Finally finished the single speed bike over the Christmas/New Year period – I recon it looks pretty good.

Compared to building motorbikes and motor-scooters it takes much less time, in fact, took me just a day to assemble once all the parts where to hand. The stripping of the frame of paint took many hours and was a real pain.

Have done around 150km on it so far over 4 outings. It rides well, very quiet but boy does it make you work on the hills!

Gear ratio I used is 46:17 which is pretty comfortable for me so far.

Some technicals specs of the bike…
Frame: Giant Cadex CFR-1 from the early 1990’s. Lugged carbon stripped to bare carbon and alumium and then clear coated in two-pack.
Saddle and post: Look Carbon post, Selle Italia Flite Gel
Rear Wheel: White Industries Eno Eccentric Hub, DT Spokes, Velocity Deep-V rim, 17T White Industries freewheel
Bottom Bracket etc: Shimano Dura-Ace 7700 Bottom Braket and cranks. Fyxomatosis 46T chain ring, Izumi Chain
Bars and Stem: Fyxation Rodeo Pursuit Bar, old Ritchey stem I had laying around, Cane Creek brake leavers.
Front Wheel: Shimano off my existing road bike till I decide what to do up front.

After riding to and from work 3 times a week for around 3 months now the following has happened.

• I’ve bought my own bike after borrowing a friends for the past 3 months  It didn’t cost me a great deal but its had very little use in its 6 years of life and it has full Shimano Dura-Ace (but not the wheels).  It was a bargain
• Despite getting faster the cycling doesn’t get easier.  You are always pushing yourself the same amount but this just translates into faster times.  I log my rides on Strava so I’m always inclined to get better and better – faster and faster, I’m not sure how long this can go on given eventually the improvements will become smaller and smaller but I guess I’ll find out one day and I recon I’m some way off.
• I’ve started riding the long way home a couple of times a week which is around 28km while the normal way is just 14km.
• Hills are hard work and I have note really started on some super big ones yet.
• I have become acquainted with what my heart rate is when I’m really pushing myself – its anything above 176 bpm and I can kind of feel when my heart rate hits this or exceeds it, I guess it has something to do with blood pressure or something.
• In cycling there are some real freaks that can just power up hills, I’m not yet (and may never be) one of them and when I look at the power output for some of them in Strava I’m about a third of what some of the real freaks are pushing.  They either have a biomechanic advantage over me or they are more fit than I am or they are comfortable with the real pain of pushing yourself up a hill.  I;m still working on trying to enjoy the pain but I can see how you get a kind of sick addiction to it – it feels good when you stop.
• My pants are looser.

I hate being sick, stuck at home bored – not least of all I can’t ride to work and back. Hope I don’t loose too much fitness.

So I have done bugger all exercise now since I finished rowing in 2004, that’s 8 long years of doing stuff all.

I have been meaning to start doing something again for a few months and after getting sick and tired of the bus trips to work taking an hour (for a 14km journey) I though I may as well cycle to work.

Luckily a mate had a road bike he didn’t use, another mate lent me his cycling shoes and gave the bike a once over and so now, I have started to ride to work. This weeks the first week, its hard work but if I ride to and from work I’ll do close enough to 30km a day – that’s 150km a week if I ride every day. I’m guessing that doing this should have the desired effect of getting me fit and loosing the extra 5kg’s or so that I have slowly put on over the last 8 years.

I have installed a widget that displays my rides I upload to www.strava.com on this blog if any one cares to look.