A Cold Morning Bike Ride

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Yesterday morning I felt a little under the weather so I considered skipping the 07:00 ride. I didn’t because I thought that I would regret not going, if I did not go. In the process I got to ride with the autumn/winter tyres and this time they felt less laggy than before.

Two days ago, when I was ready to go for a ride I noticed that the tyre was flat. I replaced the inner tube and yesterday the bike felt much, much better than it has in a while. I did have a small, slow puncture in the rear tyre.

Cold but Sunny

Yesterday’s ride was cold, with a temperature of around 5°c. Cold enough for the gloves I was wearing to be inadequate, and for the shoes I was wearing to result in cold toes. The reason for this is that we weren’t riding as hard and fast as sometimes, so we didn’t generate as much heat.

The other reason is that it was 4°c colder than it has been on previous rides, and that small difference in temperature makes a big difference in comfort. With slightly thicker gloves my hands would have been fine.

After I got home from the ride I added the toe caps to my cycling shoes, in order to stop the cold wind from entering my shoes from beneath through the air vent that is welcome in summer, but not autumn and winter.

The Tyres Feel Good

Patch Practice

At last the rear tyre is feeling much better. Changing the inner tube made a considerable difference. The leak that I had was tiny. It was so small it took time to locate.

I used the old technique of a bucket filled with water, and passing the tyre through the water until I spotted bubbles. The puncture was really, really small.

I tried to patch three times, and failed each time. On the third attempt I was sandpapering and the small hole erupted and tyre pressure loss was instant.

That’s when I patched it for the third time, without success so I stopped.

Suspected Issue

I suspect that the issue with this tyre is that it is one that has been with me for most of the summer rides, and as a result it got damaged by being exposed to heat and more, and because it was several years old by now. I think that I will count on inner tubes I ride with to transport me home, but I won’t rely on them as tyres for hundreds or thousands of kilometres.

Rough Treatment

The other issue is that I have been riding on very rough roads recently, with big stones. It’s likely that with this terrain type the inner tube was stressed to its failure point. Luckily the failure was a slow leak that allowed me to finish rides

Ride Feel

Now that I have a brand new inner tube on the bike it feels much faster, and more responsive. I know feel that I am riding as comfortably as with the GP5000. I suspect that the issue was the inner tube. Now I feel that I could ride with faster groups again. It proves that tyres, and inner tubes make a difference.

The Twin Challenges at This Time of Year

The twin challenges at this time of year are getting up when it’s still dark, at the crack of dawn, and coping with the low temperature. For the first challenge, we are now in the winter time zone so we’re getting the sun an hour earlier, relative to the time on our watches.

You need to dress warmly, but not so warmly that you sweat, because that’s when you risk cooling too effectively when you stop for a quick break. This time of year is a challenge.