I hope you've noticed I've finally posted a picture of the summer jersey, just perfect for the heatwave we have at the moment, but not the best colour for hiding chain oil which has already made a showing since I learned the bike performed better with it! Now, I would not normally get that close to an oily chain, but it has come adrift twice in the last few days, something I need to keep an eye on.
Talking of bike bits and mechanics, the inner workings of the bicycle, as simple as it may seem, is not something I am that familiar with. Having spent many of my early years tinkering with cars, I somehow never had the need to get involved in cycle maintenance. As such, one event I dread is getting a puncture, particularly one that would involve unpicking the rear wheel gear and chain assembly. I noticed, reading a copy of Cycling Weekly the other day, the opening of the first Bike Kitchen outside California, in London. This is a DIY workshop where you can take care of your own bike with support of professional bike mechanics. What a great way to learn about maintaining and building bikes, I hope the idea spreads throughout the rest of the UK.
Back on my bike, I started this morning's circuit with a relatively flat ride out along Harepath, I was keen to leave any hill to the end and also wanted a change of scenery. After all my talk about a heat waves, it was surprisingly chilly out there .. you just never know what to wear! This was otherwise a very uneventful ride, until the homeward run along Axmouth Road, when inspired by the great sprinters of the TDF, I chased down and passed on another rider! Hardly surprising, therefore, that I achieved a new Avg Speed PB of 13.5 mph for the circuit.
