All posts by Andy Henderson

Change to club jerseys

At the last committee meeting we agreed to investigate an alternative supplier for our club jerseys.

Up to now we've used Force GB, but we have been increasingly concerned about its viability:

  • It's advertised sales email address doesn't work
  • It's web site is no longer available
  • Production of the jerseys was reliant on a single individual and has ceased while he's not available
  • We've been told we need to order a larger number of items per order - meaning a longer wait for people ordering jerseys while we accumulate an order

As an alternative, we're investigating Owayo:

  • A long-established supplier
  • Allows ordering of single items
  • Allows you to order items directly
  • Many of us have the Hayling Cycle Ride jerseys supplied by Owayo, and the quality is good

Owayo has a different product range to Force GB. You can see the jersey range here, and the gilet and jacket range here. Those pages also provide specs for the available clothing.

Owayo has an online designer that I've used to produce a design that's similar to our existing one. It has some restrictions, so I couldn't make an exact match. Also, I've made the wording more visible than the white on yellow in the existing design. These are my attempt at men's short and long sleeve jerseys (click any to see a larger version)...

Compare this to our existing design...

NB the actual Force GB colours vary from its design.

I estimate the jerseys will cost under £10 more than Force GB club prices - which we can reasonably expect to have increased significantly - and that costs will be comparable to Force GB's one-off jersey pricing.

The committee has yet to discuss what discount the club will offer (currently 10%) and how rebates will work.

Please let me or any committee member know if you have feedback for us.

2023/24 Photo competition results

Members who attended to vote on the entries found their decisions particularly difficult this year as photos were to a high standard.

The winners were:

  • First place: Wilf Forrow who also wins the photographic competition trophy
  • Second and third place: Paul Hailwood

Wilf won by a single point!

You can see the winning entries below. Click any image to see a larger version.

Wilf Forrow's entry

Paul Hailwood's second place entry

Paul Hailwood's third place entry

Bonking and cycling don't mix

Andy Henderson describes a potentially dangerous condition you might encounter, what to do about it and ways to prevent it.

In cycling we talk about 'bonking', in running they talk about 'hitting the wall', the medical term is Hypoglycaemia. Your body runs out of readily usable fuel. You are close to fainting on the bike, with all the dangers that could result. It's a condition that usually happens on rides that are demanding because of length, hilliness, weather, or maybe all three. Or, maybe, you just ride too long without stopping.

When you get close to bonking there are a number of symptoms. The main one is extreme weariness. You might be pedalling on the flat but you feel like you're going up a steep hill. Any effort is difficult - even just turning the pedals. I get a nasty feeling in my stomach - a lot like nausea. You feel like you can't carry on. The feeling is hard to explain but, once encountered, it is unmistakeable. It can come on suddenly without warning. Although I've not encountered them, sites also list symptoms including:

  • Loss of focus
  • Loss of vision or impairment
  • Cold flashes throughout the body
  • Shaking
  • Sweating
  • Heart palpitations

Please take action...

... if you see someone weaving for no reason and they're complaining of extreme tiredness, maybe they're even incoherent. They might be about to faint.

The problem needs to be tackled, and the rider might not be in a good state to recognise what is happening.

You need to stop and get off the road as soon as it is safe to do so. Ideally, someone should stay with you. This is not a good time to be on your own.

When you bonk, your body has got very low on glycogen. It has little left to run on - and wants to shut down. You need some quickly-absorbed carbohydrate. I carry fruit pastilles (not the sugar-free kind). Energy gels will also help (but I can't stand them). A can of coke will also work. Basically anything with easily-absorbed sugar. If you’re lucky enough to bonk within a stone's throw of a café then that’s another option.

Obviously you shouldn't try to get going again until you've given your body time to get some glucose into your bloodstream. When you do get going, keep another rider behind you (if possible) looking out for a recurrence. Take it very easy. If you are a long way out, consider finding a railway station or calling for a pick-up. Otherwise, go straight home.

Avoiding the condition

If you Google "cycling bonking" you'll find plenty of good advice some of which does not apply to the type of cycling we do. The basics are simple:

  • Fuel up before you start the ride
  • Top up your energy as you go
  • Drink plenty

Giving blood...

... can result in similar symptoms to bonking. Although blood plasma is quickly regenerated, your red blood cells (which carry oxygen around the body) take longer. And that time increases with age. In effect it is reverse EPO. It's not the same condition as Hypoglycaemia, but it has similar effects.

Have a decent breakfast that includes slow and fast release carbohydrates. Starting a demanding ride on an empty stomach is asking for trouble. Many use porridge with sugar or syrup. If it's a long ride you'll need to have a decent lunch (not a lot of fatty food, however, that can slow glucose absorption). I know some riders have a pint of coke (virtually liquid sugar).

Take something with you to top up your energy as you go. And take every opportunity to drink - small, frequent sips are best - gulps of water tend to trigger the 'pee response'.

Some use energy gels. I use this stuff added to my water bottles. That's a triple whammy:

  • Hydration
  • Energy supplement
  • Replacement of electrolytes (lost through sweat)

In summary

Please don't let any of the above put you off distance riding. As long as you are comfortable on your bike and you are aware of your body's needs, bonking won't be an issue for you.

Take care of your fellow riders and be on the look-out for problems they might be having.

And enjoy the ride.

2022/23 Photo competition results

The competition was, once again, to a very high standard.

After voting by the members who attended, the winners were:

  • First place: Keith Wileman who also wins the photographic competition trophy
  • Second place: Anthony Beggs
  • Third place: Joy Forrow

Spike Hinsley deserves a special mention as his entry was just one point below Joy's.

You can see the winning entries below. Click any image to see a larger version.

Keith Wileman's entry

Anthony Beggs' entry

Joy Forrow's entry

Date of birth request

Following discussion in the PCTC committee, we'd like PCTC members to consider providing us with your date of birth. That would allow us to:

  • Identify any upward drift of age that could indicate a recruitment issue
  • Produce a more accurate return to Cycling UK which asks us for an age analysis each year
  • Campaign for cycle provision - for example, a recent planning application by McCarthy and Stone implied that old folk are not interested in cycling!

Entry of your date of birth is optional. If you are concerned that your birthday might get into the wrong hands, you can use a date that is a day or so out. That will have no material effect on the stats but will obscure the real date. For what it's worth, I've entered my actual birthday.

To provide your date of birth:

  • See the new 'Date of birth' section of your profile:
    • Click/tap this link; or
    • Log in to the site and click/tap the 'Your profile' link shown at the foot of every page
  • Alternatively, send me or Tricia Farnham your date of birth so we can enter it for you

Note:

  • You can remove your date of birth at any time via your profile or through a request to me or Tricia
  • Dates of birth are visible only to site administrators
  • Dates of birth are used only to aggregate statistics based on age for use in campaigns and reports
  • Statistics generated by the site will not disclose individual birth dates

There's more information in our published privacy policy.

Please let me know if the above does not address all your concerns.

Thank you,

Andy Henderson
Secretary, Portsmouth CTC

Why you can't reply directly to some of our emails

You might receive an email that warns you not to reply without changing the reply address.

That's because we use Amazon Web Services to send our emails. That's lower cost and more reliable than other methods, but AWS requires us to specify in advance which 'from' addresses it should accept. If, for example, a ride leader sends you an email through the web site we normally have to change the 'from' address so it comes from emailer@portsmouthctc.org.uk instead of their personal address. We then tell you that you can't reply directly.

AWS accepts any address ending in @portsmouthctc.org.uk so there's no problem replying to messages coming from any of those addresses, and you don't see the warning.

When composing a reply, you can select the highlighted address in the warning message and paste it into the reply address. You can also right click the highlighted address, select 'Copy link' (or similar) and paste that into the reply address.

If you want to start a completely new conversation with the sender, you can normally click/tap the sender's name in the warning message.

By the way, we're aware there's a standard mechanism that allows us to specify replies should go to an address other than the 'from' address. However, some email software obeys that mechanism while others ignore it (presumably because spammers can use it to mislead you). Given we can't predict whether that mechanism will work for you, or not, we decided not to use it.

Photo competition 2022

And the winners are:

Wait for it...

Looking after jockey wheels

Jockey wheels feed your chain around your rear sprockets and force the chain to move between gears.

The wheels run on bearings which wear over time as can the teeth.

Excessive movement in the upper wheel means the gears won't change when you shift (forcing you to shift twice and back again to change a single gear) no matter how much adjustment you make. Worse, jockey wheels can seize.

To check your jockey wheels, either:

  • Remove your chain; or
  • Take it off your front gear so the chain is loose and you can pull it away from the jockey wheels.

Look for:

  • Lateral movement of the upper wheel (some lateral movement of the lower wheel might be by design)
  • Worn teeth
  • After cleaning, the wheels don't spin smoothly

Replacement jockey wheels come in pairs. Normally there is a difference between the upper and lower wheels and they have to be fitted right way round. Replacing them is easy - once you've figured out which wheel is which and which way round to fit them.

On my bike (SRAM Force 1) the inside hole of the upper wheel is slightly larger so it cannot be fitted in the lower position or the wrong way round. It doesn't matter which way round the lower wheel is fitted.

Other wheels will be marked with an embossed "U" (upper) or "G" (guide), and "L" (lower) or "T" (tension). Normally, the wheel indication faces out away from the bike. Some show an arrow showing rotation direction (it can be a bit mind-bending to work out which way they rotate when fitted).

This video shows how easy it is to replace your jockey wheels...

For common Shimano jockey wheels I've used Tacx - as recommended by Alan Morgan. These come with a set of plastic inserts so, provided you match the speed (number of gears at the back), there's a good chance they'll be compatible with your bike.

I bought these ones recently as they have the narrow-wide teeth used by my bike.