TLC

Over these dark winter months the site of a bright light at the end of my garden has become familiar. My garage doubles up as a workshop and a space to use my turbo trainer.

It feels like my bikes have spent more time in the workshop this winter than I've spent on them. No sooner have I fixed up one bike has another shown signs of fatigue.

In November I became reacquainted with my boyhood bike - 'Nelson' of Nelson Cycles in the Brecon Beacons.


The bike came back to me bloodied, battered and bruised, and in dire need of a makeover. Brakes, gear levers, derailleurs, cables and wheels were all stripped off and replaced, and all other moving parts were removed and cleaned. The naked frame was sanded, buffed and resprayed. I gradually put it back together with the same diligence. The finishing touch was some lovely new Nelson stickers for the frame.

That project gave me the desire to fix up another bike so I converted my day-to-day bike (otherwise known as Bob Jackson) back into a fixed wheel, making full use of its track dropouts and narrow stays.

December's heavy snow forced me to abandon Bob Jackson in favour of Nelson. But after several weeks of use, combined with the salt on the roads, some of the parts on Nelson suddenly failed. On the way home from the pub just before Christmas, my rear brake locked on, forcing me to stamp on the pedals, which in turn snapped the chain as I was half way up Bristol's Park St. Falling off in front of a crowd of Christmas revellers is always guaranteed to bring a laugh (even I could see the funny side) but I had a long walk back home, pushing my bike along the snowy pavements.

Over the Christmas period I had the time to take out my other bikes, riding my Kona through the Ashton Court snow and my Boardman over to Wales as soon as the ice had cleared.

I hoped the new year would allow me to stop spending money on my bikes but, having recently started riding Bob Jackson again, now it seems that the rear brakes are failing on that bike, plus the right hand combination pedal is creaking badly and probably needs to be replaced.

But instead of spending on Bob Jackson, yesterday I bit the bullet and I finally got round to buying a new rear brake caliper for Nelson. After installing the new caliper and setting the brakes perfectly I noticed the left hand arm was a little wobbly. I tightened the bolt even further and then heard the dull crack of metal snapping. I'd broken off the V-brake mount. Then I heard the sharp barking sounds of someone swearing. I cursed loudly, several times, then called it a night.

I'll need a mechanic to let me know if it's replaceable - if not it will be curtains for my recently restored Nelson mountain bike.

Tonight I thought I might finally get a chance on the turbo trainer. I left work at a reasonable hour, factoring in some free time before my other evening duties. I was looking forward to a quick blast to blow the cobwebs away. Instead I found myself in the garage with tyre levers and patches. I punctured on the way home and had another long walk.