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post: journal week starting 26 January 2026
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‎docs/posts/2026/january/26.md‎

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---
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title: Long cold winter
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date:
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created: 2025-01-26
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updated: 2025-01-27
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authors:
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- practicalli
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categories:
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- practicalli
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tags:
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- cycling
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- github
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draft: false
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---
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The week started very cold but there is hope for a slightly warmer day on Wednesday. This is probably the last nice day for a ride this month. With the weather forcasts all taling about an unstable Polar Vortex, the next couple of weeks may not be that great for cycling out doors.
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I will be planning a bicycle trip around the Loch Lomond area in early spring. I have a friend who lives near by so it will be great to catch up with them.
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As part of my digital storage and services clean-up I found a fairly simple way to [show which GitHub repositories I had stared](#github), which are probably quite numerous over the last decade or more and of varying relevance.
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This week I have been listening to [Nessa Barrett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nessa_Barrett) who is the single "Dying on the inside", which I can emathise with to some extent (different situations, similar feelings).
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<!-- more -->
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## GitHub
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I have had a GitHub account for over a decade and in that time I have probably stared many repositories, some of which I am may no longer be interested in.
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The [star](https://github.com/rverst/stargazer){target=_blank} GitHub Action will create a list of all repositories stared by the GitHub account.
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The [practicalli-johnny/omb-its-full-of-stars](https://github.com/practicalli-johnny/omg-its-full-of-stars){target=_blank} repository was created to contain a generated `README.md` file listing all my stared repositories. A GitHub workflow was added that uses the stargazer GitHub action to generate the list of stared repositories, creating a commit and pushing it to the default branch.
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!!! EXAMPLE "Full Of Stars GitHub Workflow"
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```yaml
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# This workflow builds a list of your starred repositories
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name: Full Of Stars
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on:
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# Manually trigger workflow
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workflow_dispatch:
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# Daily schedule
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schedule:
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- cron: '42 2 * * *'
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jobs:
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build:
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runs-on: ubuntu-latest
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steps:
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# Checks-out your repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE, so your job can access it
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- uses: actions/checkout@v6
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# Generate the list
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- name: Create star list
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id: stargazer
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uses: rverst/[email protected]
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with:
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github-user: ${{ github.actor }}
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github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
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list-file: "README.md"
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# Commit the changes
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- name: Commit files
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run: |
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git config --local user.email "[email protected]"
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git config --local user.name "github-actions[bot]"
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git add .
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git commit -m "Update list of starred repositories on GitHub"
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# Push the changes
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- name: Push
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uses: ad-m/github-push-action@v1
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with:
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github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
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branch: ${{ github.ref }}
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```
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In the GitHub repository **Settings** > **Actions** > **General** scroll down to the **Workflow pernissions** and select **Read and write permissions** (rather than the default Read permissions).
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Go to the **Actions** section of the repository and start the **Full Of Stars** workflow.
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## Cycling
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One of the most significant upgrades to a bicycle is new wheels, to replace the stock wheels that often come with a new bike. The upgrade is significant in the performance and feel of the bike, but they also come at a significant cost.
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Carbon wheels with ceramic bearings are commonly sighted as a premium wheel for excellent performance. This style of wheel set should be significantly lighter than stock aluminium wheels, between 500 and 750 grams (three quarters of a kilogram) lighter. These are also the most expensive option.
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There are several very reputable brands from China, Elite wheels (who sponsor GCN) and SuperTeam.
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SuperTeam do seem to offer the best price to performance ratio. They have wheels from 300 GBP to 900 GBP.
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A less talked about aspect of newer wheels is a wider internal and external width. This increase in width started with Mountain and Gravel bikes that used signifiantly bigger tyres. As the choice of road tyres have gone from 23C to 28C or 32C, then there is a significant advantage in a wider wheel.
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When running a 28C tyre on a wheel with an outer dimension of 28, the tyre shape is more rounded and provides greater surface area and therefore grip on the road. The rounder shape is more aerodynamic too.
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A wider wheel also has a wider inner width, which should make it easier to fit tyres to the wheel.
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### Superteam wheels
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I have seen very positive reviews of the Superteam wheels, from TraceVelo (youtube channel) and many reliable cycling websites.
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If they live up to the promise of their reviews they will be very good value for money 🤞
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I was torn between two wheelsets, a fairly entry level one
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- [Classic 2 D28 50 Carbon wheelset disc brake](https://superteamwheels.com/products/classic-%E2%85%B1-d28-50-carbon-wheelset-disc-brake){target=_blank} weighing 1560 grams and costing 292.01 GBP
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- [S-All Carbon-Ultra D28-50 disc brake](https://superteamwheels.com/products/road-bike-s-all-carbon-ultra-d28-50-disc-brake-carbon-wheelset){target=_blank} weighing 1350 grams and costing 725.25 GBP
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I decided to order the S-All Carbon-Ultra D28-50 disc brake wheels, partly because they look snazzy but also becase they weigh only 1350 grams. This should save 800 grams on the weight of my bike with the current wheelset.
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The online store shows the prices in GBP when viewing the website from the UK. However, when actually ordering (via Shop) the price is shown (and taken) in USD. This was not an issue for me as I have a Wise account that has sufficient USD funds.
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If ordering via PayPal express checkout (its not really any faster, but you dont have to enter address and credit card details) then the wheels cost about 25 GBP more due to PayPal fees and currency conversion rate between USD and GBP.
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The wheels will take between 18-25 days to arrive (which I expected) so I should have them by the time the weather is much nicer at the end of February. Just in time for ramping up my training for the Dragon Ride in June.
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### Tracking wear with Strava
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Maintenance required for a bicycle is easier to track if a bike and its components are added to Strava (or similar service that all your rides are published too).
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I bought my Ribble bicycle just before doing the Lands End to John O'Groats ride in 2019 and put a big "Deadpool" sticker on it so I knew which bike was mine. Since then I just call that bike Deadpool.
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Deadpool components
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- front and rear tyres since the French Trip 2025
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- jocky wheels
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- look keo pedals
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- front week since start
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- rear wheel - Bontrager since 14 November 2025 (original Mavic Aksium wheel cracked).
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I set Deadpool as the default bike for ride activates, so everything that goes on Strava helps me understand how much distance the components have endured.
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### Spatzwear
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It seems I wasn't paying close attention when I did my last order, as I selected the Navy Blue version of the 4-seasons jersey rather than the black one. Its not that dissimilar in colour so I didn't notice when it first arrived. It wasnt until I hung it up in daylight that the colour seemed different. Looking at the website the colour selection pictures are small and there isn't any other information to help distinguishing between the two colours until its in the cart. Even then you have to look closely at the cryptic model number.
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I used the Spatzwear portal to return the item, but I couldn't exchange for the same jersey in Black. So I have requested a store credit, as I can still order the Black XXL jersey on the website (and hopefully when I get the store credit).
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I am also waiting for an update to the gloves where the seam started to split. They are marked as returned, but I have not had any info about returning them.
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---
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Thank you.
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[:globe_with_meridians: Practical.li Website](https://practical.li){target=_blank .md-button}
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[:fontawesome-brands-github: Practical.li GitHub Org](https://github.com/practicalli){target=_blank .md-button}
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[:fontawesome-brands-github: practicalli-johnny profile](https://github.com/practicalli-johnny){target=_blank .md-button}
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[:fontawesome-brands-mastodon: @practicalli@clj.social](https://clj.social/@practicalli){target=_blank .md-button}
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[:fontawesome-brands-twitter: @practical_li](https://twitter.com/practcial_li){target=_blank .md-button}

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