The weather forecast for today had changed quite a bit by this morning, with no rain due over until early evening. I’d arranged to take ‘er indoors out for lunch at 2pm and wasn’t planning to do a bike ride today, but at 11am I decided I’d get November off to a bit of a start by doing 15 or 20 on the hybrid. I expected the roads to be wet and muddy, and they were (mostly).
A bit gloomy when I set off but the sun came out later on. I did a short version of the Twycrosser, cutting across to Bilstone along Bilstone Road just before Twycross.
17.85 miles. Would happily have done another 20 or so had time permitted, even on the hybrid which seemed to be rolling along pleasantly enough at the sedate speed demanded of it, despite its excessive weight. Actually the combined weight of hybrid + cyclist is lower than the combined weight of Cannondale (my lightest bike) + cyclist would have been in January. But of course there’s more to efficiency than just the weight.
Saw a chap out on a Giant bike near Shackerstone. He had all the usual gear on and it looked like a road bike, but the down tube looked unusually large and chunky. I supposed it was an e-bike but he was coming the other way so I didn’t get a close look. Helpfully though, he overtook me along Heather lane half an hour later with a cheery wave so I got a better look. To all intents and purpose a road bike in appearance, with the usual road wheels, handlebars and clippy pedals. But with a large, square cross section down tube, presumably housing an electric motor and battery.
Would have thought that e-bikes were more aimed at the commuter / convenience cyclist market rather than the recreational / enthusiast cyclist.
I still haven’t got round to fixing the gears on the hybrid (after about two years) but the available range is still usable. The most annoying thing was that I’d removed its mirror a while back for some reason and forgot to put one back on.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2838538688
3503 done this year.
Must admit, I didn’t even bother wiping the mud and moisture off its nether regions when I put the bike away. Was in a bit of a hurry.
In other news – another mouse has met its maker in the garage. Quite a small one and the kill bar came down right across its back rather than its neck. But I hope it was still quick.
The weather forecast looks intermittently (but predominantly) rainy for the next couple of weeks.