I decided that this was the day to head off to B&Q to buy some compost for my house-plants. It was going to be the first time I had gone shopping on the bike since I sold the car so the trip would cover a few bases.

I had cycled about five miles and wasn’t too far from my destination when the left hand crank arm gave out. That was not long after a wasp stung me on the arm. I felt something land on my fore-arm and I tried to shake it off. That’s when it must have decided I was a threat and stung me. I thought it would then fly away but it held on. Worried in case it stung me again I ended up swatting it. It’s the first time I’ve been stung for many years so I wasn’t sure how much of a reaction I would get. In the end it was a bit stinging but not too bad and no swelling.

But, back to the crank. It had started making a rubbing noise then just spun round. Luckily (or so I thought) I had my tool kit with me. So having the correct allen key I could fix it and get on my way. The crank arm went on and tightened up but only lasted a couple of turns before it loosened and spun around again. It was a long walk home, especially pushing the bike.

When I got home I tried a couple of times to fit the crank arm on but it didn’t seem to want to catch. The splines in the arm seem a bit worn but I’m not sure if that’s the problem or if I just wasn’t adjusting the pre-tension plug correctly. After messing around for a while, I even considered replacing the crank-set with a Hope one. I’m really happy with the hope set-up on my mountain bike but when I looked into it, going down that route would probably mean replacing my chain-rings. As it’s not so long ago I bought Absolute Black oval rings which fit on a 110 bcd spider I wasn’t too sure they’d be compatible with Hope cranks.

I found a replacement Shimano crank arm on-line, so have ordered that. Soon after I hit send, the arm then fitted correctly (maybe!) but I’ll take it out tomorrow for a run to try it out. I may even be able to do the shopping test-run again. Once the new crank-arm arrives, I’ll compare the two. This may turn out to have been yet another hastily made and unnecessary purchase! If the old one is still serviceable, I can alway re-sell the new one without being too much out of pocket.

While the rest of the UK is getting all the media attention with its warnings of exceptional heat, we in Scotland are having a normal damp and mild June. Ideal for getting out riding and I am realising just how important the Forth and Clyde canal is to me. It is only a short distance away and I can decide at the last minute if I want to go out on the bike. I can ride west, east or north and the three directions offer me quite different experiences. All of them are green and peaceful. So much, I’m not even sure what is giving me the most pleasure. The opportunity to get out cycling or the canal itself.

Winter is usually when I spend most time tinkering, fixing, lubricating and upgrading my bikes. So when my front brake on the mountain bike gradually became spongy over the last few weeks, I was reluctant to get my tools out and put the bike up on the stand. Each time I went out for a ride I would notice that it was getting worse and each time I returned home I convinced myself it could wait ’till “next time”. That was until yesterday when the front brake was so bad it hardly stopped me at all. Luckily I was only out for a shortish ride along the canal and had no steep hills to contend with. Considering it only takes me 10-15 minutes to rectify the issue, it really wasn’t a good thing, procrastinating!

The weather in May was warm, sunny and dry. Ideal for the camping trip I didn’t get done as I was away in Norway. So maybe now I should look at organising something for the “summer”. That is if it hasn’t come and gone for this year.

I’d like to continue my island trips of previous years but my thoughts keep on returning to the Scottish C2C. This is a cycle from Stranraer to Edinburgh, which I can extend along the Forth and Clyde Canal to finish in Glasgow. All I have to do is pick dates, look into camping sites and get the train booked. I just need to hope that June will not be the wash-out it was last year.

Fitness wise. I got out on my bike yesterday, for the first time in a couple of weeks. (let no-one tell you that retired folk spend their time doing nothing and have lots of free time to enjoy).

I managed to do about eight miles. At my age it doesn’t take a lot of time off the bike for any fitness previously built up to evaporate and my stamina to return to its previous low level. Hopefully the weather has improved enough to allow me to get out at least every couple of days. That is until I go off on holiday at the end of next week and I have another set-back. If I want to take any multi-day trips this summer I really do need to get the practice in.

This article about a football player who has just been jailed for 14 months for causing the death of a cyclist has been brought to my attention. The death of any cyclists opens our eyes but this was of additional interest to me as Lucas Akins used to play for the team I support, Partick Thistle, and I watched him play on many occasions.

Despite the forgiving remarks from Aidrian Daniel’s widow that she would not like to see the perpetrator go to jail as she did not wish any more suffering to come from the tragedy, I believe the sentence to be justified. Akins initially pled not guilty and this prolonged the anguish for a bereaved family. It makes you wonder why, if his remorse as declared by his lawyer, was genuine he would not admit it straight off. Acting on his lawyer’s advice maybe? Perhaps it was in the interest of his club, Mansfield Town, to have him continue playing while they waited for the date of the trial? Professional football is a money-centred sport after all!

I’ve decided to replace my bars. The ones I’ve got fitted have been cut down to just under 600mm wide. This is great for my style of riding but fitting the controls on can be a bit of a pain. The left side is no problem as there’s just the brake and the grip to fit in. The difficulty is with the right hand side. The bars I have are for 38.5mm clamps but the section where it clamps is too wide so does not allow me to move the gear shifter far enough inboard. I have replaced the shifter I was using with a second-hand XTR one I recently picked up. This one is better quality than the newer one I am replacing. It has a polished alloy, split band and this will not go on far enough to allow it to be tightened properly, so the brake lever and grip are about 10 mm offset compared to the left. It’s not a big difference but I do notice it.

So if I’m going to buy a new set of bars, I’ll probably go for ones around 650mm wide. Hopefully the additional 5 or so cm will be as comfortable and fitting and adjusting the controls simpler. I may even have the space to narrow them a bit if the 38.5 section is not too wide. I’ve seen a couple of sets of used bars on e-bay which are fairly cheap so I may try a bit of experimentation to get the ideal width and rise.

UPDATE: I got a couple of sets of bars through the post and fitted them. One set was straight and I fitted them and tried them out on a run. The other ones had a slight sweep back and rise (about 5mm) which is not much but they felt so much better than the straight bars so I decided to go with them. I could also fit the controls quite far inboard so I have cut about 5cm off each side as I much prefer my bars to be narrow. They now measure about 58cm which is as narrow as any of the three bars I have used. I probably have spent a bit more than I needed to get the right bars to suit but I guess it will have been worth it as there was no way to find out without trying.