London to Paris - the bike

Back to the bike with some more modifications. I rode it down to the station today as I had a meeting in London and wanted to try going on the train with it.

It was a reasonably nice day in Wakefield, so I didn't bother with a coat. But when I got to London it was teeming down with rain and I had to shelter under some trees for a bit in one of the squares. Then, when I set off again, I noticed my bottom was getting rather wet. I looked round and saw a plume of water being thrown up by the rear wheel. Of course, I no longer have a mudguard on.

This evening I have corrected that by making a new mudguard from a mountainbike front mudguard I had lying about in the garage.

The other modification I've made is to drill a small hole in the seat post and threaded a cut down spoke through as a stop that will prevent the gradual sinking of the seat height. (this occurs because the seat post is slightly too slim for the socket and the shim doesn't hold it quite tight enough.) Because I lost the first one on the trip to London, I have chained the new one to the bike! Pictures to follow.

Back to Gloucester tomorrow for another meeting, I will take the bike on the train again to see whether the modifications work. This time, I'll also take a coat!!