New Tweaks And Sore Legs

Oh.....and in case you didn't know, my daughter named this "Captain America"

Well, I've been busy doing stuff since the 24hr of Cumming reports rolled out last week. For one thing, I put another saddle on the Raleigh Tamland Two. This has been sort of like a round table of saddles with regard to this bike. I never have had the same one on for very long.

I was pretty sure the Brooks Cambium was the saddle here, but then WTB sends over a couple perches for me to test and........well, I have to try those saddles on something! 

The good news is that I like WTB saddles a lot and generally speaking, if the saddle from WTB is wide enough, I will like it. That's been the issue though, many saddles they make are not wider. That's why I always used SST's until they quit making them and Pure V's and now "Pure" saddles, because they are the wider saddle model from WTB. Well, now there is a Silverado and a SL8 in wider widths so I am able to try and see if one of those will be my new go-to saddle.

My buddy MG has been a long time Silverado user and has had nothing but high praise for that model in the skinny-butt version. I hope that I find that to be the case with the wide load version. Oh yeah..... Keen eyes will also note that I swapped seat posts. This is the Salsa regulator titanium post. My third one in the fleet.

The Silca Tattico Bluetooth pump saved the day!

Saturday I got out for my first gravel ride in a week after my 24hrs of Cumming beat down. I had ridden back and forth to work all week, but my legs were protesting heavily and I was really fatigued. I tried getting longer nights of sleep, but I haven't been bouncing back as I'd like to.

So, Saturday was dubbed an "easy ride", just to get out and spin. I tried keeping it chill, and I did fine. That is up until Petrie Road's Level B section.

I got in there and saw that the rains we had gotten in the beginning of the week had made for some bad mud ruts and standing water. I got up on top, where that puddle is pretty much permanent, and I stopped to watch some young frogs leap across the road through the murky, discolored waters. It made me think later about AG chemicals and mutations, and..... yeah.... Poor frogs!

Anyway, I went to reach for my bike, and just as I am lifting it up, I hear a "psssssssshhhhhht!" Dang it! A puncture?!! Yes, a freaking puncture right then. So random! I futzed with it till it sealed up and then I had to pump it back up again. This rig I was riding had my Silca Tattico Bluetooth pump attached, so I got out my phone and opened up the app. I started pumping and the app showed I had lost air from 40psi down to 17.5! Whoa! That was close to not sealing up. Anyway, I pumped it up to 39psi and prayed it would hold out till I got back to my starting point.

Not a lick of wind. Dog days of Summer!

I took it extra chill on the way home but the tire seemed to be holding up. After a  bit I forgot all about it and was hammering home on Aker Road like any other day out here. Then I got to the pavement, crossed Shaulis, and hit the ramp up to the bike path. Bang! I bottomed out against the rim!

Well, that tire must have had a slow leak yet. No wonder, since the sealant blew out like crazy to start with and I probably haven't got much left there to get by on. The hole wasn't even super visible after I got back to the truck, but it acted like a big puncture. What the cause was is still a mystery. I will report on it if I ever figure it out.

The discouraging thing was that afterward my legs felt like they did after the GTDRI and the 24hrs of Cumming- roached! I am pretty concerned about Gravel Worlds and my ability to get 150 miles done there. It's going to be tough no matter what, but if I cannot recover fully by then I will be a hurtin' unit fer sure!

Meanwhile I have to turn around my BgP Black Mountain Cycles MCD rig before Thursday, as that is the rig I plan on suffering on for Gravel Worlds. That or my Gen I Fargo. So, stay tuned to see which bike makes the cut!