Mellow Johnny's jerseys are bloody expensive!!

Wore the long sleeved one on yesterdays ride. 19.4 miles, 12.1 mph average, enjoyed it. Not too muddy and not too many people about. Jersey looked good and is warm.

What I don't like is the £54 customs bill from Fedex I've received this morning !!!!!!

Fucking hell!!

I was going to buy some more MJ stuff before xmas but now that a £75 jersey becomes £101 with duty and VAT, I will have to stick with some livestrong stuff from Chain Reaction. I really thought I'd got away with it. I mean the MJ stuff is already expensive, but this takes the piss!

I've ordered some wacky bars to give em a try. Some Ragley Carnegies. Been looking at the Titec version of Jeff Jones bars but they are heavier than the Carnegies and I think the forward extensions on the Titecs are asking to be hooked on a tree and I don't need any help in falling off.

Sorting out some parts too so I can put the Hope SS wheel back on to see how it compares after running th Alfine for a bit. I'll let you know how I get on.

Blimey, that was warm!

Had a good ride last Saturday and it was surprisingly warm. Gald I didn't put a long sleeve on under my Fox jersey.

Managed 19.4 miles in just over hour and a half, average speed 12.1 mph. Very good thing was that I managed all that without a stop. I must be getting fitter!!

I'm still only using 3 gears on the Alfine and I got up all the climbs in 32:18 direct gear. I still think that equates to my SS gearing of 32:16 given that with the SS wheel, I wouldn't have to move so much weight. My aim is to set up the Hope SS wheel with a disc, tube and tyre so I can easilly swap the wheels. It won't take much to remove the shifter and it will also go back on easilly.

Just seen that Jeff Jones is building a steel version of his space frame. Why has he done that to me! Will add that to my list of possibilities for next year, along side the Eighteen Bikes custom frame and an Independent Fabrication.

Oh, the Mellow Johnny's jerseys are still looking cool. More will be on the way.

Mellow Johnny's jerseys make you ride faster......

Well perhaps that's an exaggeration but I enjoyed wearing my short sleeved one for the first time on yesterdays ride. I also wore my new MJ bib shorts under my baggies and then took the baggies off for a bit. Felt very strange riding roadie style in Lycra only and I must admit, if I do it again it won't be until next summer. The on show Lycra must be the reason why the turd on a commuter bike, in a yellow vest, tried to overtake me after being right up my arse! He didn't over take me by the way.

Managed 20 miles in about 1 hour 40 which isn't bad. What was bad was the number of bloody horse riders about who kept slowing me down. Managed my 12 mile stop in record time too. And the trails weren't anywhere near as muddy as I thought they'd be.

Still not sure about the weight of the Alfine.........




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Nothing interesting happened on todays ride.....

......apart from the kamakaze squirrel that tried to knock me off my bike!

17.6 miles in hour and half not bad but I need to push more. I had to get back home by a certain time so did what I could.

Come on Mellow Johnnys, make my account say order shipped!!

Oh, and I won some MJ's brand new bib shorts on ebay. Lets hope they fit ok!

A few things I'm not sure about.......

Lots of pondering been going on in the little Clements head.

Still not sure about he alfine hub. Too heavy for the gear range? Am I doing the wrong thing pulling around all the extra weight when I did fine at 32:16? Should I take it off after spending all that money? I'm going to set up my Hope ss rear wheel with a disc, tube and tyre and then maybe swap back and see how I go ss again. Lighter, more efficient etc. We'll see......

Not sure about the future of the band either as it currently is. 3 rc is pretty much dead I think so Russ and I should concentrate on the new folky route. But it's a wrench to leave all those 8 years of effort behind.......

One thing I did decide on was which Mellow Johnny's jerseys to buy. After much umming and aring I finally decided on a long sleeve and a short sleeve with yellow band (pics below) Really looking forward to getting these and hopefully I won't get caught with customs charges!

So you can see, my indecisiveness is my only constant :-/




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Average ride yesterday

Managed 19 miles yesterday. Pretty uneventful but I'm seem to be getting the hang of the alfine a little more in terms of allowing it to change gears more smoothly.

Ridden over 50 miles this week which is a lot for me. My calves are a bit sore and my left knee is a bit stiff, but I need to keep pushing myself a bit.




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At last a serious ride!

Bugger work, let's go ride!

Went out early this morning once I'd dropped the ankle biter off (I'm watching only fools at the moment!)

Managed a ride to Shipley Park and then a few loops around the park. It was a lovely ride and I felt like I could do a few miles. It's still a pain avoiding the canal near me due to the works they are doing and I hate riding on the road. I managed to find a slight diversion but still ended up riding through Stabbo :-/

So 34.11 miles is the longest ride I've done for a while. Probably the longest since the BHF Sherwood pines ride a couple of years ago.

I enjoyed the Alfine today and I can see how good it is for longer rides so you can spin a bit and rest your legs, rather than having to grind and grunt without he ss. I can see the Hope ss hub going back on in the deepest winter and 32 16 will feel like the 32 18 direct gear on the Alfine as I won't be pulling the weight of the hub. I'm not sure if I can notice the weight when riding, but I'm sure it's a factor when riding. I'm trying to stick to gears 4, 5 and 6 although I did go lower on a road section to get up a hill.

I will report on long term reliability towards the end of the year.

No I'm off to cut the hedge!







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