The North London Dirt ride broke my bike… and nearly broke me!

I’ve always said that one mile on gravel trails is the equivalent of three miles on a road and this ride absolutely proved it! Great fun, but boy was this a slog!

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oh good morning and welcome to a ridiculously early ride here in Essex this morning it’s 6:00 a.m. and I’m on my way to stoke Newington for the north London dirt ride 70 M of off-road goodness however I need to get the train down to North London first also the UK is experiencing somewhat of a mini heat wave at the moment and today is expected to get up to 24 de or around 75 F that is very much short sleeve jersey weather however currently it’s only 9° or 48 F right let’s get to the train try and warm up a [Music] bit it’s definitely not looking like a heat wave at the moment hope this CL burs obviously right we’re in Tottenham let’s ride the 20 minutes to St new still no sign of this morning Haze burning off please warm up quick my fingers are freezing I’ve never seen Tottenham so quiet I mean I know it’s 7:00 on a Saturday morning but this is like 28 Days Later finally some civilization [Music] all right well I’m here and I’m early which is a first for me so I’m just going to sit up and wait for my buddy Kofi and just enjoy the surroundings and maybe a cup of tea before we start enjoy the surroundings and I’ve got my brv card which needs to be stamped halfway around and there’s a couple of stamps on the back for pizza and goodie bag there’s one for beer as well but as I mentioned a few weeks ago I’m not drinking in 2024 so uh I might give that to someone else but yeah are on a goodie bag sounds good [Music] kof okay so we’ve started and we finally made it onto the gravel after a good few miles of Road and we find ourselves at the bottom of alip P Hill and I fear that we’re going to be climbing up to the top of it in a minute [Music] well that was the first of eight registered times and we’re still not at the top yeah that one hurt stupidly I haven’t actually checked out the elevation data for today that might have been a [Music] mistake was that a Kofi flattish ride Kofi is well known for choosing flattish routes that are then like climbing Von two right well I feel like that’s only the start of it and with seven more registered climbs to go this is going to be a long [Music] day I knew that hle was going to be trouble when I went down into first gear and still had to stand up no relent when I sat back down nowhere to go right that’s Alexandra Palace done but I fear that there’s going to be more climbing before we finally leave North London [Music] somehow I just got pushed up to the a group and coming up that hill the pace was spicy I’m very much a b group Rider I think I’ll drop back the great thing about this ride is because it’s not a road ride we’re coming down some absolutely awesome little back roads Alleyways like this one we’re losing our way we’re doubling back on ourselves and as kofi’s just pointed out oh big bump this is like a Saturday ride out with your mates as a kid what way should we go let’s go this way no let’s go that way this is awesome right second registered climb of the day I’ve actually not filmed much of this ride so far we are about 13 mi in and I’ve just been really enjoying it chatting to the lads just having a great time on the bike but importantly the sun is starting to burn off that morning Haze so it is starting to warm up a little bit which is nice but yeah second register climb of the day 3% for 3/4 of a mile let’s get this done yeah dangerous thank you very much we’ll bear that in mind have we just been told off we’ve stopped for some reason this lady I don’t know whether she’s giving us directions or chining us for coming down this road what’s going on out here like what is this thing with Pete you turn up and everyone goes wild it’s all my fault are we not supposed to be here I have no idea we’ve we’ve now had two people stop us one in a car one walking a dog and uh I still don’t know why cuz I was at the back of the grou we’ll find out what happens at the bottom of this [Music] hill right well I’ve still no idea what the problem was there one of the ladies said that it was frightfully dangerous down this road no idea what she means bloodly hell my suspension seat post is paying for itself down [Music] here so I’ve had the GoPro stuck in my back Jersey pocket with the mouth Mount sticking out of the pocket for easy access however despite the fact that I do have a rear mud guard clearly a bit of mud has got to the mouth Mount not that I saw before I put it in my mouth so now my mouth’s a little bit gritty right just over 15 Mi down and I’ve already finished one of my two bottles which is unheard of for me so we need to get to the 35 M halfway spot so I can fill that one back up I need to ration this water now this has been a tough ride so far that’s J and I always say gravel miles count for three road miles and that’s very much the case today Jesus in there right well disaster truck because as I was just coming through that entrance there my rear wheel seemed to slip out of the dropouts somehow it clearly wasn’t tightened in properly then when I got it pushed back in and went to ride away the wheel was rubbing for some reason couldn’t figure out why I’ve just taken the wheel off and uh yeah take a look at this that is a seriously bent brake disc so uh let’s try and bend this back into place so we can get moving well this could spell the end of my ride unfortunately but hopefully not let’s see what we can [Music] do well that’s still severely bent but hopefully it’s better than it was because it was completely stopping the wheel before so hopefully now the worst I’ll have is a bit of brake rub right well it’s still rubbing and it’s a bit draggy but let’s see how I get on going up this hill we comeing up this hill I can definitely feel that that rear breake is dragging this is a lot harder than it looks like it should be and unfortunately the only tool that I don’t have on my tow Peak hexus multi-tool is one of those brake dis tools that you can use to bend it back into shape note to self but listen I’m back on the move and that’s the most important thing [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] a nice little flurry downhill section fly in the mouth which is the only problem with going fast downhill through a [Music] field yeah now we’re back on the flat I can definitely feel that brake rotor rubbing definitely uh Bringing Down the average speed that’s my excuse anyway the sun’s out I’m not going to [Music] complain and I’ve managed to catch back up with the lads which is nice [Music] this fit is very nice a nice downhill muddy section I can now really hear that brake disc rubbing though that is going to Great over the next 50 Mi right climb number three of the day 5% average for about a third of a mile and if it wasn’t bad enough I can definitely feel that brake rout to rubbing now down in first gear these next five climbs are going to be tough but happily that noise you can hear over there is the M25 so I’m now in beautiful leafy Harper chair and we’ll soon be turning East towards Essex and I’ve just remembered that this route goes to reing Forest but going down I think anyway so that’ll be a very welcome change so even with a bent disc rotor I’m still going faster than traffic on the M25 I know where I’ve Rather Be Right we’ve just had a quick pit stop and I had a brain wave in that the calipers that I got on this bike have a little potentiometer on them allowing you to move the pads in and out I don’t know how common that is on other bikes but on this bike my brakes have it which is good so I’ve turned it all the way out so the pads are as far apart as possible that does mean that the disc rotor isn’t rubbing anymore but it also means that I have no rear braking now oh well 90% of the braking comes from the front anyway right but I can’t tell you how much better it feels not being dragged backwards as you’re going uphill oh boy those last two hills were a [Music] struggle you know you’re on a good dirt path when your front wheel goes one way and your back wheel goes the other there are some muddy sections very close to this Barb’s wire here not ke on that that was sketch coming downhill about 25 mph and the front wheel beds into some shingle that was a squeaky bum moment I’ve got to say this route has been awesome so far it’s got everything mud Gravel Road absolutely fantastic right just found myself suddenly on the fourth of the eight registered climbs today this one is 4% for about a third of a mile at least I haven’t got a rubbing disc rotor now and yeah it’s getting warm now I’m regretting moaning about it being a chilly Haze this morning right four of the eight climbs done I would say it’s all downhill from here but clearly we’ve still got four clowns to do it’ll be all downhill after the eighth one and back on the rough stuff straight into climb five of eight and this is a muddy and slippery one lovely downhill section straight into the sixth climb climbs are coming thick and fast now and it just yeah yeah that’s quite deep maybe we’ll take the uh is that a broken down fence oh well if it works so we can’t go through this puddle so someone’s broken a fence down and used it as a a makeshift [Music] Bridge right back on the bike 6 milish to go to the halfway stop which I’m very much looking forward to cuz I am nearly Out of Water right let’s get this 6 miles done right well we’ve come to yet another stop I’ll show you why yeah uh you’re going to go that way I’m through oh nearly I mean what were we expecting from the north London dirt ride I guess bloody hell are you are they 32 mil slicks as well they are or semick are they commuter hybrid tires I mean that is a that is a brave bike to be doing this ride on see we’ll see we’ll see what happens now we just got that to go through I can’t even clip in there we go in let’s do it that fell appears to be doing it on a hybrid commuter bike or I mean it could be a road bike with 30 2 m semi slicks he’s a braver man than I also I just want to point out do bear in mind that I still have no rear break I’m currently having to break downhill in mud with my front wheel this is pretty sketch right we’re off and walking again because this mud uphill yeah no traction ah you just cannot move in it there a them Car Wash thing yeah we need a jet wash at this stop like a cycl cross race quick pit stop jet wash the bike down clean everything off start [Music] again all right now it’s all back wheels come up again right well update um cuz you probably saw the massive stack that I just had and I’ve really hurt my finger and my thigh so yeah coming up the ramp here into the car park of the pub where the stop is and uh I don’t know what happened but again my rear wheel slipped out of the Dropout and uh the wheel just stopped wouldn’t go any further the rotor jammed into the caliper and I didn’t un clip in time I just it all happened too quickly didn’t have a clue what was happening so fell down landed on my hip landed on the handlebars and my chin which has a nice little lump now landed Square on the pavement I had the Shimano guys have a look at it the disc rotor is so completely bent out of shap he couldn’t even get it back into shap so it’s now rubbing completely on the brake caliper worse than it was before cuz it’s obviously completely bent out of shape again now uh so I don’t know what to do now I’ve got 32 mil 30 mil to do back into London but I am very close to a train station that goes straight to my home station so do I continue I don’t know I’m genuinely conflicted because I’m not one to give up I don’t want to give up but ultimately the bikes here in a pretty bad shape so uh I don’t know how dangerous it is I mean In fairness it’s probably very dangerous to try and continue I told of the rest of the fellas to go on so I’m uh and I’ve got a couple of lads that are here just waiting back at the moment but I’m going to tell them to go on as well I’m going to have a drink and have a think about it and make a decision I’ll be back right well Against All Odds the Shimano fell has just found a 160 mm rotor so he’s now fitting that to my wheel which is very nice of him I more than happy to pay this fell double what it actually costs uh to get me back on the road so the dream may not yet be over let’s see I’ve still got the issue of the wheel dropping out of the dropouts constantly but uh yeah let’s see how we get on with the new Roto well as you can see I’m back on the move the Shimano guys did an absolutely top job they managed to find a new rotor uh in their van which they fitted very kindly to the bike for me and when I asked how much it was completely free I mean what an absolute Ely incredible service that is from Shimano I still don’t know whether the quick release skewer issue is going to raise its ugly head again for whatever reason I just don’t seem to be able to tighten it enough into the dropouts he was happy uh yes so I don’t know what the issue is with the rear quick release skewer at the moment because I can’t seem to tighten it enough into the rear dropouts uh I pushed it in earlier and I could barely get it closed so there’s no way that I could have got it any Tighter and it still managed to come out so what the Shimano guys suggested is don’t get out of the saddle very high Cadence spin the legs and don’t get out of the saddle because what’s happening when I get out of the saddle is I’m taking weight off the back wheel but putting power through the chain and as the chain is spinning it’s pulling the wheel forward and pulling it out of the Dropout again I don’t know exactly why the quick release gear is coming out the dropouts but that is another problem for another day so long as I can do the next 30 miles here is hoping after told most of the lads to head off and get going because we were stopped at that halfway point for quite a while but I’m joined by Dale and Charlie behind me so it’s nice to still have a little bit of a crew hopefully we can enjoy the rest of this route hopefully there will be no more calamities on this ride famous last [Music] words I’m just something this is lovely and Serene along here could do a bit more of this please so we just got chatting to Charlie here on the ride he appears to have come on a is it a like a hybrid commuter style bike it is a cheap Deaton road bike someone say silly I would say courageous look yeah listen let me tell you there is nothing wrong with cheap de cathon bikes my my first bike was a b2win uh 500 SE and it is still going strong but they’re absolute bulletproof yeah very brave and you’ve got have you got like 32 mil semi slick something like that yeah um there’s been a few hairy moments but um I’m I’m still upright I’m still alive I’m still having fun so uh it’s all good back to you in the studio you’ve done this before he’s um he’s doing better than me let’s say that much he’s not falling off smashed his chin his thigh and bent his left ring finger back so uh yeah he’s doing a lot better than I am today He’s a brave [Music] man courtesy of Dale cheers Dale [Music] right well we’re 44 mil in 24 left to go we found ourselves back on the road and we’re on a long slow burner of a climb but we’ve got the seventh of eight big climbs coming up it’s not even started yet got about a mile to go if this one’s anything to go by I’m not looking forward to that one there has been and is currently a bit of a spring wind at the moment and it’s a bit of a double-edged sword because it is quite a nice refreshing cooling breeze and this now 27° heat but also I hate headwind I’m conflicted again since he’s not looking favorable for your semi slick tires [Music] mate oh my God my legs are just spinning the wheels aren’t doing anything just under halfway up right I’m going to stop filming and I’ll see you at the top CU I suspect let the top of this hill is going to be much of the same oh man that was a killer climb complete though seventh of eight yeah had to get off and walk that last bit it was like this we’re back on hard compacted gravel now which is always a lot [Music] nicer finally we’re at climb 8 of8 and it’s on grass it’s another Trail climb let’s get this one done and then it’s all downhill back into North [Music] London right we’re finally out the forest we’ve got a lot of downhill now which I think we deserve there were some absolutely Mega muddy climbs in amongst that [Music] lot what a sight that place is the Lee Valley vow Park but in more unfortunate news I appear to have developed a rear puncher but it seems to be a slow one everything just suddenly started to get a bit draggy and resistant it’s staying up for now so we’ve only got four miles to go so let’s see if we can make it on a half deflated Tire I can’t be bothered stopping and changing it right well we just got to the point where my back tire was completely bottoming out and I was worried I was going to get a pinch flat but I’ve just s briefly to pump the tire up because we have 2 miles left to go probably less than that now a mile and a half it seems to be holding up for now let’s see if I can get to the end oh boy this has been an [Music] adventure there’s the church we’ve nearly made it 4 mil on a flat tire right we’re back oh what a day what an adventure last four miles flat tire I’m ready for a drink cheers buddy thank you very much I mean it’s not as good as a fully alcoholic beer but it will do for now and as I’ve said before I am no alcohol for 2024 and I’ve said it now so because I’m stubborn I have to stick with it right I do need to get this tire fixed before I head back to the station but for now Cheers Cheers Cheers gentlemen that was a good ride well deserved beer but yeah for now I’m going to enjoy the beer right well beer drunk non-alcoholic beer drunk that is and back on route to the train station to go home so what have I learned today well I’ve learned that you can survive on a slow puncture for about 4 miles well 2 miles pump it up and then another 2 miles and the final thing I learned is that Shimano are absolute Legends big shout out to the two guys that completely sorted out my bike earlier when I genuinely thought I was going to have to phone the wife to come and picked me up so yeah shanana got me back on the road Big Ups to them but also not necessarily something I learned but it definitely reinforced my belief that one gravel mile is equivalent to three road miles today was a beasting and an adventure but it was great type two fun and my final thing is just how awesome the cycling Community is I know I’ve said it before and I will say it many many times again before today I’d never met Dale he is a member of the ride for Unity Family but we’ never actually met and as for Charlie he was a complete stranger until this morning but I love the fact that the three of us formed this sort of Trilogy and when we got to the halfway point and I crashed out I was telling them look guys you need to go on ahead cuz I don’t think I’m going to be able to go in any further but they waited and they said look let’s see what’s going on we’ll see what’s happen happening and if we can all leave together then we will and we all got to leave together and then even them when one of us were struggling the other two stayed back when I was struggling they stayed back and that is what I love about the cycling Community three complete strangers coming together helping each other out all for the love of cycling that is the best of all of us and the best of cycling so despite the crash despite the two crashes in fact despite the multiple muddy climbs we had to go up it was an adventure it was type two fun but would I do it again Absolutely I’ll be back next year but for now North London dirt done so with all that said I’m nearly at the train station I’m going to get home have myself a good shower because I am filthy have something proper to eat and a nice hot cup of tea so as ever thank you very much for watching and I will see you in the next one take care