Cycling North After Winter

[Bucketeer]

I went to the bike shop. The guy had a look, tightened both crank bolts with a BFO allen, then said it was fine. I questioned him about parts and prices and stuff but he kept saying 'it's fine now' and 'good forever' and waving me off.

The bike had worked fine since, but I'm still dubious over how many days/hours 'til it starts playing up again. I'll keep going as is for the moment. I'm going to buy a 8mm allen from a Halfords I saw in town and if/when it gets worse again I'll just visit a bike shop then.

[loserone]

As long as you have an 8mm, you'll be able to go 100+ miles even if it's knackered, it'll just feel horrible.

 

Source: a stoned coast to coast a decade ago.

[oldcars]

These spline ones are quite hardy. The square ones seem to loosen more, and the ones with a nut are a nightmare. Fingers crossed its sorted out. Might be the bike has not seen many miles, all these things settle in with time.

[Bucketeer]

Yeah, it'll all be fine.

If I had any sense (and a bit more money) I'd go down SiC's route and get the lot replaced. It may yet come to that but for the moment I'll just see how I get on.

I've bought a 8mm allen from Halfords for €OUCH. Just off to visit the sister of a girl that worked in the hostel in Rotterdam with a parcel now. Maybe a sofa to sleep on tonight too.

[Bucketeer]

I'll add some details as I go along for those who are interested.

 

For navigation I have a fold up road map of Holland.

I also use the signs/maps that are dotted about the place.

 

 

 

These are handy when I'm beginning to think about somewhere to camp for the night. They tend to show wooded areas (which are my usual go to) or other secluded spots.

 

I also often just use signs, and my nose.

 

 

I had a rough idea at the start to head for Nijmegen along the river first. I've done that now, in a very zig zag fashion.

Next I'm going to start actually heading South, rather than East and a bit North. I haven't planned anymore than that, I'll have a look at my map tonight.

[Dave_Q]

If you can keep on limpin' on and shout up if it starts to get bad again, I reckon I have a set of square taper cranks in my tat box I could post out to you.

[loserone]

I have a lot of left hand FSA powerpros. Seveior eight different colours.

 

Only one silver right hand arm, with a 20 and two DMR bashrings left.

[Bucketeer]

Average Inn.

 

 

And in accomodation news, I have got a sofa for the night in Nijmegen. Which is nice.

It's definitely getting colder. It was down to 2C last night and due for -1C for the next few nights.

[oldcars]

One of the reviews of that hotel says "not a cookie cutter style of hotel". I have to wonder what kind of people write some of these reviews. I think the tents a better option

[HMC]

“Hotel credible” love it! Recognise the town name from m-way trips to germany,,but have never known how it is pronounced! (See also “korkrijk”)

[Bucketeer]

I say Nijmegen as if it kind of rhymes with 'my reagan'.

[Bucketeer]

Check me out. I've almost cycled across (the narrow part) of a (small) country.

I've never done that before.

 

[Cavcraft]

Nice one and glad the bike wasn't a serious repair job, was genuinely worried when you mentioned the problem. How many miles have you cracked so far, old bean?  

[DeeJay]

Stag nights a speciality.

[Bucketeer]

How many miles have you cracked so far, old bean?

I was just checking/guessing that.

Google maps show the directest route.

 

 

I've zig zagged around a lot so could conceivably done double that, but at least 200kms for sure.

[angle]

For navigation I have a fold up road map of Holland.

I also use the signs/maps that are dotted about the place.

I can definitely recommend getting maps.me on your phone - you can download maps in advance, so you can cue up the next few days worth whenever you can steal some

Wifi. The romantic in me hates relying on my phone, but I tend to find I forget about it when I'm lost in a forest in the High Caucasus, say.

[Bucketeer]

^^^ I haven't got enough electricity to rely on my phone unfortunately. I'm getting a recharge tonight but I was on my last battery pack already by today.

[loserone]

If you ride past an IKEA, they sell cheap transformers with 4 usb ports. There's a Dutch shop that would be a good bet too, but I can't remember what it was called.

 

Handy for recharging everything at once.

[AnthonyG]

Is that the original bridge from the Second World War? Reminds me of this film: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bridge_Too_Far_(film) , which was a classic Sunday afternoon film in the 1980s. Anyway, hope you get the bike fixed.

I also didn’t know they had Halfords branches outside the UK.

[Arthur Foxhake]

I love this thread.

I'm more than jealous of your freedom to do this.

My hero.

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

Is that the original bridge from the Second World War? Reminds me of this film: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bridge_Too_Far_(film) , which was a classic Sunday afternoon film in the 1980s.

 

Operation Market Garden - in which the man who would posthumously become Jeremy Clarkson's father-in-law lost his trousers and gained the VC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Henry_Cain

[Bucketeer]

Re - the bridge (Waalbrug). It was blown up by the Dutch at the start of the war to stop the enemy, but those naughty Germans had rebuilt it by 1943.

 

[Bucketeer]

[Luxxo Waftybarger]

Fantastic news about the crank. It's not a big deal to fix if it goes wrong so don't stress.

 

I'm so envious. As I sat in my office cubicle today having been forced to cancel a day's holiday I felt like getting on my bike and doing something similar

 

You are living a lot of people's dream.

[Split_Pin]

This is fantastic. I have always enjoyed living vicariously through your adventures. I admire your utterly relaxed attitude to absolutely everything.

 

Stay safe chap!

[chodweaver]

Fantastic progress! Spots! Repairs! Bridges!

 

May the road rise with you.

[Bucketeer]

I didn't see too much rammel about Nijmegen. There were a couple of big old American launches that I missed papping.

 

 

 

All throughout Holland, there have been many new cars, a few classics, and then loads of rough 90's Japanese stuff, mainly Swifts and Starlets.

 

 

I've seen tons of these Cherokees too. All seem to be holding up well.

 

 

Dross.

 

 

This Golf was all jacked up but had no badging anywhere on it, and no other Country add-ons.

 

[forddeliveryboy]

The lhs crank came loose within a few miles on one of my moderns, I biked six miles back with no tools, just tightening with road chippings as best as I could. Tightening it properly has lasted three months now, mostly offroad. I wondered if plenty don't realise how tight those bolts need to be.

[chodweaver]

^ This must be the reason that cotterless cranks don't have the nuts any more. They were a total shit to tighten - many sockets wouldn't fit inside the crank recess so options for giving them a proper tightening were limited. Glad that improvements* have been made.

[Isaac Hunt]

I went to the bike shop. The guy had a look, tightened both crank bolts with a BFO allen, then said he kept saying 'it's fine now' and 'good forever' and waving me off .

Excellent. Whilst I've enever even come close to your style of trip, I have spent a fair amount of time in Holland for work. Always found them to be pleasent folk, quite assertive, so for you to get a " Geron der bike and furk reete ofen " probably kept you this side of a chargeable repair.