Up until a few weeks ago it has been rather mild here in London. The weather decided to turn last weekend in time for the annual Blackheath fireworks event. We all trundled down there trying to find a shortcut through the new road layout at Loampit Vale.
The event as expected was rather good if a little chilly. We were accompanied by Trudi, Chand and the boys. Today it is raining cats and dogs. Jake has just finished off the FDR presentation. Now I know all about Fatboy and Bockscar which was the B-29 that dropped the bomb on Nagasaki.
Mia and Jake are doing well at school. Over the Summer Jake has got somewhat obsessed with football and has been collecting Match Attax cards. Mia has even got into it and has her own collection. Jake now has two 101 club legend cards, Stephen Gerrard and Robin Van Persie. I only know Stevie G 🙂
At the end of the summer term Jake took his grade 2 trumpet exam and got a high merit. An excellent result! After a little wobble he is cracking on with it this term and is learning ‘Is
This The Way To Amarillo’ and ‘The Music Of The Night’.
This term we have not had Warhammer club which is shame, I would like to get back into painting the figures which I found quite therapeutic. Jake tells me that next year the club will be started again, so fingers-crossed for that.
Summer seems a long way away. We had fun camping again with the Grandads at a campsite in Looe overlooking the bay. The downside to such a lovely view(on a cliff) was that it was very very cold in the evening. Mia loved going to visit the Shirehorse which one night escaped and was trotting about the campsite looking for tasty treats to eat. After a week at Looe we went to Woodlands again to meet up with the cousins. The weather was a little warmer and we had fun visiting the park and going on the rides. Jake had fun organizing the children and adults to have a football match.
I almost forgot our trip to France. Before meeting up with the families, Ben and I left for a road trip to see ‘Le Tour’. It was a great experience which involved lots of driving and lots of getting lost. On the first day we drove to the Dunkirk Decathlon and bought a couple of Btwin 320 folding bikes then embarked on a mammoth drive to the famous Le Man staying in a somewhat dubious Hotel Formule 1, but hey it was an experience :-).
On the second day we headed to Tarbes and found that the tour caravan teams were staying at our hotel. Ben managed to blag some freebie tops from the Direct Energie team. The next morning after removing all non-essential parts from our 6 speed folders we rode up a Cat 1 climb( I kid you not) on said folders namely, Le Col De Peyresourde in order to get a good view of the riders cresting the summit. Ben managed the climb in Ben fashion i.e. popping wheelies to the delight of the French tour fans.
I on the other hand had to keep stopping and vomited a couple of times due to the heat and exertion. I managed to ride all the way up although it took me a good while. Once at the top we found a spot and waited firstly for the caravan and then for the riders. It was hot and as the pelaton came past we were close enough to see the pain and suffering on their faces. I now knew that pain!
The remainder of the holiday was spent at our villa. We went on a few rides and relaxed by the pool. The weather was not brilliant but it was an enjoyable break.
Early in September we devised a plan to ride from Norwich to London on the folders. I prepped my bike by fitting a new bottom bracket and better cranks. When fitted ‘aero bars’ a.k.a bar ends to allow for a more aerodynamic posture. These worked remarkable well. The ride was great. The route was excellent and we managed to avoid a lot of nasty fast roads. Disaster struck at the top of the Lea Valley canal. My bike suddenly would not stay in any gear other than 2nd. While checking the bike out the bottom bracket looked to be bent which explained why the chain would not stay on. I had to ride the remaining 24 miles in 2nd gear which I can tell you was hell. This made us late for the victory meal at The Talbot. Instead we rode home and walked down the hill for a victory kebab.
The story of the folder continues however. When I had some spare time I took the bike apart and saw that one side of the bottom bracket was not welded at all. This weakness has caused the frame to bend. After several emails to Decathlon and a couple of visits to Surrey Quays they begrudgingly refunded my money and gave me by crank and bottom bracket back, which I was not expecting.
I now have a replacement for the Btwin called a Dahon Hammerhead mini velo. It’s a great machine, fast and light but sadly not foldable. This will be the steed I will use for my next epic ride.
