chung

Glen, you’ve got to be the most optimistic person I know ...... or the riskiest :-) nevertheless thanks for the great road report, it was most helpful! I hope those pictures were taken via a dashcam or someone else took it while you’re driving, otherwise you could be sitting in court next to the guy who got gobbed by Jamie Carragher :-) Cheers Chung

Thanks Charlie, much appreciated! Sounds ideal, add that on to my km to & from the club room would be spot on for what I’m looking for! Will be there if the weather ain’t too grim! cheers Chung

Hi Charlie, do you have an idea on the milage for this ride? Cheers Chung

David, I might be interested as well, as I need to clock up my km too! I'll confirm hopefully end of this week as need to re-arrange child care for that day Keep you posted Cheers Chung

Reliability, Reliability, Reliability! Bummer Ryan, well at least this didn’t happen while you were out on the road :-/ Sounds like you need a new bike :-) ......... Nae, only kidding! A new rear mech hanger for you then, I always have a spare hanger (or 2) for each & everyone of my bikes, exactly for situations like this, you don’t want to be hunting around for these sometimes hard to get parts. It also works well when you try to sell the frame to at a later date, what with spares to attract potential buyers, shows you care! As for putting on your new hanger, make sure you apply anti-seize compounds to minimise your current issue next time. That’s an area with lots of sprays especially with your race blade mudguards Good luck & hope your bike is road worthy very soon! cheers

Cracking Reliability run #3 today, thanks for the wheels everyone! 2nd puncture in 3 days for me, not good, hope that's my bad luck done now for a while! Thanks to Charlie & David C's kind assistance & spare tube offered just in case I had another one :-) (luckily didn't need it) Sorry to part with the Bunch just before the Bridge & skipping the clubroom social, hope everyone got home without too much problems! Good to catch up with folks that I've not seen for a while & meeting Rachid :-) Cheers Chung

Brilliant Paul, great news & sounds like a fun weekend :-) I assume you guys will be hiring a car to drive from Brussels to Lille, right? Cheers Chung

Last minute change of plan for me, went with the earlier 0900 Bunch as I needed to start & finish early, but I was running late so solo on chasing the Bunch, got to Bishopton before I joined the group. Great to catch up with those who I haven't seen for a while, including Alan (Charlie's friend from Largs) who I last met while riding around in Girona back in 2010 with the Wheelers! Good to see him again indeed! No mechanical at all - real bonus ......... well, apart for some squeaky disc brakes :-) Got back to the club room but didn't hang around for the soup & social, had to head home pronto, sorry about that! Thanks for the company & wheels today, also to AlanT for organising & the food/beverage personnel, Cheers! Chung

Nice one Paul! Just a suggestion, the fact you have 3 bodies going, would it not be cheaper/more flexible if you take the car & go via Hull - Zeebrugger - Lille? Just like we did a few years back. But then I suppose you will have to start the journey on Thursday morning & be making your way back to Zeebrugger on the return leg late Sunday afternoon, less time to watch the race! Regardless of which means you travel, I will see you guys in Lille anyway - I cannae wait Cheers Chung

Thanks Alan for organising! I’ll book a place for the 9.30am Bunch please! Cheers Chung

That is fantastic news, Mr. Mulholland The pick-up is defo. appreciated, means I can have a longer lie in then ........ nice one! I now have a "comfy" back seat at the Mulholland express train for the whole 173km ......... however, not sure if I can hang on to the youngster's wheel though! Oh ....... I canna wait Cheers Chung

Thanks for the tips & photos Graham, much appreciated! Yes, a handle bar bag will be one of my luggage set-up, with most likely a "trunk bag" on the rear rack. What litre capacity is your bar-bag, Graham? I am trying to go as light as possible - so I reckon I can make do with approx. 18-20 litre of luggage with the combination of a bar & trunk bag :-) No luxury item such as camera etc (my iPhone will have to make do) I'm afraid, therefore my bar bag will be for essentials as well as items I need convenient access to, so a roomy one would be ideal but then not too big :-) This bike tour packing is just as interesting as the biking it self :-) Cheers

Hi Paul(s), I'm sure you'll know but I'll say it anyway - make sure you book your bikes on the train journey going down to Glasgow as well as the Eurostar. It should be free but needs advance booking just to make sure, if you're traveling with Virgin trains, its - 0344 5565 650 they'll give you a reference code but no emails or anything, just a number which you'll need to get the bike on board. As for Eurostar, it's actually a separate operator that you call - Euro Dispatch 0344 8225 822, £30 each way. You will need your train ticket booked first but I phoned them to make sure space is available & I booked the Eurostar train while I was on the phone to them. The return legs from Lille back to London is slightly different. I was told I can't book in advance but will need to on the day of travel, not sure about that, but I shall investigate that further & update accordingly! Good luck chaps Cheers Chung

Paul, sorry I’m a bit thick, but does that mean you’re game for Roubaix this April? Oh, your dancer!

That's a shame, Paul ...... was hoping to share some Pave with you! Maybe next year then ....... eh!

Cheers Davie, I’ll definitely be pannier-less when I come to tackling all the “bergs” .... need all the help I can get for sure :-) It would be great to see you on the Pave, you’ll smash through them no bother given you CX credentials! Cheers

Hi Paul, That would be great, be mindful that your bike will need to go on the Eurostar Train as a check-in "package", don't need a bike box, they'll take it on as a complete bike. But you do have to pre-book it (optional but highly advisable) cost £30 each way I'm staying at the Lille Ibis (same as we did last time with Wheelers) from Friday 6th till Sunday 8th April: http://www.ibis.com/gb/hotel-0901-ibis-lille-centre-gares/index.shtml#overview This is handy as it's just around the corner from the Eurostar Station & 35 minutes pedal to Roubaix Velodrome! Cheers Chung

Cheers Billy, unfortunately my bike frame don’t fit 27mm tyres very well

Cheers Iain, but I do like Belgium chocolate & pastry, so it’ll be just as bad :-)

Thanks chaps for the offers & advise, very much appreciated! Paul, I have just managed to source 2 of these rare Pave tyres, but I might take up you offer for one, just as a spare if that’s ok! Iain, again thanks for the pannier bags, I’m thinking of investing on some myself as I was hoping to do more of these touring in further, so having some myself makes sense! Alan, good shout on the handlebar bag, it certainly seems a very good/handy way of getting stuff quickly. I was looking at ones with a clear pocket on top so to put maps/GPS in that’s waterproof if need be. Do you know if that Ortlieb have that? Cheers

Hi All, Just like to say that I am doing a double Classics in the form of Ronde Van Vlaanderen & Paris Roubaix Sportives in March/April 2018. The Ronde Sportive is on the Saturday 31st March & Paris Roubaix Challenge is Saturday 7th April, the pros race it the day after. In between doing these 2 events, I will be staying in Flanders & doing some cycle touring around various cities & towns :-) taking in the fabulous culture, scenery etc that it's renown for. My travelling schedule will be by trains on Thursday 29th March, Glasgow to London then Eurostar to Brussle, Belgium & returning via Lille, France by Eurostar also on Sunday 8th April. I don’t imagine anyone will be up for the touring part, but it would be great if anyone fancy riding 1 of the events, as having some familiar faces are always welcome on the day. I know Paul Levy & Paul McDonald expressed some interest in Roubaix & as far as I know, Martin Mulholland & his 3 boys will be signing up for the 173km Ronde Sportive also (apparently its the family tradition …… nice one)! I have ridden these events before & what can I say …….. other than the fact that I love it so much that I have to put myself through it again & again …. Also, Belgium is a place I said I would go back to visit and what better way to do it on the bike, I have been thinking about this for the pass few years ever since Gavin (Martin M’s pal from East Coast) mentioned it to me. Belgium has a first class cycle route system that run right round & across the country, it sounds like cycling heaven, so it should be fairly easy to navigate around then :-) Anyway, the following are some links if anyone is interested, I know quite a number of Wheelers have done 1 of or both of events, but for those who haven’t but might interest then: http://www.sport.be/werideflanders/2018/en/ http://www.parisroubaixchallenge.com/en/ I have never done any bike touring before, but any form of cycle which involve a lot more stopping/eating than riding gets my vote :-) plus the fact that it’s a good excuse to buy more gear …… brilliant! A couple of dilemma I face already, as I will be touring & riding the events on the same bike, which means I’ll have to compromise on a few things for sure. It won’t be practical to ride my tubular wheels (they were great for Roubaix’s pave) so instead I’ll ride a set of 32/36 spokes clincher with Vittoria Pave 25mm tyres, but the problem is these tyre seems to have been discontinued so it’s hard to find stock I will also need to invest in some rear panniers & rack for my bike, I have set my sight on some Arkel Dolphins 32, anyone had experiences on that? I would appreciate any advise on cycle touring gear & any helpful tips ..... or any ideas at all regarding Flanders (as an area) I would be very grateful! I am so looking forward to this mini adventure! That’s all for just now ………. to be continue :-) Cheers

Iain, I assume your chain-set is the new 4 arm type chainset? If not, then 34T & 36T chainrings have different BCD measurements (the diameter of the the crank arms - 130 for Standard & Pro Compact & 110 for Compact) Assuming yours is the 'New" 4 arm design, then it should fit fine! But watch out for chain tension, as your chain was originally cut for 36T, if you run a 34T, the chain tension will be less as less chain ring teeth to wrap chain around, so be careful you have enough chain tension when on small ring & small sprocket set up! Good luck :-)

Thanks for the company & route today, Andrew! It was great to catch up with you & Peter, also meeting Paul too! The thought of another café stop did cross my mind but was trying to get home "early-ish", so just plough on against the head wind, was totally emptied by the time I got on the A77! Tired but happy with the km bagged :-) Cheers Chung

Andrew, I’ve not seen you & Peter for a while, so I’ll be along to catch up with you guys! See youse tomorrow then! Cheers Chung

Good news Robbie, look on the bright side, at least now you have a functioning bike! :-)