October 21st (Afternoon)

Today felt like an off day technically. I didn’t feel very confident on the narrow Peterson Creek trails, nor was I feeling all that fast. That being said, I managed my fastest time yet and my highest average speed!!! How did that happen???

Anyways, it was a bit warmer (16°), but with the sun being behind the hills now when I leave, it makes for a cooler ride really. Leaving work, going down Howe and then across Summit something just didn’t feel quite right. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was exactly. Was it the new tire? No, I don’t think so. The ride down into the creek bottom was really good, actually. The brakes weren’t that great as compared to the last week or two, but they were still quiet and had decent power. Peterson’s Creek was probably 2x as full as it normally is, not sure what that was about! We didn’t get any rain, so I wonder if the city diverts some water into the creek somewhere? A bit strange…

Well, coming out of the creek I didn’t make it over the root but instead slipped out. Can I blame that on the new tire? Well, my old tire did the same thing when my positioning was off, so I can’t say it’s worse than before! I attempted the climb up the straight, steep section and made it about an average distance. I gave up not due to lack of traction (I’ve never had traction issues here before, and the new tire was no different) but because of a lack of energy! Hah!

At the top, however, the rear tire did feel very soft. I stopped and decided to pull the wheel off entirely, thinking that part of the issue I was feeling on the streets was likely due to a loose axle. Sure enough, the axle was more than loose, so I tightened that up, then pumped the tire up as well (it was sitting close to 20psi). I put it all back together, then started riding but right away it felt soft again. I thought for sure I had a flat, so again I pulled the wheel out, and then dug out the spare tube and tools. However, after about 5 minutes, I noticed the tire was still about the same as it was when I stopped so I decided to just try pumping it up again. Again, the tire was about 20psi, so I pumped it up close to 40psi. Did I not pump it up right before? I have no idea what I did wrong, but it seemed to be OK so, again, I put the wheel back on and then continued on.

Shortly after this was the narrow, winding trail to the rock “wall”. I was rather unsteady on this trail, riding too close to the edge. I didn’t get enough speed, and so I didn’t make it over the wall. After this, still feeling unsteady, I decided to ride down to the Frolek’s lower road right away rather than across the single-track and any of the gulley trails. It was a fun ride down (new trail) and I did enjoy the old fire road across Frolek’s land like I used to ride!

Once I got to Juniper, I took the lookout trail again and suddenly found where this new tire absolutely blows the old one out of the water. The lookout trail is a bit of hardpack with loose sand on top. I was flying faster than before, hitting the corners with much better speeds and the tire held on without slipping at all. Very impressive!

So, for some reason while I felt “unsteady” today, I ended up with a great time and average speed. Was it the new tire? Must be the couple of hundred grams less in weight and the lower rolling resistance… I can’t wait ‘till I can get another one for the front!!! Hah!