Bad weather and moral weakness

I had the day off on Friday and earlier in the week, when the weather forecast was looking good, had planned to spend a good bit of the day riding. By the time Friday arrived the forecast had changed to rain, ice pellets and snow. I probably could have salvaged a bit of ride if I'd been up early and out the door but laziness triumphed and I left it too late. Pretty much my sole cycling-related accomplishment was swapping the Nokian studded tire on my front wheel for a Pasela. Too busy the rest of the weekend for any riding but I did pump up the tires and lube the chains on the kids' bikes. I guess this means the family cycling season has started.

To make up for all this whining and excuse-making, a cheerful picture of a sidecar full of bananas (in Yangshuo I think):

Friday riding

A nice ride in this morning, helped by a bit of a tailwind. Unfortunately, the east wind brought bad weather later in the day. At any rate it was a change from the the headwinds earlier in the week. I’m not sure if I’m riding a bit faster – I always seem to speed up a bit as the weather improves in the spring – or it just feels like there’s less effort involved in riding because it’s not cold. By the time I went out for a run at lunch time it was snowing and I ended up soaked, so I had the treat of pulling wet clothes for the ride home. It was a bit of a slog home against the wind and rain but the weather's supposed to be better tomorrow.

Winter ate my chainring

And now spring is eating my tires. Yesterday I had a flat on the way to work and another on the way home. Rear tire both times. I think it's the combination of debris on the road, exposed by the receding snow, and the worn-down state of my rear tire. I swapped the tire (a 700 x 32 Pasela) for a less-worn one so we'll see if that helps.

With any luck I'll be able to get the new winter bike assembled on the weekend, just in time for spring. I think it will have to be redesignated the new mixed-terrain bike. Time to go tire shopping.