What a week ! I was only able to get out four times this week, and what a mixed bag of weather , 24 degrees on Sunday down to 9 degrees yesterday , I was either riding in the wind or the rain or like today both !!!, I don’t mind riding in the wind but at least one day with out it would be nice. One reward this week was the lilac’s in bloom, what a beautiful fragrance (well that is when the wind isn’t blowing it away !!) The weeks total : 280 km, I’d wanted to get out more but there is a lot of work to be done on the farm this time of the year, spring clean up, preparing the flower beds , starting a new vegetable garden , and of course grass cutting , etc, etc … , spring is beautiful but it does bring a lot of work !!!
Today was an interesting ride, I left early (7.10 ) in the rain as they were calling for strong winds ( 80 to 100 km gusts ) near midday and I wanted to try and be back before they hit. The first part of the ride was actually a pleasant 9 degrees with hardly any wind, the rain clouds cleared about 30 km into the ride and for a while it warmed up to 14 in the sunshine. I had decided to ride a circle around home that way I would never really be to far away, so I headed west to Lloydtown then south and skirted Nobleton and made it to Kleinburg , a good mix of climbing and flats. The wind had started to pick up by then but it was sunny so I even took off some of my rain gear, well that was premature !! I had ridden east to Dufferin St and was making my way back west on the King-Vaughan Rd against a good wind when the skies darkened and it started to really blow and a cold rain started to fall, the temp dropped to 7 degrees !! and my hands were freezing !!!, the next hour was not pleasant as the cold front went through , I rode in all four directions during that period and it was nasty no matter which way I was pointing . Eventually after zigzagging around King Township I headed north on Weston and went into the Marsh were once again the winds picked up and I got rained on for the third time today !!, and in the Marsh there is no shelter from the wind except for when your going the same way it is .
I eventually got home around 12.30 after 106 km , most of me managed to stay dry but my feet got wet this time and the together with my hands were quite cold !! The rain covers for the panniers don’t keep them totally dry , the back ones don’t go all the way around the inside of the panniers so they get wet from the splashing of the rear wheel . The front on is better but it also does not totally cover the trunk bag which allows rain in , I am going to have to double bag somehow.
The bike is in need some attention, the gearing is a bit off and I’ll have to tweak the indexing again, I guess the cables have stretched a bit, there’s some rubbing going on with the back wheel and I’ll have to figure out what that’s all about, and it also in need of a good clean up as its covered in dirt and grime from the wet roads.
Me, I’m a bit tiered, all that ridding against the wind adds up !!! I’m in need of a nice relaxing ride without wind or rain and hopefully with a bit of warmth , yes I’m a dreamer , I know !!
Try Seal Skins gloves and socks, they are great for keeping out the cold and wet.
ReplyDeleteOff to the sun for a week but I promise I'll get into the gym every day. Much better week this week about 160 miles all in. Onwards and upwards!!