Intro

Hello, I have started this thrice weekly blog to bring up issues that as a cyclist, really get on my nerves but more on that in later posts, as some of you may know, I am a video cyclist from Southampton who has appeared on youtube in recent months, I have been met with much positive and constructive criticism and I use such comments to help improve my cycling on a daily basis, I also learn from watching others on youtube such as CycleGaz, SonofthewindsInc and CyclingMikey but as they have been, I have been met by negative and potentially destructive criticism along with a wide range of abuse but since school I have grown thick skinned to such comments but like anyone, push me enough and I'll go into a little rage, whether it's keyboard rage or verbal rage but I tend to try not letting myself get out of hand, for those reading this and are new to the concept of video cyclists and such or think video cyclists are just out to make videos all day, people like me are not out to cause trouble just to make a video and most of us video cyclists have jobs or go to school or something along those lines so we aren't out all day everyday looking for trouble as we neither have the want to do so or the time to do so, yes you may see the odd video or 2 that was recorded around mid day but those are normally recorded when most people would have their lunch break, some people will work through lunch, some work and eat, some go to the onsite cafeteria and others go out for lunch, whether they're cyclists or not, like when I was at college, I would sometimes walk to the nearby village (Sparsholt college is literally in the middle of nowhere other than the village it got its name from) and go to the local post office/shop and sit on the grass under a big tree next to the church, it was really peaceful but then college came to an end, more recently I completed the prince's trust 12 week program with Soton team 26, had a 6 month contract with Groundwork Solent after completing the phase 2 course with the Wheatsheaf Trust and most recently I gained the Cytech level 1 qualification but that's enough about me, I'm sure the avid cyclists among you are wondering what my steed is and what she looks like, well for now I can only give descriptives as I have no pictures of my girl and I'm not prepared to go and photograph her right now as it's dark, it's late and she's very dirty but she is a Halcyon Monteray, 21 inch frame, 700c wheels, 38c wide tires which are still the original set, tektro v-brakes, Kalloy adjustable rise A-head headset, swept back Kalloy handlebars (makes sense for a hybrid), suntour nex v2 suspension forks, 24 speed shimano transmission, chromo plastic mudguards, velo ergo grips, shimano v-brake/trigger shift pods, suntour crank set, aluminium flat pedals with anti-slip inserts, Kalloy suspension seat post and a canyon saddle, the accessories I have put on her are a bar end mirror from halfrauds, an ultrafire cree xml-t6 1000 lumens torch with bike mount, a T-one waterproof phone holder/case, a samui airzound 3, a specialized speed zone sport computer with 416 miles on the clock in the 3 months I have owned my bike, a topeak plastic bottle cage that holds the air bottle for the airzound and a cateye TL-170 on the left seat stay just below the brake, other lights I have which I've mounted to my helmet include a cateye EL-120, a topeak whitelite II and a topeak redlite II, I will be getting more lights as and when I can, can never be too bright in my mind, other stuff I carry is a full size topeak track pump, spare inner tubes, some tools, a big chain and padlock normally used for motorcycles that has saved my bikes a few times, an abus cable lock, a little, alarmed, combination lock with a thin, retractable steel cable and other bits and pieces in a large hiking style bag that I bought from tesco for when I was at college, something I use for my bike that people might think impossible to do on a bike is to go fishing, no, I don't ride along one handed with my rod/s in one and the handle bars in the other with buckets hanging off the bars, I actually tie the rod/s to the side of the bike in a way that allows me to mount and dismount easily and that they don't foul the gear or brake cables and so that my lights can still be seen, everthing else like bait, line, reels etc, are carried in my bag, my net is carried on my bag unless it's my larger collapsible net, then that along with it's pole go with the rods but on the other side of the frame, this way I can carry a bit more gear without compromising mobility, anyway, that's me, my bike and some of the antics I have been and do get up to, also on the third blog post of each week I will give awards to 6 categories, these will be good cycling, bad cycling, good driving, bad/dangerous driving, good deed and dick of the week, I will also have an award for best person or "saint of the month" and worst person or "sinner of the month" to those who I think deserve it, they may be a person showing brilliant driving/cycling who would be the saint of the week or they could be a pedestrian or any member of the public who gives abuse or road rage who would the sinner of the week, I will try to keep the awards from stalling on certain types of people and behaviour, so know you know a little about me and what the blog will be about, I will bid you farewell for now. If you do not know my youtube channel then just follow this link; Angry Ginger Cyclist
Ride hard and ride SAFER.