Paddy Wagon history...

Thought I'd post this up as I have pictures of all the PW's since they were 1st introduced. Paddy White is a designer/rider for Kona & he decided he wanted a no frills SS bike for track/road/commuting.

The 1st generation PW was released in 2006:


2nd gen 2007:


3rd gen 2008:


4th gen & current model for 2009:

There haven't been any radical changes as you can probably see but the tubeset for the 06, 07 & 08 models was supplied by Dedacciai but has changed to Kona's own butted tubing for the current model (probably due to escalating steel costs worldwide). Component selection hasn't changed much aside from rims, cranks & bars & the price has floated between £450 & £550.

Back in the saddle...

Nice to get back out today after all the wet weather we've had. I don't fancy going out in the rain as it's not an enjoyable experience, even when you have all the correct gear. A nice fresh cold (but dry) day & I was heading out up the Warwick Road once again. I decided to go through Warmington up to Farnborough Lake & back on the Southam Road. The uphill from Farnborough up to the Southam Road was a long old struggle but I made it up.

Took the opportunity to visit my folks on the way back through Banbury & had a marvellous bacon sandwich - moms are ace aren't they!? xxx

15 mile loop according to google maps.

SS commander Crowman!

Dave from Oxford has just picked up a SS courier bike:

Dial-Ride-Wash...

Needed to check the Paddy Wagon over today as there were a few jobs that needed attending to. I removed those shity reflectors out of the spokes (not before time) & also took off the fixed cog from the flip-flop hub as I don't intend on using it so dead weight! The hub has a stepped threaded body for the fixed cog which screws on to the large step first followed by the lock ring (which is a LH thread) on the smaller outside step. The idea is that, should the cog come undone it will move against the lock ring which will only tighten up because of the opposing thread direction.

I made up my mind to do the Bloxham-Ells Lane-Broughton loop the other way today. Now, being a loop you would expect that how ever much you ascend, you have to descend the same amount back to the start... Right? Well the loop going the other way seemed much harder! I mean, I knew the long hill up from Bloxham into Banbury was going to be a haul but it was the worst one yet. I'm not sure if it was the cold (my brake levers had a layer of ice on them when I got home) the fact I was wheezing like that penguin from Toy Story II or just me being tired today but it certainly took it out of me. Always a sucker for punishment I still blasted down the long road home to really use up the last shreds of energy I had.

7 miles done.

The bike has built up a nice crust of shite off the road from all the wet rides of the last week so I gave her a nice wash down & dry before putting her to bed. Good as new!

New loop...

Looked on Googlemaps for a new loop & decided to do Bloxham to Adderbury today, a total of 11 miles. The shoes felt a bit better although I will have to fine tune the cleat position as the outside of my foot seems to ache a bit during riding. It has been wet but the rain stayed off & the ride was pretty good. The long road from Bloxham to Milton then Adderbury is smooth, flat & fast & you can really get a good rhythm going there. The traffic on the main road pisses me off a bit & I'd happily take a back road given the choice. Still had some left in the tank on the last road home so I gave it a big final blast home.

Jelly legs in effect!

New shoes...

With my SPD shoes & pedals all set up I did a ride out to check them out. I decided to do the North Newington-Wroxon loop as there are a few decent hills to climb & it's about time I stood up to them (literally!)

The loop totals 7 miles & was not really a problem. I made the steep crawler out of Newington but it was a big ask. The hill up into Drayton was attacked on the drops & was noticably better than previous attempts. I have decided against reducing my gearing as planned as I'm definitely seeing an improvement in my riding, which a few people have said, would be the case.

The shoes are going to take a good few sessions to get sorted but the difference compared to gripless plastics is amazing!

Old pals...

Friday Morning I hooked up with Tony B for a ride out & to catch up on the many years since we had seen each other in a social capacity. We did the Warmington-Edge Hill circular which totalled about 18 miles with the ride back from Tony's place afterwards. I must explain that Tony & I were best friends in School, we both had a passion for bikes & from the day he was introduced to our class we hooked up & discovered we both owned Raleigh Bombers. We got into BMX in a big way along with some other friends whom I do still see & ride with. We've shared a lot of miles on & off road riding & it was soo cool to be spinning along talking almost as fast as we were riding & smiling & laughing about days gone by. Post ride we had a few cups of good coffee & a look @ some of Tony's A-mazing road bike 'collection'. I took some good tips on my riding & fitness from him & he also was most kind in giving me a pair of SPD shoes so that I could dump my kids ones & put some power to the tarmac ;-)

In all we had a great time & the hours flew by. I hope we can get a few miles in now & again, around his busy training schedule, as it was what cycling is all about for me - FUN.