I spent the weekend researching what I need to buy to convert from a single chain-ring to a double. It was an easy decision over the front derailleur and shifter as I wanted to stay with Shimano and all their 2 speed shifters are compatible with each other so it was a case of buying what was available and at the best price I could find. That just happened to be on e-bay. So they’re ordered and hopefully on the way.

The decision for the chainrings was a little more complicated. I want to stick with the oval chainring I have currently fitted but because my cranks are 64BCD it wasn’t easy to find a compatible larger chain-ring to give me the ratio I wanted. I had hoped that all I would need to do was to buy and fit a larger ring and bolts to the existing set-up but just couldn’t find anything that would work. I did find a set on the Absolute Black web-site which was just what I wanted. The brand is one which I already have on my bike and I am happy with the quality of their products. The set I looked at is intended for road and gravel bikes so they only do it for 110/4 BCD crank spider. I’ve got this size on my MTB but the Alice has 96BCD spider. This was always something I was uneasy about as there was no option to interchange components between the bikes if needed. Both bikes currently have MTB cranks fitted, it’s just that the ones on the One-one are an older design although they are in perfect condition and will last for as long as I need them. Shimano seem to have decided that MTB and gravel bikes should have 64BCD chain-rings and road/gravel 110BCD. Probably because most MTB and gravel riders prefer single chain-rings.

Maybe it was time to buy new cranks for the Alice and go down the road/gravel route. I eventually found a set of Shimano 105 cranks in my preferred length (175mm). So I’ve ordered those from e-bay and the chainrings from Absolute Black. There’s one final component I’ll need to replace and that’s the groupset. The 11-42 tooth one I run now will be too large for the bigger front chainring so I will need to swap that out for a 11-34 one. That’s probably about the limit for a x2 setup. The whole conversion will be a bit more expensive than I had initially hoped but I should be able to offset this by selling on the cranks and rings I’m going to take off.

I won’t start the conversion straight away but will wait until the weather gets more into winter. When I do I’ll report how it goes on here.

On my last tour, in Shetland, I found I was needing to get off the bike to push up hills more than I had previously. I put it down to a couple of things. I hadn’t been in the best of health in the months before my trip and had not been riding as much as I would have wanted to, to build up stamina. There was also the wind which seemed to be in my face for the two weeks I was there. I was pretty sure that fitness (and my age) would have been the main reason for my lack of effort on hills.

A post I read on facebook, about gearing for touring bikes got me thinking about another possible reason. Maybe my 32 teeth, single front chain-ring with 11-42 groupset is not a big enough range for my needs when touring. My mountain bike, which I mainly use around home on cycle paths and canal paths, has a 36t front and 11-32 on the rear. This is perfect for my style of riding and I have never felt that I needed any more gears. But for touring maybe I should consider extending the range of available gears. The post also suggested that the bigger gear range would also put less strain on the free-wheel mechanism when riding fully loaded. That is another consideration I should take into account when deciding how to go forward.

The chain-ring I use on my Alice is oval 32t. I have noticed a difference using the oval ring and would like to keep that. The frame will not take a bigger diameter ring but a larger outer ring should fit. Hopefully longer bolts will be all that I need for that part of the conversion. It will take a lot more investigating what the ideal ratio for the double chain ring will be and I will also need to look at the best way to fit a front derailleur as there are no brazed bosses. I should be able to find suitable shimano components, keeping all the hardware compatible.

Looks like my winter project is taking shape or at least moving on to the planning stage.

A couple of years ago, these bike storage lockers were set up outside the block of flats I live in. There’s a few of them around and it’s quite difficult to work out how well they are used. I do think that open bike racks that anyone, including vistors, could use would encourage more cycle use around the estate but I can see that these would be handy for people who don’t have the space to store bikes they own. Maybe where there are two compartments, like in the photo, one could be left with the locking lid off. Then the racks inside could be used on a casual basis and the rear of the cover would offer some protection from the weather.

Currently, I take my bikes in to my flat as I have a spare room and I store them there. But, despite that I am considering applying for a key and using one. This will save me from taking my bike up in the lift and then carrying it up a couple of flights of stairs.

The only thing that is putting me off, (apart from a slight concern about security as the lockers are shared with more than one tenant having a key to each), is that it may be too convenient. At present if I am out and my bike gets muddy, rather than take the dirt in, I will lock it up and straight away bring down stuff to clean it. If I could just put it away I would very likely not get round to cleaning it and then realise the next time I go out. I would also have to bring the bike in to do any maintainance.

So there’s a decision to be made. Should I support an excellent project which can only benefit cyclists or keep on doing what I do?

The weather this summer has, to say the least, been unpredictable. I really do want to get away camping but the advance planning needed to go on my bike means I really need a forecast of a fairly prolonged spell of good weather. Booking trains and campsites at this time of year means my options are restricted.

So I have decided that I will go away in the car. I can be packed up and on my way a few hours after I decide to. It also gives me more choice in where I can get to. Not the greenest of decisions but my mental health could do with getting out of the city.

I will need to look out my bike carrier and get it fitted to the car. Then I can take my mountain bike and have the option of cycling when I get to my chosen camp-site.

For months last year, while I was building them up, there would hardly a day went past without me doing some work on one or another of my bikes. Once I had both of them on the road and running the way I wanted, there was nothing to do to them apart from washing them down after a wet day out, oiling the chain and ensuring everything was tightened up. Even the last one is needed less and less as all the components settle down.

So what I find myself doing is wondering what I can change next. Mostly, I come up with ideas which are purely for the sake of looks over function. Like swapping out my cambium saddle which was blue for an orange one which fitted in with the colour scheme. So now I’m considering changing the saddle on my ALICE, touring bike. The brown leather brooks is comfortable having had some time to get broken in. But, I’ve seen another Brooks saddle, in green, which will go nicely with the colour of the rest of the bike. It’s a really rare piece so there’s a good chance I won’t get it. Even if I don’t get the one I want, maybe I’ll change it anyway. A black one would fit in to the colour scheme better than the brown!

UPDATE: The green saddle went for three times what I was willing to pay for it (£320). It really is a rare example. So I’ve bought a black one with titanium rails and copper rivets. They often sell for £160 or over so I reckon I got a bargain at less than £120.

I’m in two minds if guided cycle tours are a good or bad thing. On one hand they encourage people to get out cycling, can introduce visitors to an area and are a way of getting people together to share and encourage a love of cycling.

But, as I recently observed while cycling in Orkney, there can be a more negative side to them. I watched a group of nine cyclists on the road from Kirkwall to Stromness. I first noticed them when I was taking a short break to take in some views. They were cycling in single file along a busy road. They were fairly well spread out but with insufficient space between them to allow a car to pull in. This meant that drivers had to pass all of them in one manoeuver. The road they had just come was fairly wide so this wouldn’t have been too much of a problem but in places where there was single track with passing places it could easily have caused delays and frustrations.

I came across the same group a little later and realised that they were German. They had visited a tourist attraction and were leaving the car park, turning left to rejoin the main road. The leader of the group looked out for traffic but the rest of the riders pulled out with no hesitation, following the rider in front. Most if them didn’t even glance to their right so would be unaware if any traffic was approaching. I have no way of knowing how much experience these riders have of being on the “wrong” side of the road but it was worrying that there were so many in a group together. I had heard reports from Shetland, that even larger groups who come off cruise ships for a few hours, were being offered cycle rides there as excursions. Given that the roads out of Lerwick, where most of these cruises berth, can be exrtemely busy I would think that these large groups of cyclists will cause hold-ups as well as being a danger to the cyclists themselves.

As for tours in cities. I have heard of and seen one or two guided tours using OVO hire bikes. I don’t know how much they stick to cycle routes but I would be worried for them if they go on some of Glasgow’s busier roads.

I must say thanks to Orkney Islands Council for their speedy response to my e-mail, pointing out the difficulties I had when booking a pitch at Point of Ness campsite while I was there last week. The web booking form is difficult to navigate, especially on a phone and I ended up paying for the same two nights at two different camp-sites.

I don’t know yet if they are going to rectify the problems or even refund my money but at least they have sent an aknowledgment of my e-mail. I have never known a council elsewhere to respond so swiftly, so maybe there’s hope I’ll receive some redress.

UPDATE: Orkney Isles Council have refunded me for the two nights I didn’t use. Well done to them.

I’ve come to the last day of my cycling and camping trip to the Northern Isles. I spent fifteen nights in my tent, and although about fourteen of those were wet, it served me well. Now that I’m home, the process of drying and packing away begins.

I met a lot of fellow cyclists. Some pretty serious, like the guy on the train from Thurso to Inverness who had just completed LEJOG and was already planning a trip to Korea. Mostly the folk I met were similar to myself,  cycling because we enjoy it and taking our journeys easy.

Nevertheless,  I am looking forward to planning my next trip and hoping we get some sort of summer, even if it is an Indian one.