No such thing as pot luck on a bike

Something doesn't quite tally here. A week or so ago it took me around 1hr 20 mins to cycle from Bearsden to Falkirk. A leisurely trip of around 24 miles. Today it took me 1hr 10 mins to cycle only 12 miles. So, perhaps I've got a lot slower. Maybe that's true. And, of course, it does depend on the terrain and the number of traffic lights.

In fact the terrain was similar but there were a lot of traffic lights and some did seem to be against me.

No, the real reason why it took me almost as long to cycle half the miles was the number of pot holes. Regardless of council area – I cycled through East Dunbartonshire, Glasgow City and East Renfrewshire on my trip from Bearsden to Newton Mearns (for my third tattoo removal treatment at Ab Fab beauty salon, if you're interested. You know how I like to combine keep fit with going somewhere..) the pot holes were just as bad.

Every pot hole (and there are more than I can count) required a different form of navigation, including such techniques as "veering around", "forced through", "down and under and nearly over" and "brake, stop, wheel through on foot". Some holes were almost the length of my bike and spread right across the lane. It was tedious and frustrating and added at least 15 minutes on to my journey time, as well as up to about half a mile in extra "veering" distance.

We know that councils are skint but surely there's enough money to re-surface the outer edges of the road for cyclists. This way it might encourage many more people to cycle, therefore reducing the number of cars on the road, therefore reducing the wear and tear of the roads and so making a happier all-round city.

I also note rather enviously that East Ren has more miles of cycle lanes than East Dun. The lane stretches almost continuously from the city centre to Newton Mearns. Why not the same in other council areas, I ask?

Shiny new bike bit

I'm very happy indeed with my shiny new bike gear cable. As I blogged before I have spent a week or so stuck with use only of one front cog on my bike so I've been dong a lot of leg "spinning". But action needed to be taken and with the sun shining I decided to cycle over to my favourite bike shop, Solid Rock, at Balmore. (They will have a new website up and running in the next few days.)

Once more these guys proved that they offer fantastic service. Within a few minutes of arriving at the shop my bike was up on the work stand and the cable was being stripped out and replaced with a new one. I was admonished a little for cycling so much on dirty winter roads on such a nice racer bike but I don't have much choice as this is my only bike. (People in bike shops talk about winter bikes and summer bikes. I don't have that much money!)

Anyway, just 10 mins later – and at a very fair price of £5 – I had a shiny new gear cable, as well as smooth, working brakes again. Thanks Dave.

Ah, and the cycle home felt so good. Having the full range of gears to choose from is a delight after the limitations of the past six days.