Thursday 24 May 2012

In preparation for the ride, the LEJOGers had a bike check tonight at BikeRight! Mary checked over my bike and diagnosed a worn chain, a worn block and a worn brake cable. At least I know now. And there is time for the repairs to be done and for the new parts to bed in. I decided on a slightly different gear ratio to my original cassette. I have been riding a Compact double with 52/34 on the front and 11/25 on the rear. I am putting an 11/28 on the rear. That will help me spin more easily on the long climbs which will be the first 3 days of LEJOG in Cornwall and Devon. Those extra 3 teeth are my new best friends - my 'Granny'

Talk of gears takes me back to Majorca. My friend Lisa hired a bike. She rides a Giant Defy triple at home. She was struggling with the gears on her hire bike in Majorca and called on team mechanic Dave to take a look at her bike - she was getting really frustrated that her bike just wouldn't go into the middle ring when she changed gear. She had tried changing up and down but it just would not work properly. He took a very brief look, and smiled, as did several of the others nearby.....'Lisa' said Dave 'you have a Compact Double. It has 2 rings on the front. It doesn't have a middle ring'