Another of the pics from last weeks holiday was from Sunday where I spent the day mtbing in the Hartz Mountains.
My good friend Franzi who we were staying with mentioned before I left home that her boss's son was a bike mechanic and he had organized for me to go riding with himself when I was over and just needed my shorts, jersey and gloves, he would sort the rest. I went to a BBQ at his dads the night before and when I met Felix I wondered what I was in for, Specialized Epics and Enduros along with Canyon downhill machines everywhere, hanging from the walls of the basement. I thought I might be in over my head.
I worked out in the morning that the Canyon with a really impressive but understated spec was a young guy I had met the night before, Mark who is at Uni majoring in composites, mainly carbon fibre with thermal dynamics. It was a nice Canyon but the wheels were something else, being DT Swiss hubs and rims though he was running tubes not tubeless. He said that he runs light weight tubes and supple tyres and this way he knows in the mountains he can patch a tube and not get stuck .
It took us about an hour and a half, maybe more to get to the mountains and get to the top at a little village that even at this mid morning hour was heaving, carparks in the village were full, one had around 60 or so motorbikes coming and going and was solely for motorcycles. Really busy sort of place like a sort of tiny Aviemore or Rothiemurcus on a bank holiday. The main town was at the bottom of the mountain section we were on.  We parked in a carpark about half a kilometre away near one of the trail heads and got bikes off and sorted. I was given the loan of a friends Bergamont Contrail 29'er with full Fox suspension both ends as well as a dropper seatpost. Very nice indeed, though again made me wonder what I was about to ride, trail wise. It was already heading towards about 30 degree but cooler in the trees so the climb up the first summit was nice in the cool mountain air especially with 2 x 10 gearing to help, I was flying up the hill and I must admit it was nice. We got to one section and Mark said we have a short technical climb then a bit of a rocky technical descent for about a kilometre and I thought here we go, I'm either going to get hurt here or be blown out the back. To be fair it was fine, I climbed up the climb waiting for the technical stuff only to find it was done and then the downhill part was really big rocks and slab stuff so I was especially fine. I am fine with the techy stuff and years of trail riding and racing enduro on the motorbike means I can pick a line from way out but I can't do it a million miles an hour on a downhill bike, so we were all together and riding along like we had been doing it together for ever, a bit of a relief. This section I would have cleared easily on my 1X1 but I imagine slower as the suspension came into play here. Though not as much as you may expect as I worked out  at the bottom that this crazy Aussie had ridden it with his shock and fork locked out. How the fu** was I to know, I'm a rigid singlespeeder! If I thought this bike was good before it was absolutely sublime for the rest of the ride now I had freed it!  :) 
The riding was very similar to ours here in the highlands with hiking trails  and then due to some recent storms there were quite a few trees down on some of the lesser used singletrack trails so we had a bit of hike a bike stuff, so besides the heat and dust the terain was similar to here. We climbed a huge rock in the middle of the forest and had the most amazing veiws off the mountains. I also came round on bend on a well formed trail with a few hikers about so was taking it easy to pass three guys on randonneur bikes with panniers and handlebar bags etc. I slowed and said hello as I checked out their bikes and Mark said to me the part of the trail we were on is a trail that goes right over the Hartz mountains and covers about 160 kilometres from one end to the other and is well mapped and marker posts every 5 kilometres. All I could think was Brian and Jamie could take the randonneur rides off shore next year :)
We then did a few more climbs and descents before heading back to the village of Toffhouse for some lunch and a couple of cold drinks. I had a currywurst and frites (huge sausage with a sort of tomato sauce sprinkled with curry powder and chips and thought I better not have a beer so drank pepsi as I didn't know whether we were finished or about to ride back up the steep mountain again. Unfortunately we were just about done, it was well later than I thought and we rode the couple of kilometres back and loaded up.
A great day with some good guys who were really cool to take me along. My German is almost non exsistant and Felix and Wolfgangs was OK whereas Mark had excellent english but once riding non of this stuff mattered as it's pretty universal communication when your riding.
Just thought I would share as it was something different but great fun.
Jamie

Fri 10 August 2018 - Rade Germany and an old section of Wall

 I have a couple of pictures from a ride I did in Germany last week just local from where we were staying with friends in the small village of Rade in Gifhorn, lower Saxony. The village is tiny and a real farming village that has a forest/woods running along the outer side of the village. I was told this was the old east/west border and if you follow a small dirt track in the woods you will come to an anti tank deployment and if you go just past you will see a piece of the wall and a sentry post still in place alongside. You can also see the usual concrete tyre paths that were laid from one end of the wall to the other in places where there was no road. I was riding my friend Nils Commencal mountain bike which while a bit big was still appreciated immensely as it was good to be out riding.
I went along this path and was surprised how close it actually was, there was trench, anti tank deployements and then a bigger trench with a section of wall and sentry sitting on the far side of the wood. This opened out onto the farmers field on the other side. He had left the section of wall, put down some gravel and there was a nice undercover picnic bench alongside. There were also interp boards on both sides showing how it was in the day with photos of it being dismantled and the plans showing how on the farmers side it was all lights, barbed wire, bunkers etc for a good distance back from the border.
Whilst I am used to being in Berlin etc and seeing the wall and it's divisions etc it was a bit different seeing it in this very rural setting just literally a block or so from where you sleep. A bit more real maybe? I don't know, just a bit of a sombre feeling. This was made all the more so by the farmer giving a wave while feeding his cows who slowed on his way back past to gesture if I was needing anything. Just made me think that only 30 odd years back this would have been a very different place.
Another thing that was noticeable was that the bunker was concrete block and the only door was from the east and the sighting slots were steel reinforced so the was no was you could use one to go west.  Young conscripts were used to man these and the remit was to shoot anyone coming near the border on the western side, east too I imagine if they got that far. I was told if they refused or didn't do it properly they would be imprisoned and have no opportunity at either education or work and most likely repercussions for their family. This only stopped in 1988 I think, when it was opened up.


Jamie

4/08/2018 - Postmans Been! Some new parts for the eventual Jack Taylor build.

The postman left a parcel today that had a few pieces for the Jack Taylor when it eventually gets refurbished and built properly.
I already had a new Stronglight A9 headset sitting in the spares box for it along with a set of Shimano 600 Arabesque gear shifters and so today a set of handlebars and a stem arrived thanks to the Planet X sale. I wasn't looking at buying any parts just now but the prices of these were better than I could buy them secondhand  so I spent a little.
I ended up going with the Nitto NY3 stem and  the B135 Randonneur bars. I went with the B135s as I already have a set of B136 Randonneurs which are a slightly deeper drop but wider on the tops, and while happy with these I just thought I would have it set slightly different for this. These are probably closer to the old British touring bars you used to get.  Something different and a really good price.
The 600 Arabesque may go with the build though unsure of what that may be yet, still juggling a few ideas. It was always going to be a slow old build this one, no rush as it's not going anywhere.

Jamie

Links in the Chain Federation Bike Ride 2001 Commerative Badge and Letter

I was digging through some papers in a box from back home and come across an envelope I hadn't seen for some time.
In it was a commemorative badge and a letter from Alby Shultz, my local member of Parliament, from the 'Links in the chain' bike ride to celebrate the Centenary of  Federation back in 2001.

From the Pedal Power advertisement:
Links in the Chain Federation Bike Ride, an event coordinated by Pedal Power ACT in which "Bicycle riders will converge on Canberra from all states of Australia, as they did in 1951, in a symbolic gesture of national unity on May 8, 2001."

Rides were organised in a relay fashion right around Australia with the last section, the one I took part in, riding into Canberra, the nations capitol and touring places of historic interest before ending at Parliament House. I just remember it being a slow old ride as there was so many people taking part. Pretty impressive as it was a week day and I had to take a day off work and drive the couple of hours to the outskirts of Canberra. Well worth it though.
I remember it was a few months later I received this in the mail with a letter from Alby Shultz with the stamped badge which I think is modelled on an old design you could wrap round your bikes head tube, though I could be wrong there. These were stamped and made by the Australian mint and made for all who registered for the ride.
I like how he has crossed out my typed surname and written given name in pen to give it a bit more personal touch, never noticed at the time.
Probably means more to me now that I am a bit older and haven't been home in a good while.

Just one of those things that I had forgotten about and was nice to find so thought I would share.

Jamie

Sun Jul 29, 2018 - Audax Jerseys

Just thought I would post this photo I took the other week of a few various Audax jerseys.
I was heading south a couple of weeks back for the East Lothian Rough Stuff Audax and thought I better throw a jersey and a spare in the kit bag. I pulled out my Audax ones and thought ' maybe I am multicultural after all'  :)
While I wear my Aussie one most as that is my home, I love my Audax Ecosse one as that is who I ride with and it's where I live and have lived for a good few years now, whilst the Audax UK is my Audax organisation whom I am also a part of.
Just never really looked at the three of them in one spot before.

Jamie

Sun Jul 29, 2018 - Working On then Out on the Jack Taylor.

Well out today on the Jack Taylor for a few miles this afternoon.
I am still treating it as shakedown rides as I am still trying to make a decision on what to do on various fronts, ie; the paint and also the build direction.
This was made a slight bit harder due to another frame entering the shed :) 
First things first, due to it being really just mocked together originally to go round the block and see if it fitted, I wasn't really surprised to noticed the bottom bracket was loose and whilst undoing the crank bolts noticed that they too were not much more than finger tight. Once the BB was tightened and cranks nipped up I took the time to check and tighten everything else. Fitted my Carradice longflap saddle bag as I need to get my rack bag re-velcroed as it came off recently, just wear and tear as it gets used a lot, but the bag is still in great condition so will get it done. The longflap is a great bag but a bit too big for what I need.
Went out for a couple of hours with at least half of that pushing into the mother of all headwinds but I suppose I got the benefit of a good tailwind in other sections. Just a cruise round the coast looking at setup etc but really just enjoying being out riding and while it has just been cobbled together with bits off the Mercian, cockpit and saddle/seatpost along with my Dura Ace 1st gen and 7400 running gear, levers etc with Mafac Racer brakes. While this is a good setup on it's own, it is not the setup I want for its final build which is a more touring orientated one. Stronglight triple, Nitto bars and stem etc. Saying that it does ride superbly, different from my others and just rides along in a fast but relaxed manner, I am really enjoying it.
Round the farms with a bit of gravel thrown in and then a quiet ride round the coast to then try and beat the rain home by heading inland. Got a few drops in the last kilometre so timed it just right. Not that far but enjoyable all the same.
Jamie

New addition to the stable - 1989 Mercian King Of Mercia - Touring geometry

This lovely frame was purchased a couple of months back and is an addition to my green King Of Mercia which is in road racing geometry.
It's a 1989 King Of Mercia in Touring geometry made with Reynolds 653 tubing, which from memory is Reynolds 753 main frame tubes and 531 stays.
This frame is in the configuration I have always wanted with pure touring setup in 700c wheels. In addition to having more relaxed geometry than the racing version this comes with extra bottle fitting and a canti brake setup. It also has fitting for mud guards and a rear rack which are standard fitting on the touring model but were an added extra on my road version. This being a tourer it has different/slacker rake on the fork and slightly longer chainstays as well.
The fact that this is in a stunning colour is also an added bonus though it does have a few scrapes and chips with the enamel hazing in a few places as well along with a few rust spots coming through the thin paint. Overall though I really like the colour and condition is fine as is for now. A couple of the scrapes have been touched up in a very flat sort of bright blue and so stand out greatly, something I hope I can fix a bit better.
Whilst not being in the market for buying any new frames or projects at all this came about as I had been watching it like on a well known auction site and it sat really low all week so I put in a, what I thought, very cheeky bid, only to watch it be successful. It was in my opinion a bargain and thankfully my wife agreed, even she was surprised at how low it went for. We were even more surprised at it's condition when it arrived, it was obvious it was even better in person than we thought. I had to put in a bid as they rarely come along in my small size. I'm not sure why it went so low, sometimes on these sites you can never work it out, but it could have been to do with it ending mid afternoon mid week. No complaints from me at all.
It has been sitting until I can move some parts along to slowly build this up so it will take a while as there are other projects rolling along, though this may move to the front of the queue as I am really wanting to build and ride this. A few days touring ……..
I thought I better out it as I haven't told anyone that I got it. Not that anyone really looks here, but now the blogs up to date I can put it here before other forums etc.

More to come

Jamie