new tires, a cleaning, and a great ride
while we were out last night we stopped into village cyclesport and i picked up some new tires for my bike. i was on the web over at mountain bike reviews, and saw that the continental town and country received some good reviews from people. i was on the market for a good street tire that gripped well, had low friction, and wasn’t going to puncture easily. i was tired of my off-road tires since i didn’t ride as much off-road as i’d like to. i figured that i might as well conserve some of my energy lost from friction by choosing a more appropriate tire that’s conducive to my riding style and locale. anyhow, i picked up a set and spent a little while yesterday putting them on my bike.
at the same time i was giving my tires a make over i gave my bike it’s spring bath. i couldn’t believe all of the grime i had left on there from last year. i really need to clean it more often, every 3-5 rides or so i think. i had to clean the chain twice and spent a while taking the grime off with my hands before i could even bother with the brushes. new time we’re at the bike shop i need to pick up some good bike cleaning brushes like they have over at park tools. anyhow, amy cleaned her bike some at the same time. she hasn’t put too many miles on her new bike yet so there wasn’t much to clean. mine on the other hand was a project, but it’s shiny and ready for the road now.
after we were done we threw the bikes on the back of the beetle and went for a ride over at the barrington trails. the weather was perfect, not to hot and not to cool. it felt great to get out there and pedal for a while. i love the feel of kicking it into gear up the hills and getting some speed down the hills. it was only a 10 mile ride but it was enough to get us both raring and ready for more riding this year, even if we’re a bit late. if we had eaten better we might have went for another lap but there was no way we’d make it around again without bonking. i’m planning on attempting a personal century ride later this summer after i get back in the groove.
