And a virtual representation

Are people from Mwnt called Mwnters?!! :-)

Mwnt bay from the Gwbert section of my route. (Pronounced Moownt) .

There was a cracking downhill here with plenty of ramblers to mow down. I'll be back.

The mill at Cenarth.

Cenarth

I went up the right flank of the main peak (not right to the top - 347m) maxxing out at about 285m. Nothing too outstanding in that figure alone except that it was at the back end of a 27 miler. And it was me doing the cranking!!

What a week!

I'm alive and telling the tale, so it's a happy ending (for me, at least!)

Had our week in West Wales again and I did some more of my personal Pembrokeshire coastal bike route. I had 2 brilliant days of cycling (Monday & Wednesday) covered over 50 miles of part sealed and part off-road and thought I was going to squeeze a 3rd. Found a handful of particularly noteworthy tracks. Then Wednesday evening went down with the most awful bout of food poisoning or something. Had all the symptoms plus some. Even fever and surreal hallucinatory dreams. I wasn't even sure I'd be up to driving back, but did manage it this morning. Even now I'm nowhere near 100%. Plus side: I've probably lost even more weight!!!

The picture above is from the Newport Bay section of my route. As these hills started to stack up in front of me I thought, "I've not planned to go up those have I!? Hmm, looks like I have? I'll take some photos just in case" True enough that's where I was headed.

Help! I'm turning into a roadie.

After nearly 5 weeks of cycling back and fore to work on tarmac I'm actually enjoying it!!!! Something wrong there, I've known myself plan a route with a 5 mile detour to avoid 1 mile of road!! The Marigold Acne tyres are all but bald now and I've clocked up nearly 580 miles, which for me is a stunning figure! There's an unexpected pressure building, I'm all but committing myself in work to continue the commute. I've bagged one of just 6 big lockers in the changing room, to keep it I need to keep cycling. I've had my photo taken with a gang of in work promoting bike commuting as part of Bike Week. My colleagues will think I've given up if return to off-road only (and I've become quite a talking point!!) Lastly, I love the moral high ground, next time someone comments about my gas guzzling 4x4's, or my rallies or off-roading, I'll jab them in the eye and twist their nipple 180 degrees and point out that I cycle 60 miles a week to and from work, and ask what their contribution is!

I'm becoming resigned to the idea of frequent tyre swapping. There's no way I'm giving up off-road MTBing. And there's no way I'm going to spend another wedge on another half decent road or hybrid bike.

Will it rain or will it shine?

Time to get back off-road. Got next week off work, supposed to be going down West Wales. I've got my routes more or less sorted: a 19 miler just north of Cardigan which is nice and close to the cottage, and either a 22 miler South-West of Cardigan which takes in some of the tracks I missed last time I was down there (but it requires a lift to the start and from the finish) or a tougher 20 miler East of Fishguard for which I can take the car.

But which part of the week do I go? I think I've turned into a fair weather biker! I find myself pouring over the weather reports and ditching the bike at the first sign of rain. Now I'm agonising over the weather and when to go; I need 2 days of good weather preferably with a rest day between. As far as I can see Sunday's good (but the Weather Channel disagrees), Monday's good, Tuesday's bad (but MetCheck say good), Wednesday's could be showery, Thursday (now we've got to be getting innaccurate) dry, Friday & Saturday could be showery. Grrr! It's looking like I aim to ride Monday and Wednesday leaving an option on Thursday.

Bruce in Cardiff

Here are the ropey vids I promised!!

Bruce on stage.

It's a sell-out!!

She's the One

9. Refit is almost the reverse of removal. But before you do, good idea to test the stereo works OK. Don't forget to test the memory backup power supply and the power supply when the ignition is in the accessory position. You may need to swap some wires around.

Bolt the cradle back into the dash. If unplugged, reconnect the hazards switch. Refit the fascia from the BOTTOM first (I found it easier that way). It should just push gently back into place and clip in. Replace the screws underneath the vents and away to go!!! Easy!!

5. I had already previously removed the old unit. But for you to remove the old one, remove the 4 bolts facing you, 2 either side the stereo and 2 either side of the stowage tray underneath. The stereo is bolted into the same metal cradle as the tray and the 2 just pull out together. Unplug the stereo leads.

6. There are 2 bolts to remove each side of the stereo holding it into the cradle. You may need to gently spread the cradle to release the stereo.

7. To fit the new stereo you should have bolt or screw holes on the side to line up with those in the cradle. I had to find 4 short wide self tappers to go in mine. Take care not to use anything too long that might interfere with the unit's internals.

8. To connect the stereo you'll probably need some new cables. My stereo has an ISO plug. £3.50 off xaero_elite on ebay bought me an ISO to Honda plug converter. For me it was plug and go!

4. Now concentrate on the top end of the fascia with the same wiggling and pulling approach. There are about 4 sprung clips which will release as you ease it out.

Once the fascia is free, you can disconnect the warning hazard light switch or, as I did, just hang the fascia carefully by the cable. (Note which way round the switch connects, not sure if it's keyed to fit one way.)

3. Gently wiggle and pull the bottom end of the fascia to disengage the vents 1/2" from the ducts.

2. Underneath the air vents are 2 screws. Out with these, taking care not to scratch your fascia.

How to fit a new stereo in Honda CR-V.

I Put the stereo in my new car, yesterday. This is how it's done on a 2002 Honda CR-V.

1. By default, the Honda stereo is bolted in from the front of the dash behind the silver fascia. So that fascia has to come off.

I'll whack up some ropey vids when I get chance.

The Boss, Cardiff Millenium Stadium.

Lonesome Day

Brilliant!!

A meeting with the Boss

Sold.

The Civic's sold and gone. The guy that bought it got a reasonable buy I think. It's been a good car, but as the years advance reliability will become more of a concern. So it was a good time to go.

I still had the Civic's original cassette player so I swapped that back in and removed my better CD/MP3 player to go in the CR-V. I took the Honda CD player out of the CR-V, that can go in the Land Rover eventually.

I needed a different cable to fit the Kenwood MP3 into the CR-V. Thumbs up for ebay and Autoleads 'n' Facias - Cable arrived a couple of days back. Tested it and it works.

My 50 mile epic is a dim distant memory now. The aches lasted 24 hours and I cycled to work on Tuesday (10 miles each way). Got plans for the weekend that will keep of off the bike, so I'll leave the Marigolds on there and cycle to work next week too. 16.5 stone!!

Something to prove!?

Perhaps I had something to prove today. Couple of things came together J mentioned the ride up the National Cycle Network route 4 from Swansea to Pembrey park was a good ride. Having a new gearset, I fancied bedding it in on sealed surface ride (plus I've still got the Scott Marigold Acne tyres on). 2 weeks+ out of the saddle and I felt the need to show to myself I hadn't got lazy. So, off I went up route 4, thinking I'd about turn and come back after Llanelli. Llanelli came and went and I was still going strong. Burry Port came and went, and I still felt driven. Pembrey and park arrived and before I popped out the west end of the Park I stopped for a bite to eat by the race track (picture). 1 small oaty bar later I decided it was time to head home, via a cafe. The search for a suitable cafe lasted 'til Llanelli (bearing in mind I had no bike lock). At Llanelli I gave up and found an Asda instead. 4 sandwiches and 2l of water later and all of a sudden the remains of the ride home looked a little daunting!!

I DID press on and impressed myself with a final mileage of over 50 miles!

Now I can't walk!! :-)

Cool!

Oooh! Shiny new gears.

Equipped with a nice shiny new Shimano Deore LX gearset I finally got back on the bike! I thought it had been longer, but it's only been just over 2 weeks. I was surprised by how easy it was to fit, particularly the crank. Going from an internal sealed cartridge to the HollowTech was un-nerving. I thought I'd need to get the BB shell refaced and there was nick out of the edge of the shell where the weld for the down tube had got a little hot. On top of that the shell measured 67.5mm instead of 68mm. I wasn't sure how accurate the HollowTechs needed the shell to be. However, it all went OK, the 2 spacers on the damaged side of the shell will ensure no deformation of the Bearing cups takes place. The HollowTech absorbed the 1/2mm inaccuracy no problem. When I took all the paint off the shell end and checked with an engineers ruler it looked flat and true. It all went together fine. Thanks to Dad and J. for their help. I was anxious about the decision to go to a short cage rear derailleur, but as long as I can get into the habit of steering clear of the extreme small rings front and rear, I should be OK. Not to bad before having a short cage so should be OK.

And the LX stuff looks smart!! :-)

For sale!!

Well it's all happening at the moment: bought my Dad's car off him, a very nice 6 year old Honda CR-V. That means I need to sell my earlier car (pictured). The bike's still in bits. Bought a new Shimano Deore LX driveset for £169 from the Woolly Hat Bike Shop. Chain Reaction Cycles would have been cheaper but no stock. Started putting the bike back together today - it looks good. Took the Civic up to my Parents for one of their Super Mum & Dad valets!! Dad brought the Civic back today and it looks superb!

So, what am I selling? A silver 1998 S reg Honda Civic 1.5l iLS VTEC. 55k miles 2 owners. Full service history. Elec windows, remote c/lock, elec sunroof, airbags up front, air con, PAS, heated wing mirrors. Basically it's a nice car. Anyone interested, drop a comment on this blog post.