Brake pads!

I don't know about you but I seem to have been going through brake pad at a rate of knots of late! 

The rear pads are the worst offenders but thinking of some of the cycling I have been doing there might be a valid reason. I have been on lots of long 50 + mile rides, many at night where I have had to cycle down very steep hills. Not wanting to freewheel - especially as there has often been traffic on said roads - I have been forced to feather the brakes to keep things safe and controlled. 

Regular maintenance of ones Brompton ensures that these things are picked up early. I will be fitting a pair of pads to the rear of my Titanium Orange Brompton in anticipation for the Richmond to Oxford ride on Saturday. 

I am going to look into getting some pads by Swisstop as they come highly recommended. Evans Cycles also sell some pads that fit a Brompton and having had a pair that were pretty good too. In the meantime I'm sticking to the official Brompton pads that gave so far served me very well. 

Rain!

Today on my commute home I ventured out into a total downpour. I had on my Altura over trousers and jacket - both of which came with me on the London to Southend ride which was far from dry!
As I stepped out to turn my front and rear lights on (to aid visibility) many of my work colleagues waited for the rain to die down before heading for their cars.

Many thought it mad that I would set off in such heavy rain. To me however, after some of the rain I have cycled in (and for hours at a time) it didn't seem so bad. My commute wasn't very long today as I took the most direct route - 5 miles. With the rain pouring memories of Friday night / Saturday morning flooded back. (No pun intended). Good memories.

By the time I got home, outwardly I was soaked but after such a short distance my waterproofs worked well and did their job of keeping me dry. The Ortlieb Airflex 11 backpack I decided to take with me today again proved to be excellent in keeping its contents 100% dry.

As for my work colleagues waiting for the rain to stop I have no idea how long they waited? As I cycled along the same road they would surely be driving down at some point, there was a huge line of traffic - as always seems to be the case in wet weather. Carefully I made my way through the traffic and  was thankful that I was not stuck in a car.

Cycling on ones Brompton affords a certain amount of freedom, liberation even from public transport and cars. Even when it is raining I prefer to cycle to or from work. Looking at the faces of the drivers stuck in traffic, like they possibly do every day one can only feel sorry for them. My face one the other hand is happier.

One thing is for certain the Brompton really is a go anywhere mode of transport, perhaps only limited by its user. I for one will be out cycling regardless of weather as even a commute to and from work can be an adventure!

Emergency Tyre Boot!

If you have read my blog entry for my recent London to Brighton ride you will no doubt have remembered David having a major problem with one of his tyres. A solution was found in a little piece of kit called a tyre boot. After this ride I made it my business to get one of these...just in case.

A punture is easy to deal with. The quickest and best solution is to carry a couple of spare inner tubes and if all else fails a puncture repair kit. Damage to the sidewall of the tyre for example requires a different solution which is where the tyre boot comes into play.

I opted for the Park Tool version which can be bought for £3.99. In this pack you get three 76 x 45 mm  strips with an adhesive layer. You clean the area surrounding the cut or tear and then stick the patch down. It is able to withstand pressure and will hopefully get you home or to a place where you can get a new tyre.

A friend said that another idea is to wrap some duct tape around your tyre levers so that this can be used to help stick the tyre boot in place in the unlikely event that the adhesive does't take.

I for one will not be going anywhere without one of these as it is a very inexpensive bit of kit that could come in handy for me or one of my cycling buddies.