Bare Bones

In an effort to cheat the clock out of a few more seconds, I decided to take my fully loaded commuter bike and make one more change to it before the race. The new tires really help me get some more speed so I figured that taking a bit of weight off may help even more. Here's the bike with the usual accessories:
I removed the lights, the speedometer thing that I use to secure the garmin on (I'll be wearing it on my arm for the tri), the saddle rack and the fenders. The bike looks even faster now even if it can no way compare to some of the elite bikes that will show up for sure this weekend.
I also took some time to refresh the lube on it even if it didn't really require it. All I have to do now is pedal hard and get a good time! Here are the parts that I will no doubt reinstall once I start commuting again after the race:
I'm not sure how much they weight but I'm told by people that know much more than I do that every ounce counts!

Reversed Brick

Yesterday I brought my bike to the shop to have a look at the peppergrinder crank and at the same time to tune it up and outfit it with faster tires for the race.

So today, when they called me to say it was ready, I decided to have a kind of reversed brick workout. I ran from work (a respectable ~5km) to my friendly local bike store to pick up my refreshed bike and ride it home.
I was really happy to see my bike all tuned up. It looked way different with the slim tires. I was assured that they would be much faster and that they were made of Kevlar so I wouldn't get as many punctures as the alternatives. They also replaced my "bottom bracket" since the old one was rusted out, creating the grinding noises. I'm really satisfied with the work they did, they always have outstanding service.

On the way home, I was really impressed by how much differently the bike handles with the new tires. I didn't really believe them when they told me I would be much faster but they were right!!! Look at all that green on the speed heatmap:
Truth be told, I wasn't even really pushing it since I was pretty beat after a full day's work and the 5k run. I can't wait to see how it turns out on the race course, after careful tapering and proper nutrition. The bike seems much more nervous now and I can feel every little nook and cranny in the road surface. Hopefully I will have a few opportunities to ride to work next week to get used to it before I officially start my taper.

In the mix today was Distance to Goa 7 and Dream Creation's Sound of Freedom.

Peppergrinder

It's a bit hard for me to get back in the beat after a break in the schedule. I rode to work last Friday and then again yesterday but I haven't taken the time to go out for a run or swim this weekend. I could blame the extremely hot weather that prompted the city to issue a heat warning, but really to be honest it's just plain laziness.

On Friday and then again yesterday, my bike started to make some funny noises. Kinda like a peppergrinder when I pedal hard. I think it's the crank that is giving up. So I made an appointment with my friendly local bike shop to have it checked out and also get the bike ready for race day (~2 weeks away now).

Bike Cleaning Day!

The weather outside is gorgeous so I decided to spent some quality time with my bike and clean it up. It needed it badly. The roads in Ottawa are still very dirty from the winter with sand, salt and who knows what else. The dirt had accumulated on my chain and derailer, causing some noise and inefficiencies. So today I used my chain cleaning tool, an old toothbrush and some elbow grease to get the job done. After I was done rinsing, I applied a fresh coat of lube. The whole thing looks like brand new. I can't wait to ride to work...

Another Flat

I had a pretty good morning commute, coming in under an hour. I didn't feel any pain in my knee anymore so I guess my stretching helped.
Then when I came outside after work, I saw that I had a flat on my back wheel! I'm not sure if the extra pressure from the air fill up yesterday made the tire more vulnerable to flats or if I was just unlucky. The cause was a sharp piece of metal that lodged itself in the tire. I've known for a while that the tire was getting worn out but I'd rather wait until the streets are cleaner before I put a new one on.

The timing of my commute home was still pretty good at just over an hour:

I was feeling like pop today so in the mix we have the french buffons Les Trois Accords with Gros Mammouth, orient inspired Kula Shaker's K and The Killers with Hot Fuss.

Hard Day

Phew, what a hard day today. I set out on my bike this morning not knowing what the morning had in store. A few kilometers into my commute, my tire was low on pressure so I pumped it up thinking it was the change in temperature / pressure that caused it. A few kilometers later, flat again. So I took a moment by the side of the road to rejoice in my foresight and resourcefulness as I changed my tube with the spare one I usually carry. I was golden, crisis averted, I was only 15 minutes late.

Or so I thought. Around Island Park, I start getting deflated again, so I pump some more. At Tunney's pasture, I realized the obvious, the backup tube was punctured. I thought I was still golden, after all, I carry a repair kit in addition to my spare, so it's no problem. However it turned out to be trouble... Either my repair kit is past it's best before date or these things don't work so well in cold weather. I was stranded about 5km from work. So I decided to continue on foot, dragging the bike with me carefully to avoid damaging the wheel. I got to work 2 hours later than usual. Oups. Good thing I didn't have any meetings in the morning. I made up one of the hours already and will make up the other one tomorrow.

So at lunch, I went to a bike shop near work to get a new tube to ensure a safe trip home. On my way home, I swung by my favorite friendly bike store where I got not only another spare tube but also a spare tire, since I think that the cause of these multiple incidents is the age of my tire.

It was quite the long way home at 38km. I feel spent today. It's a good spent. Kind of a joyful peaceful exhaustion. The exact thing that this endorphinbuzzer is seeking when attempting these crazy adventures such as biking 250km a week or running continuously for so many hours. The diagnostic on the second blowout is that either the backup tube was too old and dry or that I failed in its installation since the rupture is underneath and not from anything I may have rolled over.

So many things in the mix it's not even funny: Liquid, Farenheit Project 4, Saafi Brothers - Midnight Children, Magnetic Blue (disc 2).