Wheelie good

Today was just another fantastic ride out with the North Cheshire Clarion.  The roads were knob-head free, there wasn't any wind, there wasn't any rain and the temperature was just about right.  Ok it was a little chilly to begin with - well the clocks had gone forward so the 8am start was actually 7am - but as the sun started to rise and melt away the mist it got warm.

Today was club ride to the Ice cream farm in Tattenhall.  Another nice cafe stop with the added bonus of creamy ice cream and really nice ladies filling your cone.  The route started at the spires layby and followed the "rolling" Cheshire Lanes to Frodsham, Kelsall and finally Tattenhall.

Almost immediately there were navigation issues.  I was in Paul's group and his Garmin 800 started acting oddly.  I sort of knew the inital route out and had to keep correcting what Pauls console was telling him.  In the end we took a wrong turn and after turning around the stupid GPS unit found the route.

The rest of the ride was very very nice.  We all cycled under a fantastic blue sky with a nice warm sun.  Every now and again we passed a Cheshire Cat Sportive direction sign....then another...then one indicating that a feed station was close.  Could we get away with visiting the feed station? I did think that we could have multibagged a lot of gels for free but then realised most of us had Clarion tops on...not good. 

Ice cream, cake and sun

We arrived at the Farm just as the other group left.  I ordered a scone, jam and a coffee and sat outside and just watched people walk by. There was an unusual amount of idiot children hanging around, which was understandable given that the farm was hosting a "teddy bears picnic" event.  Quite what that was I have no idea but it seemed to involve dressing up as teddy bears and then queueing for a burnt BBQ'd sausage.  I was happy with my scone so sat there.
Managed to chat to a former cycling collegue, Kris - who joined the Weaver Valley cycle club. Pretty good day to be honest and one of those days when you realised why cycling was so good.  Paul commented on how those winter miles had paid off.  I had to agree with him. The cold, wet base miles had done nothing but good for my legs.

Wheels
At the end I had managed 60 odd miles and I felt great.  However the highlight of the ride wasn't the weather or the route...but my new wheels.  I decided to dump my Shimano R500's and "treat" myself to a pair of Mavic Kysrium SRs.  At £650 a pair they weren't cheap,  but at 1.44kg's compared to the 2kgs of the R500s they offer a real saving in weight.  Fantastic wheel.  My bike is totally transformed and it just feels like a new bike.  Climbing felt easier and overall it just felt more responsive.   Plus the wheels look amazing..

Orgasmic joy

So I'm consigning my Shimanos to winter training from now on. I've done nearly 4000 miles on them and they are still ok, but I felt like I needed better wheels for the Spring/Summer cycling season.  However when I told the GF about how much I spent on them she smiled and told me that "We could' have gone on holiday for that money".

Also I managed to snap off a lace on my cycling shoe.  I've had them now for 4 years...yes...four years.  I love those shoes but I fear they are beginning to fall apart.  Most women change shoes every week but I stick with mine until holes appear. 
Oh well.

Here are my ride stats for today.  I'm gonna post using Strava from now on as the presentation of rides is just better.  There is an interesting discussion going on in the club about Strava segments and how they could interfere with club runs.  I think that during a club run, unless directed by a ride captain, segments should be ignored..but hey that's just my thought.