All Quiet On The Home Front.....For Now.

Nothing says Spring like Belgium & cobbles

This is bloody great. Weekends in not worrying about tomorrows race, only what coffee to have or pants to put on.
A chance to clean machines and inspect the damage accumulated over the year. And boy has some been accumulated! Got a nice big list, cables, cassettes, chain rings, pads, chains, bar tape, wheels, tyres, even a new groupset.
The year is planned already, so each bike gets set up accordingly.
The race bike gets the most attention. Stripped and cleaned. Then to have the carbon race wheels fitted, new tubs glued on and a set of yellow Swisstops added before being put away ready to race.
The training bike gets some upgrades especially a set of decent wheels so it can be press ganged into racing duties in the foulest of weather. The thought of my dollar dollar Lightweights grinding away in the wet makes me wince.
The crosser gets all new running gear. I'm sticking with canti's, but moving over to 1X and tubulars.
The mountain bike gets some long overdue attention as it might be my holiday bike this year if we go to the Alps as planned.
Finally the old old Claud, new tyres and cotton bar tape to carry this aging hipster to work!

So I pretty well have about three months where I can do what I want. Of course all the time I'm aware I need to be ready to race come late Spring.
Though right now I can afford to mix it up. Sundays are the cycling mainstay and still a bit fast, but always ridden. I'm getting off road, it makes a nice change to stuff everything in the camelback and just head off out, sometimes I stop and just sit under a tree. The turbo is a consistent in my cycling, and yes every week I leap on it. But the pressure is off and everything now seems so much easier? 

So until I pin a number on later this year I can pretty well do as I want, and that is such a relief that I have to wonder why I do the hard stuff at all.
A ride I will do is the Rapha Hell Of The North (London), I pretty well always do this barring a once a decade foray onto the Hell Of The North Cotswolds.
Then there's the clubs very own 'special' rides
Perhaps I might grab a final Chilterns Classic reliability ride. Whatever, there's nearly always a ride you can jump on. And often they're a freebie.
And Belgium this time of year shouldn't be missed,  another outing to ride the Gent-Wevelgem would go down a treat.

So for now it's time to kick back and get ready to crank it up. #wintermilessummersmiles