Yesterday morning was likely the last gasp of this winter that never was. When I left for work, it was a nice, crisp 32°F. Freezing temperatures are not unheard of around here in late March, but they’re not common either, and given how warm March has been, yesterday morning felt really Arctic. Of course, today we’re right back in the 70s.
For the past few rides I’ve been riding my Rockhopper, which is my winter bike. I took the studded tires off it a couple of weeks ago. Even without the studs, the bike is still a tank. It’s not too heavy for a mid-’90s steel frame mountain bike, but the combination of lower gearing and wider tires make it a lot harder to move than either of my road bikes. I really have to work to get it up hills. I always like when I switch to my road bike after riding this one for awhile. It makes me feel really fast, like one of those racer dudes with the sponsor jerseys.
Speaking of the road bike, it’s currently in the shop. They are going to attempt to convert it from a triple chainring to a compact double. I’m not sure how they’ll do it without changing out the derailleur and/or shifter, but we’ll see how it goes. The triple was a pain because it’s hard to keep the chain from rubbing against the front derailleur in certain gear configurations. My only concern going to the double is that the gearing won’t be low enough to get me up hills like Ilchester Rd. We’ll see how it goes.