Back to the bike (but with the running shoes close by)

Needs new bar tape!

With the marathon training taking up so much time recently, it’s been quite a while since I got on the bike – any bike – it’s a month since I used the turbo and 3 months since I rode outside. Disgraceful!

Even more disgraceful were the cobwebs on the Rose when I brought it out of the bike shed.

So, it was ‘start to prepare’ time on Friday. The last time I rode outside I ripped the sidewall of the front tyre (a Conti 4000sii) so I’ve changed that and now have Michelin Pros front and rear (having put a tear in the sidewall of the rear Conti 4000sii when cycling out to the alps last July). Is that just me with the Continentals, or are their sidewalls not very clever?

I’ve also put on a new rear mech hanger having slightly bent the original falling off on the ride out to the alps (not associated with the destruction of the tyre). It was a slow speed fall on gravel within 50 yards of my accommodation for the second night, having ridden an incident-free 310 miles in the previous two days. More embarrassing than anything.

With a bit of a clean and a minor fettle I was ready to go – but dipped out of the club red ride on Saturday as it was cold (and I’m still a wimp) and I want to get a few bike miles in my legs to find out how all the running has affected my cycling.

It warmed a little as Saturday wore on so I headed out in the afternoon to take a book to a friend and did just under 30km (18.4 miles) to test the legs and the restored bike. With youthful exuberance I went out at an average of 18mph (29kph) but with increasing maturity and a freshening headwind I came back rather more sedately.

The Achilles tendons are improving slowly thanks to the break from running (weird to think that, exactly a week ago as I write this, I was running the Rotterdam Marathon) so it will be more cycling and less running for a while to see if they will repair properly.

My first ride outside for 3 months but enjoyable – this cycling lark could catch on.