This morning I had planned to start an early ride due to expecting to go out for my dinner (that’s lunch if you’re not from the North). But alas, that was a bit pointless as due to some erratic driving, my wife punctured the front tyre of the car and so our trip out got cancelled. Not to worry, the ride took place all the same, and I watched Star Wars instead of eating a delicious meal.
You win some, you lose some.
The route today wasn’t followed exactly. I did plan a route out, and it did look somewhat like the above. But not quite.
The first half of the ride was a trip around the outskirts of Preston town centre, then down into Hoghton. I wanted to do a reverse route of this ride. And that part went quite well. I got some new PB’s along the way, and whilst I didn’t kill it on the small climbs, I did get in some solid exercise, so no complaints.
Also, coming back the reverse way, I enjoyed a long descent – ahhh, “free” kilometres.
After this, I planned a sort of figure of 8 around Avenum Park. It’s always quite nice down there first thing on a Sunday. It can be, from past experience, a bit dodgy at other times if you’re out alone. Or in a group. Bit rough round there.
Along the way I stopped off and chatted to a couple of cyclists who were doing roadside repairs. One had suffered a double puncture on the pot holes heading into the park. Disaster. They had it under control, but it made me think: do I need a second tube in my saddle bag?
After this the Garmin kinda led me on a bit of a wild goose chase, and thankfully I do know the route quite well, but even so I got a few wrong turns in here and there. I found two new ways off the park, and even learned there’s a second park (Miller Park) right next to Avenum Park that I had no idea about. Good times.
From there it should have been a relaxed cruise back through town and off home. However as I came off the park and was very slowly dawdling back up the hill towards the centre of Preston, someone in a land rover opened their door right on me. How I dodged that, I have no idea. Idiots. That got the heart going – not sure that was the 190bpm max heart rate of the ride though.
I’m glad I got in the 30km, but I had to be back at a set time to do a bit of daddy day care. Perhaps I should have waited till later in the day as it got hotter as the day went on, as whilst I was out it only reached 13c.
Still, no regrets really. And glad I didn’t get properly doored.
A fairly sedate end to a middling week.
“do I need a second tube in my saddle bag?”
Yes. Especially as its easy to mess up a repair, but then it depends if you have a wife/taxi you can easily call as well.
Lol. I’m not convinced another tube would fit in my bag tbh but I think it might be wise to get one, all things considered.
How often do the outer tyres need replacing? I have absolutely no idea.
Depends on the tyres (and the surface you ride on). If you can feel a flat ridge on the tyre- its time to replace (if you can see the woven structure at all, replace NOW!). Back tyre will go first, front takes 3x longer.
Ahh they seem OK then. I have a bike maintenance session booked in with the local mobile mechanic so I’ll get him to repair and replace as necessary. Cheers for the info tho!