Apparently using song titles for blogs is a bit clichéd these days.  Ah well, can’t teach an old dog new tricks, etc.  Habits of a blogging lifetime ‘n all that.  Sorry.  Ish :P.

Yesterday I spent another happy morning with Andrew, cheerfully contradicting myself by buying upgrades so that I can ride up grades.  To be fair, a lot of this was more maintenance than enhancement…honest!

For starters, the Cinelli now has a set of girly wuss gears – having been fitted with a new Sram 12/32 cassette.  I have no idea what gear ratios and numbers actually mean, but a lot of you do.  When you’re talking to me about them, you’ll find me nodding and smiling a lot.  However I’m afraid I haven’t really got a clue what you’re going on about…but talking about it seems to make you happy ;).  I gather what I have now is better than what I had before, in that it will make it easier for me to go up hills.  That’s my definition of better anyway.  Result!

Waste not want not…so the Cinelli cassette is now on the Cube, accidentally giving that even lower gears too!  Oops ;).  The Cube also got a new rear mech, new chain, and new brake blocks.  The only original components on it now are the cranks/front rings and the levers…and we’re going to change the cranks for 165s shortly too!  Given that my workhorse has done over 16,000 miles now, I don’t think that’s unreasonable though, right? 🙂

So, as this Sunday’s Mad March Hare Sportive is getting ever closer, it seemed wise to take the Cube, which is the bike I shall be riding, out for a test ride to make sure that everything was working.  I was spoilt for choice for company as it turned out, as both Martyn and Mim were around, but first come, first served, and I met Martyn and Paul in the Square at 9:30am for an easy bike testing loop.  After some initial bedding-in glitches the Cube was definitely feeling a lot smoother, and it was even willing to change gears when I asked it to rather than when it felt like it – always nice and somewhat novel!  It felt good going up the hills too, in so far as good and hills are two words that go together.  I did a pretty heavy gym session last night, pushing watts again, and I had fairly heavy legs today, so being able to sit and spin when necessary was lovely :).

Somewhere on the return leg of our loop, heading back into the increasing NE wind, Paul asked me if I was enjoying it.  And I was.  Cold, but not as cold as I’d feared.  Dry roads.  Company.  Not at work.  What’s not to love?  OK, love might be pushing it, but I was having a pretty good time out there all things considered, even if the pair of them did keep dropping me! *grin*.

Cycling time: 2:09:14 hrs
Distance: 34.8 miles
Avs: 16.2 mph.
ODO: 16041.69 miles

And finally…I got around to getting my Bike Pure spacer put on the Cinelli.  It’s fairly clear from my performance that I’m not illegal substance enhanced, but that’s not the point.  Plus it’s blue :).