Yesterday the bike got a tune up, some replacement screws for the ones I’ve sweated all over and rusted up, brake adjustments, some other bits and bobs, along with a fresh Continental GP5000 on the rear to go along with the one that I fitted on the front.
I didn’t need much of an excuse to want to get outdoors this evening to properly test out the two new tyres. So, at about 16:20 when my last meeting of the day ended, I was straight into my kit and off out doors.
Today’s route was one I’ve done many times.
I like this route as it’s quiet (like zero cars for 15km quiet), scenic, and almost half and half. The first half being up hill, and then after ~17km it’s a nice coast home (more of less).
What I hadn’t factored in today was just how cold it was.
As soon as I set off I’d only made it up the road before I thought, you know what? I need my rubber gloves. Fingerless weren’t cutting it. Not if I wanted to return home without frost bite.
So, armed with my Marigolds, I set off once more, out towards Beacon Fell to try and get in 30km before the sun went down.
One thing that was different immediately was that I had no noise coming from the tyres.
This seems so ridiculously obvious now, but on Saturday’s ride I had a funky knocking sound coming from … well, somewhere. I now know that sound means (more than likely) a badly seated inner tube, or tyre. Or both.
Anyway, there was none of that today. But I was really anxious for the first 30 minutes or so that I’d have another puncture. Fortunately that didn’t happen.
Did the tyres feel any different? Yeah… maybe. A little bit grippier, perhaps. It’s hard to say. There were times heading into a harsh headwind that they felt sluggish. I feared I had a slow puncture. But no, they held up well enough.
Morale of the story: hire a professional and stick to enjoying the best bit: the riding.
I wanted to stop and get a picture today, but it’s really difficult in the rubber gloves. Also I was bloody freezing – two pairs of gloves would have been more sensible today. I knew it felt cold but was shocked to see an average of only 3C today. It didn’t feel that cold, except on my thumbs which have suffered a lot as of late.
Tomorrow looks like similar weather. If I’m up for it, I’ll be heading out again – maybe do this route again in reverse. It’s good to be off the main roads during rush hour. Or perhaps I’ll try and get out on my lunch break when it’s warmer.
Failing that I’ll be looking to do the final Zwift Academy workout.
