Brian and I had been saying for a couple of weeks that we should get out for a decent shakedown ride for our recent retro road builds, me with my Mercian and Brian with his A. Bertin.
We had made very loose plans last week to maybe go for a ride on the weekend, unfortunately I couldn't get out on the Saturday due to doing some stuff for Calebs school and then on Sunday it seemed my day was looking clear so I sent Brian a couple of texts and while still awaiting a reply I loaded up and headed south. At first that was fine but then when I got about 45 mins from home, the heavens opened and when I hit the coast at Latheron it was looking black and bleak to the south. I tried Brian again and luckily got hold of him and he said it was fine at Dingwall. That was reassuring as otherwise it would be a 200 mile round trip and about 5 hours travel wasted.
Arrived at Brians just before lunch and after a quick coffee we decided just to take a few back roads and head to Strathpeffer first and then take it from there. A bit of a rambling gentlemanly shakedown ride, or a Sunday cruise. This play it by ear type route was decided due to the heavy black skies I had outrun before catching up to me. So bikes readied, jackets on and we were off.
A nice backroad run seen us getting to the cemetery on the Strathpeffer road for a first stop to get a picture as I said to Brian I needed one for the RBotM comp which is autumn themed this month and with no trees really up my way, I was going to get one down here with all the lovely colours we just don't see.
A very short ride later seen us stopping at the Café on the platform of the old Strathpeffer railway station. We parked up undercover from some spits of rain and indulged in a nice lunch of spicy parsnip soup, bread and washed it down with a coffee. Hard work these old bikes
The clouds by this time were giving hints and warnings of what was soon to come from these black storm clouds so it was decided to head back towards Dingwall but take a more 'interesting' route.
Well we took a turn off that I know well by now, though it is by Brians reckoning, a road, just not tarmac, it is a route that we normally use our Pugsleys on. This route has several sections where you can head back to the tarmac main road every couple of miles, so thought there is a route out before the 'swampy' section.
So I thought why not, If your not up for an adventurous detour then you wouldn't follow Brian out the door in the first place.
Well it started nice enough, wide farm track with two faint tyre tracks from a tractor, as this got closer to the railway crossing it tapered down to a single mud track. Due to the recent rain and the few damp drops today this was firm but greasy clay, so a few wheelspins were in order.
From here we rode along quite a few nice pathways that had a track through the grass, with the odd detour round a barn or house here and there. We did get to the old swampy part and Brian was right, in that the farmer had widened it, as it used to be just a thin track that was overgrown so much that you could barley walk through let alone ride. Now it had sections covered in sand and what seemed to be broken up pieces of pottery and tiles, etc. The start section of this was interesting as it was quite sandy and very uneven. It was along this section that I found my headset was loosening, so a quick tighten by hand, as I carried no tools on this shakedown ride ( a sign of faith) and onwards we went. I must say I really enjoyed this part of the ride as the bike was flying and handling brilliantly, I was getting into it sliding around at the back and only wished I had some better CX tyres on it.
The next section, while narrow, felt like it should have been a road at some point as it was embedded with these small rocks, almost like cobbles, again the bike was really handling great on these. Brian seemed to be getting right into the Andre Bertin as well. While this one has seen only slight sort out rides since he put it together, it is the same as one he had many many years ago in his younger days. I also think its the first derailleur he has had since his younger days as he seemed to have forgotten how to trim the front
We then took a right turn onto an unknown to me track. I use the term 'track' loosely and just for descriptive purposes. It was, if you can imagine, a faint parting of some leaves under a tree
Slowly we seemed to wind down a slope through some heavy undergrowth, to emerge into a clearing with a stream in front of us with a steep climb up the opposite bank. With this I don't mean a ridable climb, I mean, Sven Nys, cyclocross on the shoulder, pulling yourself up by tree roots type climb. Once at the top of the climb we had a short ride through a nicely wooded area on some smooth dirt trails to emerge up above the main part of Dingwall and about two blocks from Brians. Brilliant riding to have on your doorstep and was a relief not to do the big tarmac climb up to the house, much gentler this way.
So not a very long ride but an eventful and thoroughly enjoyable ride along some back tracks I hadn't been on before. It was also a great ride on the Mercian as I was well pleased with how it handled, I felt pretty confident on it and it was predictable throughout. Brian seemed to be enjoying his Bertin and I must say on the tarmac section earlier on he was putting a fair bit of pace on to get to lunch, that's for sure. So the gears and derailleurs obviously agree with you Brian
Brian doesn't like them and I don't think he changed gear more than a couple of times all day, but to be fair, it was on an old Bertin many years ago that he had an old Simplex rear derailleur disintegrate while on a steep climb and send him flailing onto the top tube, and he yelled to the gods (in his now high pitched voice) that he would never use one again. Or so the legend goes, it may have been embellished as it went down the generations. I also told him that they have progressed and are no longer made of wood and they have more than three gears
I still don't think he likes them. It was definitely a good shakedown ride as everything was very well shaken and for me I had my headset loosen and when taking off my pedals to put the bike in the car to go home I noticed my bottom bracket was quite loose, judging by the wobbling cranks
It was good fun but I think I may get some 32mm Shwalbe CX tyres and maybe even some Mafac centrepulls and have a run in some local CX this winter. I said to Brian that once I restore it and definitely if I get an expensive Mercian respray, that there is no fu****ng way it will be doing that sort of 'road ride' 
Remember if you head out on a road ride with Brian, be prepared.
Hope you guys all had a good weekend as well.
Jamie
Pictures are a mix of Brians and mine.
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