The Dark side is Strong my Son..............

[Colin]

So, after 20 year of riding PRO~FLEX's I have finally succumbed to the dark side and bought myself a road bike....................   
......................Well, almost...............
Over the last 10 years I have become more and more interested in long distance touring, mainly road, but with the ability to do a bit of old railway line, canal tow-path or indeed, the Ridgway, or South Down Way (Off-road historic routes in the UK)
My "Road Warrior" XP-X has provided sterling service in this department, taking me from Lands End to John O'Groats in 2010, London to Paris in 2009 and the "Hell of the North" in 2015; but I have finally decided that it is not quite the right tool for what I want.......................

To celebrate my first full year of idleness and as a good friend of mine is joining me in retirement, we will be leaving for St Malo in France tomorrow, and , all being well, will be in in Montpelier in the South of France, 9 days later.......................

After discussions with Paul Milnes Cycles in Bradford, Oliver and Paul have built me a Custom Build Genesis Croix De Fer with both the low end gearing to get me up Crianlarich in the Scottish Highlands and the top end speed to cruise tour at 27mph on the lowlands of the Netherlands, NiederSachsen, and Northern France, both with the robustness of a Cyclocross ("Gravel" for our American colonists) style of bike and the comfort of a 725 Steel tourer, albeit with the most modern Shimano Tiagra 10 speed gearing and TRP Spyre Disc brakes.

The PRO~FLEX's remain very close to my heart and the Oz, XP-X and 4000se will continue to play important parts in my cycling life!

But here is my new love!





I may be able to post updates on my progress, but will probably be drowning my agony in red wine and French Cheese!

Cheers!
Col.

[kiwi]

i have a road bike too Colin.I find its like a majic carpet when the road is smooth.Its got old school gearing which is too tough for me.So i have got bigger gears at the back but now the jumps between gears are too big.I want to retain a big top gear though.

[Spokes]

Lucky you! To be fair you'll find that s lot easier than the Proflex for the sort of riding you are doing. Looks great and that colour is similar to a xp6 isn't it? 

Chris

[AHanulec]

I bought my first true road bike this past October.  I was finding that the 252 just couldn't handle the longer rides....or perhaps I couldn't handle the long rides on the 252.  Anyway, I appreciate the drop bars on the road bike and find it much easier to climb on the road bike even with it's lowest gear only being a 34x28.

You've got a beautiful new rig and I wish you many miles of enjoyment.

[fyrstormer]

Wow. I had no idea you're so much older than me. I have another 30 years to go before I can consider retiring, and that assumes that my retirement investments don't take too many major hits like they did in 2008.

I always thought I'd like a Cannondale Silk Road. But I'll probably end up building yet another mountain bike, tailored for hard surfaces, because I just can't live without suspension.

[Colin]

Wow. I had no idea you're so much older than me. I have another 30 years to go before I can consider retiring, and that assumes that my retirement investments don't take too many major hits like they did in 2008.

I always thought I'd like a Cannondale Silk Road. But I'll probably end up building yet another mountain bike, tailored for hard surfaces, because I just can't live without suspension.

Ahemmmm,,,,,,,  I'll sort of take that as a compliment! <GRIN> Currently 52, retired when I was 51...............34 years service and a final salary pension whenever I want to take it, living off my wife and my investments at the mo'.

I also thought I couldn't live without my suspension, but for two things; French road surfaces are superb and infinitely superior to England for rolling smoothness and lack of potholes, (especially if the Tour De France has just been through) but they also like to have cobbles................ and also, 725 Steel flexes nicely and I found absorbs what road shocks there are very nicely!

So, I'm back from the South of France; St Malo to Montpelier in 9 days, about 700 miles and a shed load of climbing! No ill affects apart from a close run thing with Heatstroke on a 101 mile day in 33 deg C!
Absolutely loved it and had a great laugh with my old school friend.
The bike performed flawlessly, I just about had a low enough gear with a 50/39/30 triple and 11-36 on the back, all climbs completed without walking! I was carrying 12.6Kg at the start, of which 3Kg was energy gels/powders. I refuelled "Post Restante" at about half way with another 3Kg of energy stuff and loads of Ibuprofen gel!
We followed Le Tour one day behind from Mont St Michel for a few days and then rejoined them for their arrival/departure from Montpellier, brilliant to see the decorations along the route and a great reception from people along the route.

If you want to "friend" me on Facebook, you can see some of our silliness on there:
https://www.facebook.com/colin.j.simmonds

So where off to next?  I fancy the River valleys of Europe, or maybe Calais to the tip of Denmark.............................

Col.

[Colin]

Lucky you! To be fair you'll find that s lot easier than the Proflex for the sort of riding you are doing. Looks great and that colour is similar to a xp6 isn't it? 

Chris

Yes, it is isn't it? I hadn't thought of that!

Col.

[Spokes]

Wow Col sounds like you had an amazing time! And you managed that at the ripe old age of 52! Well done  I must say, I'm extremely jealous of your retirement age and your life style!!! I'm setting you as my new role model! Only problem is I've got 24 years working for the same company as you did and my pension will be shite lol.
Enjoy it mate and good for you! 

Chris

[fyrstormer]

You retired at age 51?? Man, you must've been well-paid if you can afford to live on a fixed income for an extra 15 years compared to the norm. (or at least, the norm in America.)

[Colin]

You retired at age 51?? Man, you must've been well-paid if you can afford to live on a fixed income for an extra 15 years compared to the norm. (or at least, the norm in America.)

"Fixed income"? Who said fixed income..........? ? ? ? ? ?  <GRIN> inflation or better growth guarantee from my pension and I'd be pretty poor at my own investments if I can't also beat inflation........

Yes, very lucky, but as I always say, you make your own luck.................

probably bragging..............., but the missus follows me into retirement at the end of August, also 51, .............bang go my quiet days! <SMILE>

Col.

[fyrstormer]

Well, considering that matching the rate of inflation would represent a net-zero change in actual purchasing power, half the investments in your country are losing value -- probably owned by a great many people hoping to retire someday. So, congratulations on being better than average.

I'm 18 years behind you. I can't imagine being able to retire as young as 51. I'm not sure I'd even be able to afford bread and water for the rest of my life if I did. Though I suppose if "retired" doesn't actually mean "never working again", but instead "working when you want more spending-money", then I suppose it's much more feasible.