Author Archives: Ian

back to reality

Written by . Posted on January 4, 2010. Filed under external feed. Tagged . Comments Off.

the7hills

http://the7hills.blogspot.com/2010/01/back-to-reality.html


Back to work, snowy and icy start to the new year.

Found some old disk brake forks a bought some knobby tyres for the single speed commuter.

Still got the ice tyres on order

3.2808399 feet

Written by . Posted on January 2, 2010. Filed under external feed. Tagged . Comments Off.

the7hills

http://the7hills.blogspot.com/2010/01/32808399-feet.html

I was feeling quite pleased with my bike building. The lad’s bike is coming on well and looks good and yesterday I swapped the forks on my commuting bike so I could fit the front road disk that’s been kicking around .I needed some odds and sods to finish my commuter off so I wrote a nice long list of all the bits I needed to finish both bikes ready to head off to my LBS. Now I had an hour long window to work in as I knew the Sheffield football team that loses lots of games were playing near my LBS this afternoon. It was looking like a nip down in the car before the better half needed it later. Besides If I cycled Id only have one brake on my daily rider, the back brake and it’s all downhill. My other bike has got two flats so no time to pump tyres and the folder is buried somewhere under the stairs.Car it is then, but I’ll be back in 20 mins.Things started badly with a quick call at the hardware shop to get a new strip light for the bathroom as the continued disco strobe it’s been doing over Xmas and New Year is getting tiresome now the drugs are wearing off.“How long is it?” he said,“1.2m and 36W “I replied.“Is that 3 footer” he asks,” no” I said “its 1.2m exactly, I’ve measured it”.” Sound like a 3 footer to me but they only come in 30w”.” No its 1.2m and 36W”.Now I’m rapidly approaching 50 years old, I started school in the 1960s (that’s the nineteen sixties, not the one thousand nine hundred and sixties for those who don’t think it’s now twenty ten) I was taught to measure things in m and cm. In the 1980s I went on to become a graduate engineer, we measured things in m, cm and mm. Even the crusty old draughtsmen at work did mm as long as they were paid a decent salary per mm.Anyway after a round of negotiations it turns out what I have is a 4 foot tube, not 1.2m at all, despite the best intentions of my tape measure.So now I’m running late, got 30 mins to get the car back to the OH. I’m stuck in the side streets of Hillsborough because it’s all double parked and somebody is unloading and has parked in the middle of the road. I can’t go back because the police are starting to block side streets at the other end.Have to waitAnother 5 mins lost but now I’ve reached the street where I usually park, only its full all the way to the end and by now its filling up with coppers in Day-Glo for the game in 3 ½ hours. I find the last spot and stagger along the icy pavements with some urgency now. I’ve parked about 400m (sorry 1312feet) away and I’m wearing MTB cycling shoes for reason I can’t now remember which doesn’t help matters. It’s now snowingI’m now brandishing my shopping list, pretending to study it intently so I don’t catch any of the coppers eyes as I’m from a generation that still fear policeman , customs officers and deputy head teachers.Worried that I’ll get spotted for the Leicester city fan I am, I’m even ready to disguise my east midlands drawl with a fake Irish accent picked up from ” 3 men in a boat” last night despite the fact that the away team today are from London and managed by a man called Colin who used to be a Neil.20 minutes till I need to get back now but it will be well worth it, work bike fixed, lads bike nearly done, a nice end to the xmas and new year hols and the great feeling of knowing Id used my LBS for at least some of the bits.So I’ve made it through the police lines and round the corner past the chippy, a glance in the shop window at the shiny new bikes and I’m up to the front door.I’m stunnedClosed for New Year holidays. What? It Saturday January 2ndI need to get my bike fixed for work on Monday and the LBS is shut. I don’t even have time to call in at the other LBS, the one by the tram stop as I need to get back so the OH can pick up youngest from gym club over the other side of town.So it looks like it’s time to open up the web browser and buy this little lot from Wiggle, and hopefully fix up the commuter with some kind of cable to get me to work on Monday.Anyway this was the full list of stuff on the list which I guess would have been about 150 quid but if anyone can help with some cable outer before Monday Id be gratefulI’ll need about 3.2808399 feet1 x Full set of road brake cables1 x front brake cable long enough to reach a disk brake2 x cyclocross tyres1 x ISIS crank puller2 x basic brake levers (road bars)1 x 9 speed campag block1 x chain for above

3.2808399 feet

Written by . Posted on January 2, 2010. Filed under external feed. Tagged . Comments Off.

the7hills

http://the7hills.blogspot.com/2010/01/32808399-feet.html

I was feeling quite pleased with my bike building. The lad’s bike is coming on well and looks good and yesterday I swapped the forks on my commuting bike so I could fit the front road disk that’s been kicking around .

I needed some odds and sods to finish my commuter off so I wrote a nice long list of all the bits I needed to finish both bikes ready to head off to my LBS. Now I had an hour long window to work in as I knew the Sheffield football team that loses lots of games were playing near my LBS this afternoon. It was looking like a nip down in the car before the better half needed it later. Besides If I cycled Id only have one brake on my daily rider, the back brake and it’s all downhill. My other bike has got two flats so no time to pump tyres and the folder is buried somewhere under the stairs.

Car it is then, but I’ll be back in 20 mins.

Things started badly with a quick call at the hardware shop to get a new strip light for the bathroom as the continued disco strobe it’s been doing over Xmas and New Year is getting tiresome now the drugs are wearing off.

“How long is it?” he said,

“1.2m and 36W “I replied.

“Is that 3 footer” he asks,

” no” I said “its 1.2m exactly, I’ve measured it”.

” Sound like a 3 footer to me but they only come in 30w”.

” No its 1.2m and 36W”.

Now I’m rapidly approaching 50 years old, I started school in the 1960s (that’s the nineteen sixties, not the one thousand nine hundred and sixties for those who don’t think it’s now twenty ten) I was taught to measure things in m and cm. In the 1980s I went on to become a graduate engineer, we measured things in m, cm and mm. Even the crusty old draughtsmen at work did mm as long as they were paid a decent salary per mm.

Anyway after a round of negotiations it turns out what I have is a 4 foot tube, not 1.2m at all, despite the best intentions of my tape measure.

So now I’m running late, got 30 mins to get the car back to the OH. I’m stuck in the side streets of Hillsborough because it’s all double parked and somebody is unloading and has parked in the middle of the road. I can’t go back because the police are starting to block side streets at the other end.
Have to wait

Another 5 mins lost but now I’ve reached the street where I usually park, only its full all the way to the end and by now its filling up with coppers in Day-Glo for the game in 3 ½ hours. I find the last spot and stagger along the icy pavements with some urgency now. I’ve parked about 400m (sorry 1312
feet) away and I’m wearing MTB cycling shoes for reason I can’t now remember which doesn’t help matters. It’s now snowing

I’m now brandishing my shopping list, pretending to study it intently so I don’t catch any of the coppers eyes as I’m from a generation that still fear policeman , customs officers and deputy head teachers.

Worried that I’ll get spotted for the Leicester city fan I am, I’m even ready to disguise my east midlands drawl with a fake Irish accent picked up from ” 3 men in a boat” last night despite the fact that the away team today are from London and managed by a man called Colin who used to be a Neil.

20 minutes till I need to get back now but it will be well worth it, work bike fixed, lads bike nearly done, a nice end to the xmas and new year hols and the great feeling of knowing Id used my LBS for at least some of the bits.

So I’ve made it through the police lines and round the corner past the chippy, a glance in the shop window at the shiny new bikes and I’m up to the front door.

I’m stunned

Closed for New Year holidays.

What?

It Saturday January 2nd

I need to get my bike fixed for work on Monday and the LBS is shut. I don’t even have time to call in at the other LBS, the one by the tram stop as I need to get back so the OH can pick up youngest from gym club over the other side of town.

So it looks like it’s time to open up the web browser and buy this little lot from Wiggle, and hopefully fix up the commuter with some kind of cable to get me to work on Monday.

Anyway this was the full list of stuff on the list which I guess would have been about 150 quid but if anyone can help with some cable outer before Monday Id be grateful

I’ll need about 3.2808399 feet



1 x Full set of road brake cables

1 x front brake cable long enough to reach a disk brake

2 x cyclocross tyres

1 x ISIS crank puller

2 x basic brake levers (road bars)

1 x 9 speed campag block

1 x chain for above

Spooky business – an Xmas Gift

Written by . Posted on December 24, 2008. Filed under external feed. Tagged . Comments Off.

the7hills

http://the7hills.blogspot.com/2008/12/spooky-business-xmas-gift.html

What’s this then Ian, a blog post? Where is the update about all the rides from the summer? What about the write up about the Norfolk tour, Cycle Sheffield launch and all the other stuff. What’s that? You’ve been too busy on twitter, oh give over…...The blog has been inactive for months, for which I apologise, and this isn’t even a cycling post. If your a fan of Spooks , have an unhealthy geeky interest in old Goth tunes then read on , otherwise carry on with the present wrapping………Jump back to Series 6 of Spooks, Ros is working within the Yalta group and they’re planning to use a weapon called “Floodland” to defeat a superpower. I thought it was just coincidence that it also happened to be the title of the second Sisters of Mercy LP. Later on Juliette (aka duck face) talking to Harry starts a sentence with “First and Last and Always”, the title of the first Sisters LP. So the script writer is having a bit of a laugh with those (sad enough) to be in the know.Jump forward to series 7 finale and the script starts name checking the Sisterhood LP “Gift” (same script writer it seems).Please don’t set lawyers on me as a lot of time has passed but from what I remember, and sniffing round on various web sites here follows my very brief account of the SisterhoodThe Sisterhood was a project created by Eldritch to prevent Hussey and Adams using that name after the Sisters of Mercy had split. From what I remember Hussey and Adams were already touring as the one version of the Sisterhood (I remember seeing posters in Leeds for their incarnation of the band) but it’s said that the first band to actually produce a record would receive an advance from the record company and have the name rights. Eldritch appeared with a single “Giving Ground” and an LP called “Gift” under the Sisterhood name and laid claim to it (some sources claim the LP was made in 11 days and the advance for the record was £25000). I actually quite liked “Gift” and more than 20 years on it still a fresh industrial sound, unlike the jangly guitars of SOM.I also remember a Janice Long session when Hussey and Adams were simply billed as the “Hussey and Adams” band due to legal reasons so maybe the accounts aren’t so far from the truth. Hussey and Adams finally used the name “The Mission”, and Eldritch slips back into the “Sisters of Mercy” name for all subsequent incarnations of the band (touring yet again in 2009 and I aim to see them)So what’s all this got to do with series 7 episode 8? Well several name checks to the Gift albumRussian sleeper agents have just been activated in the UK, they are about to release a nuclear weapon called “ Rain From Heaven”, which just happens to be the final track from “Gift”When Malcolm is monitoring Russian radio traffic he picks up a call sign “Finland Red, Egypt White”, followed by repeating numbers “2..5..0…0…”“ Finland Red , Egypt white” is track 4 on “Gift”, and the numbers “2..5..0..0…0 “are repeated at the start of track 1, “Jihad” (and are supposed to- be a reference to the record companies advance on the album) While Im on it the Finland Red reference is read out from the manual for an AK47 but you already new that.Finally (or not quite) when Connie is diffusing the bomb in the tube station Lucas starts a sentence with “what you have lost can never be found”. Now that bugged me for hours as I knew it from somewhere, then I remembered, it’s a line from “Giving Ground” track 3 from “Gift”Now there is one other link to all things Sisters that Ive spotted on forums but Ive not gone back through the episode to check yet (oh come on I may be sad, but Im not that bad…yet).The sleeper agent is supposed to come from Faversham in Kent, and the early haunt of the Sisters of Mercy and their followers was the Faversham Arms (the Fav) in Leeds……..So I hope that’s enough geeky trivia for you, normal cycling service return in the New Year.Merry Xmas and all that

Spooky business – an Xmas Gift

Written by . Posted on December 24, 2008. Filed under external feed. Tagged . Comments Off.

the7hills

http://the7hills.blogspot.com/2008/12/spooky-business-xmas-gift.html

What’s this then Ian, a blog post? Where is the update about all the rides from the summer? What about the write up about the Norfolk tour, Cycle Sheffield launch and all the other stuff. What’s that? You’ve been too busy on twitter, oh give over…...

The blog has been inactive for months, for which I apologise, and this isn’t even a cycling post. If your a fan of Spooks , have an unhealthy geeky interest in old Goth tunes then read on , otherwise carry on with the present wrapping………


Jump back to Series 6 of Spooks, Ros is working within the Yalta group and they’re planning to use a weapon called “Floodland” to defeat a superpower. I thought it was just coincidence that it also happened to be the title of the second Sisters of Mercy LP. Later on Juliette (aka duck face) talking to Harry starts a sentence with “First and Last and Always”, the title of the first Sisters LP. So the script writer is having a bit of a laugh with those (sad enough) to be in the know.
Jump forward to series 7 finale and the script starts name checking the Sisterhood LP “Gift” (same script writer it seems).

Please don’t set lawyers on me as a lot of time has passed but from what I remember, and sniffing round on various web sites here follows my very brief account of the Sisterhood

The Sisterhood was a project created by Eldritch to prevent Hussey and Adams using that name after the Sisters of Mercy had split. From what I remember Hussey and Adams were already touring as the one version of the Sisterhood (I remember seeing posters in Leeds for their incarnation of the band) but it’s said that the first band to actually produce a record would receive an advance from the record company and have the name rights. Eldritch appeared with a single “Giving Ground” and an LP called “Gift” under the Sisterhood name and laid claim to it (some sources claim the LP was made in 11 days and the advance for the record was £25000). I actually quite liked “Gift” and more than 20 years on it still a fresh industrial sound, unlike the jangly guitars of SOM.

I also remember a Janice Long session when Hussey and Adams were simply billed as the “Hussey and Adams” band due to legal reasons so maybe the accounts aren’t so far from the truth. Hussey and Adams finally used the name “The Mission”, and Eldritch slips back into the “Sisters of Mercy” name for all subsequent incarnations of the band (touring yet again in 2009 and I aim to see them)

So what’s all this got to do with series 7 episode 8? Well several name checks to the Gift album

Russian sleeper agents have just been activated in the UK, they are about to release a nuclear weapon called “ Rain From Heaven”, which just happens to be the final track from “Gift”

When Malcolm is monitoring Russian radio traffic he picks up a call sign “Finland Red, Egypt White”, followed by repeating numbers “2..5..0…0…”
“ Finland Red , Egypt white” is track 4 on “Gift”, and the numbers “2..5..0..0…0 “are repeated at the start of track 1, “Jihad” (and are supposed to- be a reference to the record companies advance on the album) While Im on it the Finland Red reference is read out from the manual for an AK47 but you already new that.

Finally (or not quite) when Connie is diffusing the bomb in the tube station Lucas starts a sentence with “what you have lost can never be found”. Now that bugged me for hours as I knew it from somewhere, then I remembered, it’s a line from “Giving Ground” track 3 from “Gift”

Now there is one other link to all things Sisters that Ive spotted on forums but Ive not gone back through the episode to check yet (oh come on I may be sad, but Im not that bad…yet).
The sleeper agent is supposed to come from Faversham in Kent, and the early haunt of the Sisters of Mercy and their followers was the Faversham Arms (the Fav) in Leeds……..

So I hope that’s enough geeky trivia for you, normal cycling service return in the New Year.

Merry Xmas and all that

before and after

Written by . Posted on October 4, 2008. Filed under external feed. Tagged . Comments Off.

the7hills

http://the7hills.blogspot.com/2008/10/before-and-after.html

In two weeks time Ill be cycling down to Norfolk with @wildnorthlands and anyone else who tags along. Today I've been converting the dayride / audax bike into a light tourer.Here's the before shot...Ive swapped the back wheel for one with a lot more spokes, and a 28C tyre, fitted the Carradice Long Flap bag and bag carrier. Ive swapped the carbon fibre seat post for an alloy one to support the bag and fitted A Maxx Joystick front light and some Ayeup lights with 6 hours burn time . I swapped the bar bag for the bigger one from my touring bike but decided that was over the top so Ive stuck with the small Ortlieb. Just got to swap the pedals over at some point so that I can use shoes that I can walk (to the pub) in. Finally i put the race blade guards back on What have I missed out then?

before and after

Written by . Posted on October 4, 2008. Filed under external feed. Tagged . Comments Off.

the7hills

http://the7hills.blogspot.com/2008/10/before-and-after.html

In two weeks time Ill be cycling down to Norfolk with @wildnorthlands and anyone else who tags along. Today I've been converting the dayride / audax bike into a light tourer.

Here's the before shot...
















Ive swapped the back wheel for one with a lot more spokes, and a 28C tyre, fitted the Carradice Long Flap bag and bag carrier. Ive swapped the carbon fibre seat post for an alloy one to support the bag and fitted A Maxx Joystick front light and some Ayeup lights with 6 hours burn time . I swapped the bar bag for the bigger one from my touring bike but decided that was over the top so Ive stuck with the small Ortlieb. Just got to swap the pedals over at some point so that I can use shoes that I can walk (to the pub) in. Finally i put the race blade guards back on What have I missed out then?


Daily Mile

Written by . Posted on August 16, 2008. Filed under external feed. Tagged . Comments Off.

the7hills

http://the7hills.blogspot.com/2008/08/daily-mile.html

A quick catch up between Olympic events.Recent rides, Lincolnshire to the In laws in Fillingham, tram assist to Kilamarsh, then some quick miles with Rob and Simon to Clumber Park, then onward to Fillingham, 66 miles.Rode back on the Monday, 55 miles, was keeping up at almost 20mph average as far as Worksop until the heat and the hills got to me.Since then the weather has played some havoc with the rides and Ive had a week in Norfolk kite flying but Ive done some Rivelin off roading and finally made a full western circualr ride this Thursday. It is an excellent route, dunno how Simon's done it but i feels to have more downhill than uphill!A few of us have joined the daily mile social web site.Come and join us onhttp://www.dailymile.com/

Daily Mile

Written by . Posted on August 16, 2008. Filed under external feed. Tagged . Comments Off.

the7hills

http://the7hills.blogspot.com/2008/08/daily-mile.html

A quick catch up between Olympic events.

Recent rides, Lincolnshire to the In laws in Fillingham, tram assist to Kilamarsh, then some quick miles with Rob and Simon to Clumber Park, then onward to Fillingham, 66 miles.

Rode back on the Monday, 55 miles, was keeping up at almost 20mph average as far as Worksop until the heat and the hills got to me.

Since then the weather has played some havoc with the rides and Ive had a week in Norfolk kite flying but Ive done some Rivelin off roading and finally made a full western circualr ride this Thursday. It is an excellent route, dunno how Simon's done it but i feels to have more downhill than uphill!

A few of us have joined the daily mile social web site.

Come and join us on

http://www.dailymile.com/