… to this summer’s big bike ride.

I’ve booked the train and ferries to go to the Northern Isles at the end of June. As it’s only three and a bit weeks away I guess it’s not too early to start preparing and getting excited.

There were a couple of things I learned about my bike, from my last trip which I need to address. The handle bar set up still isn’t completely to my satisfaction. When I’m on the bull horns I feel that I’m over-reaching slightly. I’m considering swapping out the vecnum suspension stem for something smaller. The 90mm reach could be just too far. Although the suspension is nice it’s not really enough to want to make me continue with it at the expense of a comfortable position. I still have an adjustable stem which I could try out to see how that goes. That would also give me an option of a more upright riding stance.

I’m also still toying with the idea of making the bars slightly narrower. Ideally I would like them to be about 2cm narrower on either side. This would make the bars much less awkward when manoeuvering while pushing the bike and should not compromise the steering. I will look at some alternatives before commiting to cutting.

Another thing I realised is that my previous ortlieb handlebar bag was much handier than the one I replaced it with which does not have the transparent pocket on the lid. This was great for a map but also to store my phone. The map-case I used, which was designed to fit the bag is good as far as it goes but can be annoying as the clips can become detached when opening the lid. I’ll try to source a used bag but as it’s not such a great deal I don’t want to spend too much cash on it.

I also need to figure out a way of organising the way I pack my panniers. Unpacking in the rain and having to go through both bags to find something can be a pain. It also means when I re-pack I often get the balance wrong with one side being heavier than the other.

Finally, for now, I’m going to move my front light bracket from the front right fork to the left. I know that the right side is the one recommended (by law?) but the shadows cast by the rack would be less distracting and the left side of the road or track I’m riding better illuminated.

I thought I was well enough to undertake a four nights camping, 100 mile trip but I was wrong. I felt good setting off from Oban on my first day which was going to be a fairly short one. By the time I had found a campsite and managed to pitch my tent just before the rain came on., my guts were doing their familiar somersaults. The next morning the meal I had cooked and eaten in the tent evacuated itself in quick time.

I had twenty miles to ride to Fort William where I decided to curtail things and take a train home. I spent the day sitting about, then on the train followed by a 3 mile ride home. Because I could not eat all day for fear of consequences I managed on water and a single cup of coffee.

It’s not a good idea to expend energy without fuelling and I suffered the next day. So the lesson I learned? My body was trying to tell me something and in future when it does that I need to listen.

I’ve never had to consider how suffering from a chronic condition like inflammatory bowel disease affects my cycling as it never really has.  Back in 2020 when I was first diagnosed with ulcerative colitis I was hospitalised for two weeks. When I was discharged on  the Thursday I was back cycling to work on the Monday. Since then I have had a few flare-ups which have stopped me getting on my bike but for no more than a day at a time. In fact when I’m feeling  not so good, cycling helps me forget that I’m not 100%. I look on it as being fit but not healthy.

So this time, just as I’ve got everything booked for a 4/5 day camping trip my IBD flaring up is so unwelcome. It could be stress with it being my first trip this year that has  caused it. Whatever, I’m determined I’m going anyway and fingers crossed 🤞 everything will go well. I tried looking up  touring cycling with IBD but could only find articles written by professional riders and they were mainly about continuing with training schedules.

The main drawback I  can foresee will be wild  camping and the lack of toilet facilities. I may have to stick to campsites and adjust my itinerary to suit. If the worst comes to the worst I can always get a train home. There are 2 or 3 points on my route where that would be feasable.

Maybe I will write about how I get on..

The weather has definately been geting warmer and with the longer days I have managed to get out on the bike more often. I am aiming to get out for at least a ten mile ride thee times a week. As I’m planning to have a first overnight soon I’m building up my mileage gradually but still haven’t decided where I will go.

One ride I’m looking at is from North Glasgow to Aberfoyle, trying to stay off main roads as much as possible. I also want to ride from Oban to Inverness with train rides at the start and finish. This is all building up to hopefully heading to the Northern Isles in late June. As with my trips last year I’ll probably just make train bookings and go.

I used the ALICE the other day to drop off some sleeping bags at a homeless charity. The bars still didn’t feel right and I just couldn’t work out what it was. I went for a short run on my mountain bike as a comparison and it felt so different. It was either the width of the bars or the grips. When I got back inside I swapped one of the grips over and that seemed to improve things. I realised that the cork grips I have on the mountain bike are size small and the rubber ones on the ALICE are regular.

So, I’ve ordered a set of small, Ergon GP1 grips. Although they are the same length the diameter is smaller. The CG1 set I bought along with the Koga bars only comes in the wider version. It’s difficult to tell if the difference in shape between the two versions will mean much for comfort but I won’t know before I try the two on the bike. Ergon have actually started selling an upgraded version but the only real difference seems to be the position of the retaining screw. As I couldn’t find a discounted upgrade set the £15 additional price decided for me. (I subsequently found a pair at nearly the same price so cancelled the first order!)

Once they arrive I’ll have hopefully sorted one of the final issues with comfort. Selling the surplus set on e-bay should mean it hasn’t cost too much.

Easter Sunday and it’s the first day of decent weather in some time so I took out the ALICE as I haven’t really ridden it much since I completed the last of the changes over the past few months. Today, I did about fifteen miles and there were a few things I noticed. The seat needs to go back a few centimeters, the handlebar controls could be moved slightly but the set-up of the bars and grips just doesn’t feel quite right.

I find my hands are unconsciously going in from the ends of the grips. The most comfortable position on the ergon grips is with my palms at the end of the flat platform but for some reason I’m gripping in towards the stem. I’m thinking I could chop about 2cm off each side of the bars and cut the grips by the same. This would bring my hands in and the short grips shoudn’t be a problem as they are wider than I use. It’s most likely that I’ve just been used to riding with narrow bars over the years. I’ve never fitted bars to a bike without cutting something off the width.

I will need to consider carefully how I go about it. Once I’ve cut things there’s no going back.

Wee update: I experimented with different positions and angles for the brakes and shifters. If I cut the bars/grips there won’t be space to have them in the positions which I find them most comfortable. So it looks like I’ll just need to get used to a slightly wider hand position when riding on the grips. It’s looking like the most comfortable for distance will be to have my hands resting on the junction between the bar and the bull-horn. The angle there provides a great grip as long as there’s nothing in the way (like my bell was – so I moved it out of the way). The bars do provide at least four alternative positions so it’s well worth taking a bit of time to get used to one of them.