I rode my Santa Ana 200k brevet last Saturday with Mark Kaufman. Both of us were riding the last ride in our R12 series. That's where you ride at least a 200k brevet for twelve consecutive calendar months.
It was 44F and calm when we started about 6:30am but it dropped quickly to 35F just before dawn. I was wearing my usual cold-weather gear - Pearl Izumi arm warmers and leg warmers and a Pearl Izumi convertible jacket. It was chilly at first but as I warmed up I was comfortable except for some chilled fingers and tingling cheeks.
Mark and I rode well together having similarly relaxed styles. We both went through the predictable soft spots but we're experienced enough to know how to deal with them with the minimum of drama.
It warmed up slowly and eventually I converted my jacket to a vest and when the thermometer reached 70F I took the vest and arm warmers off too. I am still amazed that a few ounces of well designed fabric can keep me comfortable when the temperature drops close to freezing.
I got a rear-wheel flat on the way back. It looks like a piece of glass cut my tire and tube but didn't stick in the tire. Fortunately it happened near the Lucky Greek so I fixed it while waiting for my Gyro and fries. I think it's about 4000 miles since my last flat.
I'm looking for new tires. Specialized Armadillos Reflect 700x26 are looking pretty good but they're not cheap at $50 each. I see they have a reflective band but I can't see many reviews on them. I think I'll give them a try anyway.
Congratulations Mark.
No comments:
Post a Comment