With yesterday’s rain and the early morning rain today I doubted that biking would happen today but by 2:00 the sun came out and the clouds thinned. The streets around here dry quickly with the breeze and sun so the disappeared in most places. I did come across some water on a trail that I use to get started but after that it looked like the rain took place several days ago.

When I first start to get dressed I thought I would need to wear my windbreaker but the temperature increased several degrees once the sun arrived and by 2:43 when I started the ride the 70 degree temperature allowed me to leave the windbreaker home and add a short sleeve jersey over my long sleeve jersey. No leg warmers today. By the time I got back home the temperature went up to 75 degrees. A fabulous spring day I might say. The WSW wind clocked at 11.4 mph with 21 mph gusts but they weren’t a major factor since my route and wind breaks minimized the effect.

The ride did not get off to a good start though. Around the 1.6 mile point I heard the hiss of air leaking from one of my tires. I could determine which one right away but by the 1.95 mile point it became clear the rear tire was the problem. I pulled over at a building off the street and looked at the rear tire. I could not find any puncture causing things but there was a cut that went through the casing. Removing the tube I quickly found the hole by pumping up the tube and then laying the tube on the tire it lined up with the cut which indeed did go all the way through the tire. After a problem last year I now carry a section of an old tire to use as a boot so I put that inside the tire over the cut area, patched the tube and aired the tire back up. The patch worked and I continued my ride with no other flats.

Due to the rain delay my ride started later than I would prefer so I biked amongst the schools getting out. School buses and parents picking up their children crossed my path most of the route but the beautiful weather made for a great ride.

Yesterday while the rain kept me indoors I did some bike maintenance. I waxed my chain in anticipation of riding in the LBJ 100 in Johnson City this Saturday.  Another thing I wanted to address was the saddle angle. While the saddle I use is very comfortable I thought the angle was not what it should be with the nose pointed up and the saddle not being level, So I got my level out and adjusted the saddle angle to as flat as the seatpost would allow. I wanted several days to bike with this new angle before going on the LBJ 100 in case the adjustment did not sit well. After the ride I think the new angle will work so no change in that.

One thing I had to change when I got back home was the tires. With the cut in the rear tire I decided I did not want to ride this Saturday out of town with a boot in the tire. I could feel the the boot every time the wheel rotated and that place in the tire came in contact with the road. I did not remember when I installed the Hutchinson Fusion 2 tires but looking back in my SportTracks log I found on June 20, 2011 I replaced the previous tires. Since then I biked around 3,500 miles on the Fusion 2’s. In the past if I managed to bike 2,500 miles on a set of tires I thought I got my money’s worth. I replaced the Hutchinson Fusion 2’s with Continental Gatorskin 700×25 tires. I try to keep a spare set of tires on hand since I never know when the need will arise. I am moving to a 25mm wide tire from the 23mm Hutchinson ones. I read several blogs and articles extolling the “wider” tire comfort and durability versus the narrower tires. I also lowered the pressure from 120 psi to 105 psi. Overall I am impressed with the Hutchinson Fusion 2 durability. The roads I ride are not debris free by any means so to get 3,500 miles with a few flats is very good. The Gatorskins are supposed to be even more durable and the Fusion 2’s do not appear to be sold any more. Tomorrow’s ride will be a test of the tire switch. My planned route goes over Lake Houston where road debris lives and flats happen.

Some ride data for today:

• 1:44:09 riding time
• 15.1 mph average speed
• 24.1 mph max speed
• 82.2 RPM average cadence
• 26.19 miles today
• 55.79 miles this week
• 370.68 miles in March (346.8 miles March average mileage since 1990)
• 1006.77 miles YTD (earliest I made this amount)
• Garmin Connect data link

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3-21-2012 Home Weather Station End