Paul, the masked rider, on a mission to help others!

Here’s a post from a friend of mine. Showing the kind of gutsy determination we all love! Go Paul! ……

“Sometimes, you have to drag yourself out the door, leaving behind a nice warm house and foregoing the 2nd cup of tea that you so badly want but deep down you know that you have to put the miles in, today was one of those days.

As I left the house it was pouting with rain with big brooding dark clouds in all directions, I was already thinking about the lovely hot cup of coffee I was going to enjoy on my return followed by a steaming hot shower.

After about 5 miles into my ride and to my amazement, the sun made a brief appearance, it was still raining but my mood was lifted and my cadence I creased as a result, another 5 miles in and the dark brooding clouds had all but disappeared and the morning almost became perfect for cycling.

I was on one of my normal 25 mile loops around the North Downs but decided to take a detour and go along some bridle paths and tracks that I have never ventured along, the winter sun lighting up some of the tree clad valleys was truly stunning and my ride went from being a reluctant one to exhilarating.

The tracks and bridleways were truly muddy as a result of the melting snow but this just added to the ride, I was feeling strong and could have gone on for many more miles.

Today’s ride brought home the stunning beauty of the Kentish Downs, those of us who live here are extremely lucky and I am so glad that I dragged my sorry arse out the door.”

Paul is cycling from Cape Wrath to Dover for Demelza Hospice Care for Children. Demelza Hospice Care for Children cares for life limited children and their families, offering respite breaks, end of life care and bereavement support.

You can help Paul by sponsoring him here – www.justgiving.com/Paul-Hamley.

I’ve been getting 29er curious over the last few months, and I finally got to test one at the weekend. I happened to be in Intersport in St Junien looking for gloves when I spotted their Trek Superfly AL Elite 29er demo bike. It’s free to demo for 48hrs – you just need to leave a deposit cheque and sign a contract. I picked it up on Friday, and had all weekend to test it. My plan was to set it up and do some comparison tests on the Saturday then ride a VTT Rando on it on the Sunday.

I flipped the stem, moved the controls inboard a touch, set the saddle height, and was ready to go. I measured and compared with my 26er. The Trek came up a little shorter, but as the bars were wider (over 700mm!!!), I thought it would be OK. I noted that the bottom bracket and resulting saddle height were 1 cm higher from the ground.

First impression, a bit strange. Although only 1cm higher from the ground it seemed higher. A U-turn in the driveway felt cumbersome and vague. I wondered about the extra flex that bigger wheels might give, and whether this might be an advantage on rougher ground. I set of on a short testing loop. The bike had a sort of ‘quiet’ feel to it. Very comfortabe. I was going pretty quick, I could tell that from the gear I was in, but I didn’t feel like I was going quick, just floating along really.

At the entry to the first chemin, I did my usual, ‘pedal hard through the corner and control the speed with the back brake’. The bike turned beautifully. I lost almost no speed. It felt good. Still floating, and yet more floating as I crossed some rough rocky ground. Turning downhill I began to pick up some real speed. Still floating. At the bottom of the descent it’s always tricky trying to coax a bike around the off-camber turn, but the 29er was easy, she slid around easily.

Back at ‘chez nous’ I did a quick check on bolts to make sure nothing had come loose. Next I used a timed loop of around 10 mins, a good mix of sweeping trails and technical stuff. I did a lap on the 29er, then a lap on my Specialized Epic, then another on the 29er, then a final lap on the Epic. The results were inconclusive. The difference was not measurable. I was just about the same time to the second on both. There were places where I felt faster on one that the other, but I couldn’t say that one was faster than the other.

So to the VTT Rando at Ambazac (organized by the Ambazac Sprinter Club). My friend Pierre, a 29er convert, had told me that it’s when riding with others that you notice how good the 29er really is. The Ambazac rando is normally well attended, so plenty of riders, and a 35kms loop up in the hills should be a tough test.

I made sure I was there nice and early to get a place near the front. Just before the off I realised I’d left my number board in the car! Doh! A quick dash back to the car and back, and I’ve missed the start. I chase like mad through the back markers. The first big climb and we are down to walking pace. In fact most are walking. Over the top and away. Again I’m ploughing through the back markers like a madman. Down a fast technical descent, I’m being very creative with my line, I clip a rock hard, and pinch flat the rear wheel!!!! It takes me less than a couple of minutes to fit a new tube and get away, but that’s two minutes of riders going past.

I realise my ride isn’t going as planned and calm down a little. I make ground where I can, and just wait patiently where I can’t. At the first food stop I ride straight through. There’s less traffic now, and I can ride faster. Getting into the flow, I notice how well the 29er rolls. On slight descents I seem to roll up to riders ahead of me with ease. On climbs I seem to be going well, I notice how the 29er rolls nicely over roots and rocks.

With an hour and thirty minutes on the clock I know I can’t be far from home. I’m pushing on hard. Totally absorbed in the trail and the flow. As happens so often, I’ve said this before, the trail fairies cast a spell on me, and I’m just there in the moment. The spell is only broken with the realisation that I was under the spell!!! I forgot I was riding the 29er! I was just riding.

So there you have it, a weekend testing a 29er, and no answer, no conclusion, no significant test data. I really dunno! But this… I think that for marathon type racing where you are riding over ‘un seen’ terrain where efficiency, economy of effort, and maintaing momentum are paramount, the 29er might be best. But for closed circuit racing with tight turns, with lots of stops and starts where you are wrestling the bike then a 26er might be best.

In either case, to me, the 29er didn’t feel like I was going fast even when I was. It didn’t have that ‘seat of the pants’ knife edge razor sharp hadling feel that a 26er race bike has. Going fast, and sensation of going fast are different things.
Also, I note that the Trek has quite a shallow head angle of 68 degress. That is quite a lot slacker than I’m used to, and may have added to the Trek’s ‘quiet’ feel.

Finally, don’t get me wrong, I loved riding the Trek. It’s a really lovely bike, handles beautifully. I was sad to give it back. If long distance XC is your thing you’d love it too. It’s a tool for the job.

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If I should die, think only this of me;
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England’s breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Rupert Brooke. 1887 – 1915

You know I really wanted to adopt an old boy. I searched and searched, made a few failed attempts, and then….I adopted a young girl. Princess Maya! a “Berger Blanc Suisse”, she’s 18 months old. Her owners had divorced and passed her on to a brother in law, but he already had two dogs, so he put her up for adoption.

So, she’s great with other dogs, but apart from that she’s like a wild teenager! Albeit with a lovely kind nature. We’ve been getting lots of walks in, and lots of training. I want to get her to the point where I can take her anywhere with me. To me that’s one of the biggest good things about having a dog.

Happy New Year to you all. I hope 2012 is a good one for you.

I wanted to give a general update on a number of fronts so….

On the dog front. We’re still missing Rex, but we have decided to try and find another rescue dog. We’ve been to see a couple, had a couple of false starts. Just waiting for the right dog to find us. C’mon boy, wherever you are.

On the biking front. Motivation and fitness has been at an all time low. I dunno why. But, just recently I’ve found myself enjoying my cycling a litttle more. I’m currently involved with the Rochcechouart Club’s ‘Ecole de VTT’ (school of mountain biking). Imagine that, an English bloke teaching French kids how to ride a mountainbike! They are great kids, and we have a good laugh. Some of them are damn fit to, and I have to try to keep up.

On the band front. I played in four different bands last year. Which means I learned four sets. It was hard work, and enough is enough! I’ve always played in other peoples bands, playing mostly what they want to play. So, I/we’ve started our own band called ‘Sugaree’. Watch out! More on this soon.

That’s about it for now. Ride on, rock on, and if you spot a GSD looking for a home, gis’ a shout! 🙂

Rex not well – Last Sunday he just wasn’t his normal self. He struggled to get up, couldn’t settle, panting….. It got so bad that we called the vet. The vet said that his heart didn’t sound good, and gave him a shot of Prednisolone. We took him back for a blood test on Monday. The blood test showed nothing exceptional although the vet said that there were signs of inflammation.
Vet gave us Prednisolone tablets. One a day for ten days and told us to come back the following week if Rex didn’t improve. The next couple of days followed a similar pattern. Rex would really struggle in the morning, then as the day went on he’d get better. We even got a glimpse of the old Rex. But, mostly he wasn’t good.
I sat with him all day with Wednesday and Thursday and most of the night. By the middle of the Thursday afternoon I couldn’t watch him suffer any more. Very carefully, I took him back to the vet in the hope that he would be able to give Rex some relief……..
We had Benzapril for him. The plan was that the Benzapril will help his heart. We should have seen improvement in 3 to 4 days. But not guaranteed. We had two-weeks worth of drugs, and at the end of that time the plan was to reassess.
I ccouldn’t bear to see him suffering like he was. Completely exhausted yet unable to sleep. Struggling to get up, then just standing there not knowing what to do.
The vet reckons there’s no chance of him ever being back to normal. Having spent the last two days reading up on dog heart problems all the classic signs are there – shortness of breath, coughing, getting up suddenly for no reason….and his appetite gone. He used to feed like he’d never been fed in his life. Now he struggles to take toast with honey on – his favourite.

FAST FORWARD TO FRIDAY… 2nd December…
Rex continued to go down hill. By Friday morning I knew he couldn’t go on. He was in a terrible state. We took the tough descision to set Rex free.
At the vets…I held him in my arms and spoke softly to him until I was sure he was free.

Rex, aka – Fluffy’ead, The Fluffy One, Royal Rex, Sir Rex of Gorre, My Lovely Boy…. He was only with us for one short summer. We knew when we adopted him that he wouldn’t be around for long. He was well over 10 years old. But we didn’t think he leave us so soon. He was part of the family and we were looking forwards to our first Christmas with him. We miss him so much. He was a special dog and we were gifted to know him.

Run free Rex, run free……

It’s been six months since Rex came to live with us, and apart from a few seconds of madness he hasn’t put a fang wrong! He’s really become part of the family now, and we loves him. It’s like he’s found his place, and he’s happy and relaxed in it. He’s such a good dog, and a pleasure to have around.

So, can you teach an old dog new tricks? Well before I answer with an emphatic yes I have to tell you that Rex is not an old dog. He might be 11, but he looks and acts much younger. I think he thinks he’s about 5!

Right, old dog new tricks, we’ve worked hard, and Rex has learned lots of new stuff, he’s still learning, and still improving. Rex is very bright and catches on quick, if he knows what you want he’ll do it.

Like many French dogs, especially big ones, they have the run of the garden, but never leave home unless it’s to the vets. For us though part of the pleasure of a dog is going for walks with it. When Rex came he didn’t have a lead. I started taking him for a walk every morning always at the same time, and always the same circuit. I’d do some training with him then after the walk I’d brush him. Brushing him was a good way for us to bond, and a good way for me to impose my will on him in a kind way.

Rex could already do sit, lie down, and give a paw, but that was about it. Now he walks well on the lead, is reliable off the lead, comes when called, and does a great sit and stay routine. All these are very important as you never know what you might meet, cattle, horses, runners, cyclists, other dogs.

Rex has come a long long way since those early days. He still has a way to go, but…. when we lost Big Jess, the best dog that ever walked the face of the earth, I kept her lead and chain as a sort of keepsake. I decided that I would use it with Rex, but only when he was good enough. I’ve been using it with him for well over a month now. That’s how good he is.

There’s more photos and a vid of Rex in action here.