big jim

funnier if it was strapped to the handlebar

Did a few rides this morning in my way home from work but managed to break the bike again! I was on a cycle path and knocked the crank on a low down metal railing designed to slow you down through a bridal path gate, I was only walking it through while sat on it and i knocked the bar and it went dead with the battery status light flashing, unable to switch it on or off even with it removed from the bike, managed to get the final 3 mile to Macclesfield where I had a look under the bike only to discover the metal cover at the bottom of the frame that houses the ECU was only held in with 1 screw, the other 3 were long gone but the looks of the mud around the area, i look the cover off and gave it a clean, checked the connections and retried it but to no avail, by now the battery had stopped flashing and wouldn’t turn on so I wondered if the flashing problem had somehow drained the battery, anyway plugged it in in the waiting room and it fired back up and showed 2/3 battery and it appeared be working normally again, caught the train to stockport where I had a ride around the town to see if it had any more problems and touch wood it seems to be ok now, called into Halfords but they didn’t have any spare screws so I’m still riding round with the single one in the ecu cover holding it in place so it isn’t watertight, I’m hoping it doesn’t get too damp this evening as I need it to ride to Tyseley later and don’t want to get it wet Other than that I’ve done (or will have done later) around 25 mile on it today between Hindlow and Buxton, Middlewood and Macclesfield, crewe station and home then later on home and crewe station and Birmingham new st and Tyseley!

And some from last night, bescot to Hindlow bescot, 66747 this time I was only supposed to work it to crewe but as there was no relief I took it to Hindlow, I don’t sign the route it was booked over via guide bridge so I went crewe-Warrington-Newton le willows-eccles-manchester Piccadilly-stockport-hazel grove and chinley! had an hour in crewe so went the mess room all the way to Buxton Hindlow (this photo was taken in pretty much pitch darkness!) And run round ready to set back I was planning on riding to Matlock again but my relief came in earlier than expected and it was dark so I just rode into Buxton instead and caught the train to Middlewood where I got on the Middlewood trail to Macclesfield, this is the old line to rose hill marple, never realised before but the current Middlewood station doesn’t have a vehicle road near it, you have to walk along the old trackbed to get to it! Higher Poynton station Bollington viaduct just after this I hit the pedal crank on a low down metal pole which stopped the bike working, I had to pedal the last 3 miles like a sucker into Macclesfield, checked the bike over and have discovered 3 screws missing on the ECU cover which is what Halfords had to replace a few weeks back, I managed to get the bike going again at Macclesfield but I’ve got to call in at Halfords on the way home to see if they can fit some replacements in tonight on the 196s

That is one of my favourite‘Absolutely’ sketches ever!

End of week exercise report, a good week on the bike, plenty of walking, a swim but no running a varied week in work so all over there place exercise wise, had a couple of nights in hotels so the food allowance was used, tried to keep to healthy chicken etc but carbed up on chips and bread I recon got a 570m pool swim in which as usual I enjoyed 75 mins on an exercise bike in the hotel gym to make up for having to use the car for a couple of days lots of walking around shops such as today went to the Christmas market in Birmingham and walked 2.5 mile bike wise despite not using it for a couple of days for work I managed the Hindlow to Matlock trip on Tuesday as well as Kings norton to Shirley last night at midnight and a wolves to bescot tonight at 10pm so just short of 64 miles achieved I may well start next week off with a Hindlow to Matlock again depending on the weather (and battery charge situation) I’ll see how it is when I get there in the morning felt quite good this week, I don’t think I’ll have lost anything come weigh in day as I’ve had lots of hotel grub this week, I’ve defiantly hit that plateau where it’s either no loss or just 1/2 to 1Lb loss a week, that seems to have gone on for a few weeks now so I think that’s how it’s going to be in the future little losses slowly over time the main thing is I’m still feeling a lot fitter and less tired than before

It has a 1000 lumen wide beam at the top, 1000 lumen narrower beam below that pointing downward a touch, not switched on in those pics is a pair of lights on the forks acting as ‘ditch lights’ i need them driving round Birmingham and wolves etc in the dead of night, I’ve just ridden to crewe station and am an out to ride wolves to bescot at 22:00, if I can get the battery charged fully on the loco later I’m possibly going to do Hindlow to Matlock again tomorrow, just need to see if the USA to UK adapter I have will work as it’s only a 74v supply on a class 66, If I can’t get a full charge I’ll just do Hindlow to Buxton station

Some from yesterday, couple of jobs, first up was a birch coppice to rugby intermodal, got my wife to drop me off there with my bike on the roof before she headed off to a hotel so we can go the Christmas market in Birmingham today Running round in birch coppice and onto the train Kingsbury jn and into rugby where I had 4 hours to wait for my next train, as I had the bike and realised I’d forgotten my gloves and helmet I rode to the Aldi to buy a new set as I’d spotted them in the middle isle earlier in the week, after doing that I rode back to the station via the cycle path along the old great central railway At one point you actually drive onto the old platform at Rugby station I then carried on to Nando’s for some dinner before heading back to the station via the cycle path that runs along the viaduct that carried the line to Leicester as I crossed the viaduct I could hear a steam engine in the distance and sure enough one was chuffing away over the flyover at the north end of rugby station turns out it was a black 5 heading from chester to euston, I didn’t realise it was sat on the goods in rugby while I was waiting for my train or I’d have gone back over there to get a few piccies, only realised when I heard it set off from there through the station just before my train appeared my train it was then a run back to kings norton with the RHTT off into Birmingham in a bit to the Christmas market and the like then back in this evening for a bescot to crewe job which I may well end up taking to hindlow, if I do I think I’ll ride from there to Matlock again but via the Monsal trail this time (weather dependent!)

Had a nice ride tonight at the end of work, lovely clear night, quite mild, full moon, quiet back roads most of the way and peaceful a midnight ride from kings Norton to the hotel near Shirley, just shy of 10 miles, quite a decent average speed I recon, a few climbs dropping the speed and a few downhills to make it back up!

And back from Nando’s via the old rugby to Leicester line! as I was riding across the viaduct I could hear what I thought was a steam engine exhaust, turned out it was, something heading south along the WCML over the flyover got a video of the chuff as it was pronounced but there was a car alarm going off below and that overshadowed the video (and the road noise) EDIT: the steam loco was a black 5, I’ve got a bit of a vid of it in rugby station to post in my work thread later, didn’t realise it was sat on the goods line then pulled away while I was waiting for my train

Took my bike to work this afternoon to birch coppice on the roof of the car where my wife carried on in it to a hotel so we can go to the Christmas market in Birmingham tomorrow but realised when I got there forgot my helmet and gloves, put the bike on the loco as usual for the trip to rugby got 4 hours to wait for my next train in rugby so just popped to Aldi and got myself a helmet and gloves (remember seeing them in the middle isle earlier isn’t he week) as when I get back to kings norton I’ve got a 9 mile midnight ride to the hotel near Shirley! of course while I’m here it would be rude not to have a ride along part of the old Great Central railway cycle path through the town! having a lean chicken wrap in Nando’s before heading back to the station! tomorrow night it’s a job from bescot to Hindlow so early Monday I’ll probably do the short trip from Hindlow to Buxton, next week is also 3 days of rides new st to Tyseley and back

Not many from today, running late into basford hall due to a train failing on the Sutton park line and having to wait for it to be rescued then following it and another train signal to signal to walsall it was light when I got to basford hall And into peak forest where 37716 was doing some shunting Back to crewe where one if our cement trains passed by 66792 again And into walsall and away it went birch coppice to rugby and then the RHTT to kings Norton tomorrow

about 6 weeks ago I think, as much of a surprise to me as it was to you, had a booked job out of there thinking it was a container train and when I arrived discovered it was a Stone train to Hindlow! I did know hams hall was getting a Stone terminal but I thought it was going on the spur to the old power station site which is still in situ

also as I discovered handy for deflecting cars that drive into you on roundabouts!

It was quite amusing to me the other day on my high peak ride, I passed lots of riders out in their Lycra gear etc on some very nice looking top end bikes and I trundle past practically in the middle of nowhere, miles from a live railway in my full orange hi-viz with steel toecaps boots on, I’m sure they must have wondered what I was up to as it’s not exactly a commuting route

The route is crewe-sandbach-Middlewich-northwich-altrincham-northenden jn (Heaton Mersey) -hazel grove-chinley-peak forest it comes back peak forest-chinley-new mills-guide bridge-Denton-stockport-crewe, I don’t sign the new mills to stockport buit so can’t go that way but I do go stockport to hazel grove via Davenport im in a good position that I also go over the hope valley and through Sheffield or Chesterfield so I can get out of peak forest most ways of issues arise!

Same job today hams hall Hazel grove There is a lot of talk of ‘leaves in the line’ and Rail Head Treatment Trains this time if the year, while stood at hazel grove I got a few pics to illustrate what happens, near in mind that the leaves haven’t really started to fall yet but this morning it was beginning to get a bit slippy on some of the less used bits of track here is a single leaf that’s fallen on the railhead and been run over by a train The weight of the train squashes the leaf down and pushes all the moisture and sap etc from the leaf onto the railhead, the resultant goo is very slippy, almost the same consistency as rubbing washing up liquid or soap between your finger and thumb as I say that is just one leaf but imagine a whole carpet of them falling onto the rail and 2000 ton of train pressing down on them, the result is a nice layer of black slippy ‘goo’ on the railhead It also transfers to the wheels of the train, with clasp brakes it does get scrubbed off a fair bit by the brake blocks which helps when braking but as with what happened in Salisbury when you have disc brakes the goo just builds up on the wheel flange and with no blocks to scrub the gunge off combined with any railhead contamination the wheels will simply glide on the mulch, similarly when pulling away on a train with either disc or clasp brakes the wheels will just spin on the mulch, sanding will help to get a grip but not always! But as i say, looking at the trees around here the leaf fall hasn’t really started in anger yet and it’s already getting slippy with the few that have fallen, it’s only going to get worse! and finally into peak forest It was then over to crewe for the train to Walsall but I didn’t bother with any pictures as it was the same as yesterday same again tomorrow though, last day of it

my local ‘hill’ is Mow Cop! managed 250m or so of the killer mile climb then gave up and pushed the bike up, i was in full work gear with a backpack and steel toe cap boots on, dressed normally for leisure cycling I probably would have managed…..oooh….. 250m! I believe @newbryfordhas completed it a couple of times though

saw a tweet the other week where an ‘elite cyclist’ had passed comment on a riders trainers in a picture that was posted, another then said ‘and it’s a carerra so not even a proper bike’, the first reply to that was ‘nobody cares about your £200 cleats Dave’ summed it up nicely for me! i always give a nod or say hi if I pass another cyclist regardless of what machine they are on I paid £1100 for my bike, (the same price as I paid for my diesel mini!) I’ve done a few mods on the bike to get it how I wanted, some trial and error, trying different saddles, grips, mirrors etc but none of those bits being more than a few quid off Amazon as for what I use it for I don’t see the point in spending huge amounts of money on it, not like I’m trying to save weight or make myself faster, just trying to make my ride comfier, safer and more pleasurable I’ve found if I get chatting to someone about the bike, which inevitably happens while in the train or on a station a lot of the time the conversation is “I was thinking about getting an electric bike, so you recommend it” that’s my cue to get the weight loss pic up in my phone and show them what a difference going out cycling can make! ive just had my job changed Saturday now and the first thing I did was check whether I can use my bike for it instead of a hire car and I can so it’s going to get me another 15 mile in (home to the station, tamworth to birch coppice, kings Norton to longbridge)

Just a few from today, hams hall to peak forest then back to crewe to work another to walsall First up had to shunt a train in hams hall and my train almost ready to go basford hall Peak forest, 66730 again Back to crewe, 66792 back south walsall Same again tomorrow

As I use my bike to commute at ungodly hours of the day and night through the centre of towns and between Birmingham and Wolverhampton and Walsall etc I’ve got a fine selection of lights fitted to it A 1000 lumen wide beam that I can switch to flash via a wired remote if I choose, another 1000 lumen narrower beam light below that and a pair of small lights on each of the forks acting as ‘ditch lights’, handy along the canal towpaths at 4am! on the back there are 3 flashing rear lights as well as one on my helmet and also a headlamp on there too, to go with all that I’ve got reflective spoke covers front and back and reflective strips on various parts of the frame, I certainly want to be seen while out and about that’s for sure! yesterday however on the high peak trail I just had the headlight and tail lights flashing as it was more of a warning I was there rather than wanting to be seen by road users, I switched to ‘full beam’ on the headlight for the ride between cromford and Matlock bath on the A6 though

An early weigh in this week again as I won’t be here in the morning and I’m not back until Thursday now only 1lb loss but below 17 Stone now (just!) 16.13 Stone, I think I’ve defiantly hit a major plateau as I’ve been stuck around the 17 Stone mark for a while now, feeling comfortable at this weight though, got into a pair of 38 inch waist jeans earlier and they felt a bit loose, had to put a belt on, I may well be down to a 36 now (from 46) of course I’d like to lose some more, aiming for 16 Stone ideally but I’ve got to accept it’s going to be that little bit harder now what with less leisure rides out on the bike as it’s darker earlier as well as less walking as I’m not at the caravan as much ive still fallen out of love with running, did a bit on the treadmill at the hotel gym last week but got fed up after about 1.4 mile, I just don’t find treadmills engaging, it has a screen where you can set a video playing so your running through a location but it’s not the same as actually being out there with the wind and rain in your face, I did however make up for it by doing 40 lengths of the pool in 30 mins, a total of 1000m which I’m proud of and I really enjoy doing im back in the hotel again tomorrow afternoon for one night so I’ll have another go on the treadmill and defiantly get another 1000m in the pool done bike wise last week I managed 39 mile, so far this week I’m at 25 after my ride from hindlow to Matlock via the high peak trail, unfortunately I won’t get any cycling in at all the rest of the week due to work but I’ll have to see if I can make up for it on Sunday somehow (of course I could use the exercise bike in the gym to rack up a few extra miles tomorrow)

i did see it but didn’t bother going to have a look, to be honest there was a lot em route I could have stopped to photograph like a rotting mobile crane, incline shunting ramp, signal post etc but I’d get no decent progress done stopping all the time, and it was quite Misty too

no rode down them slowly, brakes red hot and stinking at the bottom though!

And some from today, not many ‘work pics’ but some from my commute home passed 66792 at chinley while I was waiting to get onto the chord, tomorrow job involves me taking the same train as today to peak forest then getting in a taxi back to crewe to work that train back to walsall! i was supposed to get off at peak forest and job done, got told I didn’t have a hire car but I had a plan! I stayed on to Hindlow so I was in the right place to get in my bike and ride home from there, could have took the easy option and headed back to Buxton but had decided to catch a train from cromford on the Matlock branch, a 20 odd mile ride along the high peak trail from hindlow ready for the off The start of the high peak trail which is the old cromford and high peak railway Parsley hey, a welcome cup of tea break the old junction to Ashbourne Tunnel under the A515 would have loved to have seen a train trundling round the curves on the line! hopton incline Hopton tunnel Middleton top middleton incline And at the bottom looking back up steeple grange light railway And onward through black rocks to sheep pasture incline And looking down from the top toward cromford You can see the line to Matlock in the middle of the picture, this was the old mainline from Manchester to St Pancras via peak forest, a line I drove my train around a few hours earlier! Top of the incline Half way down And a catch pit at the bottom for run away wagons Couple of brake vans High peak jn I then planned to ride along the back road to cromford but it was shut so I had to use the towpath to cromford wharf, this picture is looking back up toward where I took the picture of the midland line from the high peak line, you can just about make out the embankment right at the top of the hill, you can see just how far the line drops in a short distance down sheep pasture incline Cromford wharf I then decided to carry on to Matlock bath and briefly called in to see @andyram in his shop before getting the train home I planned to grab a cuppa in town but realised there was a train due in 2 minutes so scooted quickly to the station and thankfully caught it to derby, strangely this is the first time I’ve ever been on this part of the line, I’ve been to cromford behind a top and tail pair of 20s back in 1989 once before but no further! a good trip, would definitely do it again come summer, next time I’ll get off at peak as booked and do Matlock via the monsal trail Annoyingly that train arrives into derby at exactly the same time the train to crewe departs so I had an hour to wait so got a bit more charge in the bike while I waited, it needs a good wash now though! longer job tomorow, same train to peak then another crewe to walsall and into lodge for the night hope you enjoyed those piccies, a bit of a change from the norm but worth documenting

beauty of that job is you get to peak forest at 10:00 so you have a good bit of daylight left, i only stayed on to hindlow to be i to be right place to start the trail (basically the next road across from the ground frame) link to the thread with pics