As always at this time of year, Strava produce a funky summation of the years effort which can be found here.
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The 34th running of the Hell of the North Cotswold's (HONC) will be on the 8th April 2018. Registration will be open at 07:00 on the 6th of January. Having done the Heaven of the South and missed out on the HONC this year, will be setting my alarm clock to ensure my entry is successful.
Another bright morning an out to check my handy work with the freehub replacement. No issues this the rear wheel it was as smooth as butter. I'd moved everything over to Cube 29er which was a wise move, as the mud was plentiful on the bridleway between Clatford Oakcuts and Kentboro. I cycles along a couple of the lanes i'd litter picked on previously and i have to say it was a big improvement, unfortunately it did throw into contrast the bits i hadn't done, so this will be a bit of a project.....
OAnother day out litter picking this time out around Kentboro between Monxton Oakcuts and Larch Gables, managed to fill three bin bags again with plastic bottles, cans and fast food packaging. Nice thing about doing this is there is an immediate impact, and next time I cycle that way there won't be the eye sore of litter to ruin the day.
The highly enjoyable Banff Mountain Film Festival arrives back in UK for spring 2018. So tickets bought for Salisbury in March again!!!
The rear wheel is fully serviceable again after the arrive of the replacement freehub body and axle kit. It proved to be a straight forward process to remove and fit the new freehub body, the fiddliest part of the job was fitting and packing with grease the new ball bearings, but after watching a couple of online overviews a couple of tricks learned helped make the process quick and easy.
Unfortunately on returning home, it proved to be more than the brake caliper misbehaving, but the freehub body had also given up the ghost, Thankfully it a relatively easy repair. So using the powers of google the rear wheel hub is a Shimano FH-M615 centre lock hub. The Shimano website is great at providing information and part break downs on the product lines, so he know what parts need to be replaced, the freehub body due to the pitting on the internal facing which holds the ball bearing and the right had cone nut which seems to have collapsed. I guess having covered over 6000km without any servicing i can't complain too much. So we need a new freehub body - Looking at several reviews the replacement does not come with any new ball-bearings, so that is something else to put on the shopping list, and a right hand cone nut. Looking at the options it seems easily to buy the complete axle assembly which comes with all that is required and a new freehub body.
Windy morning ride out to Over Wallop and back via Monxton and Amport. It was rather fresh with a strong head wind in places. Unfortunately the inside rear brake piston became stuck in the out position and added additional effort to the ride. 28km in an hour and forty eight minutes.
I With all the cycling around the villages in the Test Valley I have noticed, a litter problem, not in the towns and villages, but along the country lanes and tracks there is the blight of modern day throw away culture - litter. So as they say - 'own the problem, solve the problem' .So I signed up as a Test Valley Community Litter Picker. This is completely voluntary, when you sign up you get a litter picker, big bags and a hi-vis jacket. So I had a few places in mind and off I went, in a couple of hours I depressingly had filled three large bin-bags with cans, plastic bottles and other fast food packaging, from around Red Rice and the Fullerton Crossroad.
As the Gravel bike and my hardtail both have fittings for a rack and consequently panniers, It seems an good idea to do some litter picking as I go about Hampshire, Test Valley - Love Where you live facebook page - for up to date information. Keep Britain Tidy Back on the bike, after a month of only using the bicycle for the local shopping. So down to Stockbridge via the Test Way and back via Longstock and Red Rice. The first tree was down on the Test Way, with the cycle way following the course of the River Test, the ground gets rather water logged and the trees come down with the wind. The tree was completely across the track, and meant I had to man hand the bike over it to continue on my way. Stockbridge was looking particularly festive in preparation for Christmas.
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