Last Thursday I journeyed over to Guernsey to collect my new Thorn touring bike. The first thing I was struck by was the sheer size and weight of the bike. My Specialized road bike is a lightweight speed machine. I can lift it with two fingers and have hit 50mph on it. Although I may have a backpack on most of the time I am cycling in London, the bike is awesome out on the open road. 50 miles in 2 hours is well within the realm of possibility.

The Thorn on the other hand, laden with two rear panniers full of my possessions and a bar-bag is a completely different proposition. The steel frame is so much heavier and less responsive than my carbon / aluminium Specialized. Tackling hills is all together a completely different affair.

Pete and I took the bikes out for a spin on Friday night. Although we only clocked up about 7 miles, I was impressed by the sheer workmanship of the Thorn. Everything felt just so, mechanically pleasing. Although much lower geared than my Specialized, it was very comfortable on the winding Guernsey roads.

We spent most of the rest of Thursday customising the bike, adding all the additional kit I had brought over and testing the brakes, which are incredibly squeaky!

Not much news to report as I have no bicycle to be training on.

Evans cycles did their analysis on my bike and informed me that due to my bike being a better spec version than the current model, they recommend that I should rebuild my current bike rather than go for a new model. The difference in price is only about £100.

So, when my bike is finally repaired, I think the only pieces on it that will be retained from my current bike will be the pedals, crank and seat post.

However, the bad news is that the perpetrator of the accident has gone underground once I told him how much the repairs are going to cost. As a result, I will have to go to the police station and report this. With so many other things vying for my attention, including training, the absence of both my bike and the motorist who wrecked it is rather infuriating.

After talking to the guys at Evans cycles after my run in with the motorist last Tuesday, my bike has now been assessed by the mechanics. The verdict is not good. I will need a new frame. It appears that not only are the carbon forks out of action but the integrity of the aluminium alloy frame has now also been compromised. When I spoke to the guy who hit me, he was not surprisingly unhappy. Not only will I need a new frame, I will also need a new front wheel, potentially handlebars and front break levers. So, it may well be actually more cost effective to replace the entire bike I was told.

Great but I still don’t have a bike and will not have a road bike for a while it would appear. Just magic, the moment I need one the most to rack some miles up on and I am left high and dry, not being able to cycle at all.

On the plus side, I now have a fantastic, small HD camera, which I shall be filming this little adventure on. I just hope the crappy weather we have been suffering over the weekend gives way to better conditions. After all, we have less than 2 weeks to go!

After my accident on Tuesday, I have been hanging out sans cycle, getting itchy feet (time for a bath perhaps) to get out there again. I had to cycle across London this morning to take it into Evans to be assessed. The sales bloke looked at my bike and said, “That looks a bit screwed!”. Thanks Sherlock, never would have worked that one out without your infinite wisdom.

Besides all the waiting, I have been maxing out my credit card sorting out all the rest of the gear I will need for this outing. For a three week period of using human power to travel, this journey is sure costing me a lot!

I’m actually going to try and make good use of most of my head for this ride. Here are pictures that I’ve uploaded from my computer of my head. Maybe we should call this blog Headbook.com

I plan to use my eyes a lot. Here is a photo of one of my eyes.

Here it is

The trusty Steeds

They were only £1800 too!