Turf Zone – Fisherrow
Reached a small milestone in my quest for Roundpointer medals. With medals for 10k, 25k, 50k, 75k and 100k already in the bag, I managed to reach 200,000 points yesterday, only 50,000 points away from the next medal in the series, the Roundpointer-250k. Quite pleased with my efforts so far, five medals in a little under two weeks. And with another three weeks still to go in the Round, I don’t see any issues attaining the Roundpointer-250k. As to the question of the next medal in the series. Well, that’s still open for thought.
To get that Roundpointer-500k medal I’ll need to get another 250,000 points and I’m not sure I want to keep putting in all this effort for another three weeks. Should I just content myself with the Roundpointer-250k or simply get cracking and go for that Roundpointer-500k medal? We shall have to see. One issue I have is that I’m holding onto my local zones which means I have to cycle out of the area to find zones to take and that adds another 60 minutes cycling with minimal takes. And I don’t see the point of local revisits for only half points. You need double the effort for the same points.
Was recalling something this morning that I came up with a few years ago, Blue zones. Blue zones are transient in that they take over existing zones at random, change their colour to blue and offer a points value of 1000 points. They only hang around for 24-hours, so you would have to be fast off the block to take them. Things like block and take time would remain the same. I would also envisage a matching medal series for taking Blue zones, for example, Blue-10, Blue-25 and so on. Thought that around 1% of zones this way would be good. Well, one can always dream!
Did some fettling on the Surly Ogre the other day, mostly with the brakes. I have Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes and while fine when fresh out of the box, after a while they become difficult to align properly. But I’ve found a solution. First you need to use brake disc cleaner to clean the calliper, brake pads and rotors. Next, carefully lubricate the IS mounting bolts assembly (these have concave and convex washers to allow the calliper to move and align). Then, with a very fine artist paint brush (size 0 or 1 is ideal), very carefully apply a tiny amount of copper grease inside the calliper where the outer edges of the brake pad slide against the calliper body. Make sure you don’t get anything on the brake pads or you will have no brakes! Finally, re-assemble and align/adjust the calliper as usual.
The other task, albeit a very quick and easy one, was to apply a touch of oil to the rear freewheel. You want to use Goldilocks oil, one that is not too thick and not too thin, just the right grade to keep things running freely without gumming up the pawls. Sprays like WD40 don’t seem to be recommended. To apply the oil, lay the bike on its side, spin the wheel and dribble a few drops of oil between the moving and stationary parts of the freewheel. Job done. And what a difference, with the bike seeming to run smoother and faster.
Anyway, better get out turfing and grab few zones. I’ve been trying for a daily target/average of 15,000 points. However, now that the colder weather is here, I have a problem. Cold toes. Not just cold toes, very painful cold toes after I’ve been cycling when the temperature falls below 10 Degrees. I was out last evening and now have little red sore spots on the tips of my toes this morning. So, I need to do something about it. Plan is to buy some shoes a size larger, fit warm insoles and get some cycling overshoes. Fingers crossed, that will do the trick. But coffee and Kit-Kat first.
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