1st spring rides
 

swapped off my car snow tires for the OEM all seasons, so spring bike rides are right around the corner. we still have ice and run-off re-freezing on the road shoulders and the craters are horrendous. saw a neighbor come back from a ride but he was walking his bike. wonder how it went.

I am in Pennsylvania, and there was too much wind for me yesterday, but I needed to ride after the long winter, so I took a quick shake down ride in the park along the levee. I went out on a recently purchased used bike to make sure my maintenance and adjustments were good for some upcoming rides I have scheduled.

All went well except for a grinding sound about a mile into the ride whenever I hit the brakes... so I cut the ride short, since I want to replace the pads anyway. I think that somehow I picked up sand or dirt on both the front and rear pads when I went through an area that was sandy and soggy. I haven't ever had that happen before, I wonder if it has to do with the way the tires gripped the sandy muck.

It was nice to get out and ride, even if it was little more than a warm-up.

Sunburnt after 4.5 hours today. Summer starts soon here; time to make plans to head north.

Spring is still a long way away. I got 2 rides in Monday and Tuesday of last week at 50°. The next morning it was -1 with a high of 14 or something.

It was fantastic being able to ride on roads though with the new bike rather than waiting for the bike trail. There was still 6 inches of ice and snow on the trail. It's clear now and my daughter wants to ride. Just waiting once again for the weather to warm up enough again.

Tuesday was my first 'real" ride. Battled headwinds up to 40MPH on the way back. How come it didn't feel that windy on the way out?

Rum- Don't know about your neighboorhood, but down here in MetroWest land, the potholes are making me very apprehensive this year. Seems like the plows were all using serrated blades and really did a number on the roads. That being said, the Lynskey is screaming at me from its hooks in the garage. I bought it in late October, so I have only done a few short rides on it.