The End Of Days
Ok, so it’s maybe not that bad, but the nights are starting to draw in and it’s dark in the mornings. Autumn is here and soon winter will be upon us, time to dig out the warm stuff! It’s been a couple of months since I posted any updates to this blog, but things have been far from quiet despite the ongoing situation with Covid-19.
I completed my commuter project in readiness for a return to work
It’s like having a brand new bike and I’m surprised how easy many of the tasks were, considering I have avoided them in the past. The jobs list read:
- Swap TRP Spyre Cable Disc Brakes for Shimano Hydraulic Disc Brakes
- Install new Shimano 105 shifters
- Install new hydraulic brake hoses and fully bleed brakes
- Install new gear cables
- New bar tape
- New Fabric saddle
- Clip on mudguards for those less than desirable mornings!
The only part that had me scratching my head was the internal cabling, but a magnetic cabling kit and some solid use of electrical tape sorted that out for me!
Bleeding the brakes was the part that I was most concerned about, considering the potential impact for injury or worse on a steep downhill, however a couple of YouTube videos and some very handy hacks and tips (see plastic bag!) made it quite straightforward. I have an increased confidence to complete the majority of bicycle maintenance tasks now.
The bike rode wonderfully well and, for the couple of times I’ve been in to the office, I’ve really enjoyed riding it.
Outside of that I’ve been using the relative freedom of working from home to increase my riding time, making the most of the last of the sun before that dip in temperatures and weather conditions. We’ve been fairly lucky throughout September and I’ve been doing more 50-70km rides rather than going all out on the longer distances
Today was the first day that the bib tights and the Endura Classics jersey came out and what a great decision it was as the heavens opened and I got soaked!
What else? Oh, the Tour was great, Loulou in Rainbow is great and the pro racing is coming thick and fast! I’m off to watch the Binckbank Tour!
IAIN
Looks like you had a great summer riding season! 🙂
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It’s been different, that’s for sure! Lots of plans put on hold with no Giro visit or Etape, but a lot of new local exploration and some pretty good routes found
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