Aussie on a Brompton

Heading into Scotland for the final leg of our UK trip, with a week or so in Edinburgh, it looked like our “good weather luck” was due to finish? It certainly turned out wetter & colder than the previous 7 weeks but no complaints. Probably a good start along the road to Scotland was this “small full English breakfast” (I shudder to think what the menu’s larger version was like?)

The weather didn’t spoil any shopping trips & our inner-city Studio flat was ideally placed for lots of browsing. The BeSpoke Brompton dealer display was looking good for a picture – & then a customer added his M6R to it.

Lots of Tweed to look at? (everything from head to foot plus accessories)

Our visit coincided with the traditional “Riding of the Marches”, where about 250 horses are ridden into Edinburgh & finishing along the Royal Mile & up to the castle.

Walking the streets of Edinburgh & observing the historic buildings is a memorable past-time?

Trying to play catch-up with my blogging about our UK trip & so here’s one week in Cumbria squeezed into a tale of riding, walking, driving & a train trip.

Riding was usually a case of going up & down hills but we got to take in the annual Dufton Agriculture Show. A lovely days outing at a little show with lots of variety. The car display brought back some memories: learnt to drive in a Morris Minor, a family friend had an MG Magnette, the Triumph Herald was drooled-over when I had my Standard 8 (2nd car – before turning 16 – with many Herald components) & as for the 6cylinder Triumph Vitesse…

Hard to get a clear view of all the vintage tractors, with plenty of “chewing the fat” going on?

Quiet back-roads are great; just us, the hills – & tractors? – & Village Green rest-stops.

My navigator, sorting out the paths from the bridle-ways?

Village “sculpture shop” makes good use of cutlery & bike parts?

Driving the narrow, winding roads of the Lakes District seemed tame compared with this slate mine shuttle bus taking customers to a harnessed & roped cliff walk?

Took a trip on the Settle-Carlisle railway & did a “hop off/on” to walk & to view the Ribblehead Viaduct

After Cumbria it was then a case of “so long England, hello Scotland…” as we drove on to Edinburgh – for the next adventure?

Our cottage weekly stays are often located in small villages & upon arriving the first step is to check out the local resources. There’s usually a pub & we’ll also take in the shops, although this was the only “shop” in our Yorkshire village.

Some villages have shops that are really geared towards the day tourists & when the tide is out extra shops can be mobilised.

Villages, towns & cities can all be fascinating. Tidal conditions can change things drastically but a harbour with water is usually preferred.

With Yorkshire hosting the TdF start in 2014, some research was devoted to towns & villages along the stage routes.

The Norfolk Broads have a lot of back roads & most are pretty flat. I can’t see a TdF stage being run there but I certainly appreciated them. We had a few rides just exploring the roads, mostly traffic-free & coming across various sights.

This rail crossing seemed innocuous & so we scuttled across without phoning first – & then watched a railcar whistle through! I guess trains rule in these parts?

Starting one ride from a pub carpark meant we really ought to “pay our way” afterwards?

One of our delightful, sunny Norfolk days was very educational & entertaining. We discovered barns that were factories, broads that are waterways, mills that don’t grind grain, beached seals & heavenly cream scones!

Headed out on a drive & located Waxham barn. This restored historic barn was huge & built for threshing grain; very impressive – as was the Ploughman’s plate served in the cafe in an added wing. (I never cease to be amazed at the food offerings at some out-of-the-way places?)

Next stop was one of the preserved windmills, a National Trust site that provided local information & a cafe. It was all a treat, the information staff advice & food, the windmill tour, the local sights & wildlife. Our education came from understanding more about the Norfolk Broads; the low-lying lands needing continual drainage of water (to avoid returning to marsh-lands?) that is channeled into local canals & broad waterways via pumps originally operated through windmills (& now automated).

Next, acting on advice from the National Trust guides, we walked through to the coast, over the huge sand-dunes that form part of a coastal sea defence & along the sands to gaze upon dozens of lazing seals.

The final treat wasn’t the relief from finishing the long walk, nor from finding the NT cafe still open (both treats in themselves), it was the quality of the “cream scones”!

A week spent in the Cotswolds is going to guarantee various things: historic villages & towns, congestion & tourists, local & quaint traffic, & too many tea rooms?

Sometimes the villages are over-run with tourists; sometimes you get lucky…

The local traffic is going to include tractors, & you can’t avoid seeing Land Rovers…

Australian Rugby hasn’t been going too well in Bledisloe Cup competition with NZ, but it seems Lower Slaughter has been holding it’s own?

“That Lance” was quoted recently as saying about the TdF, “…impossible to win without doping because the Tour is an endurance event where oxygen is decisive” & there was (rightly) lots of negative reaction. Part of the statement though, strikes a chord with me – the bit about oxygen being decisive in endurance events – & so for my insight…

Do you fly up hills on your bike? (whether it’s a Brompton or whatever) Do you wonder why your effort seems so ineffective in comparison to others? There are lots of variables that affect our ability to get up hills comfortably & there are many theories as to what you need to do to improve (eg lose weight, buy a lighter bike, ride the bike more, harden up, etc). For me, some years of cycling club riding gave me plenty of opportunity to witness those riders who could “disappear up the road”, especially on big or long hills. On the flats or smaller rolling hills maybe I coped & kept with riders of an assortment of body shapes & sizes? Throw in the longer hills & there was still an assortment of rider sizes, but once the toughest of hills came along then probably the first up were the “weight weenies”? (can’t be sure from where I was on the road?). Time trialling was an enjoyable thing (sort of) but illustrated how some riders had astounding performance. What was their secret?

A few years ago I gained my insight after coming down with a virus. Just a bad ‘flu it seemed but once back on the bike it was a real struggle; no speed, no power, so tiring? Tests were inconclusive for some time & probably confused by previous heart surgery & abnormal heart wave patterns? An early diagnosis was erratic electrical signals controlling the heart muscles & I was fitted with a Pacemaker. Later a heart ultrasound measuring heart chamber sizes & blood volumes indicated my weakened heart muscle pumping less blood between chambers. Time for the Pacemaker to be retired & exchanged for a Defibrillator. All very complex but from my layman’s understanding of it, blood from the heart gets pumped through to the lungs where it picks up oxygen which then gets delivered to the muscles through the blood flow. For me the lessened blood flow & an electrical signal restriction of my heart rate results in reduced oxygen to the muscles & leads to earlier fatigue when my load increases via hills, headwinds, etc. For others: more blood, more oxygen, less fatigue? Some people are blessed (genetically)…

So, how’s my hill “performance” post-virus? Hmm… definitely slow on long hills but I’ve come to relish my Brompton, Ralph. If I slow down before I’m fatigued, put Ralph into my super-low Alfine 11-speed first gear & then just pedal slowly, look at the scenery & keep going (until I feel like stopping/walking?) then the hill disappears. Maybe “almost normal” & with my limited blood oxygen supply, if I operate at a level where the muscles are satisfied then riding’s good! I recommend it for everyone!