Lucky the forecast was wrong again for the weekend, the expected 15 degrees turned out to be closer to 25 on Saturday. So I was feeling a tad over dressed in 3/4 bibs when I went out with Martinez for our last training ride for our trip down the West Country Way in TWO weeks. We had a pleasant ride despite the traffic jams for the Henley show. The ride out of Henley was a lot steeper than I was expecting or wanting after a big lunch. The contour lines were so close I missed seeing how steep the road really was. Martinez triple punctured, the four year old inner tubes almost fell apart. No problem I thought I’d grabbed a box clearly labeled 26 inch so just swap it out? Ah no I’d stored a 700c tube in that box a long time ago and there was no way I could get it into his MTB tyre. So three patches later we got going again and we have now retired both the  old tubes. Everything else is dialled in with both bikes now so we are ready as we will ever be for the ride.

Ride more and more importantly often but not too hard all the time.

I’ve been guilty of not riding much this month. But a month of hard long miles in April just saw me crash into May with fatigue and stress. So ride more often but avoid over training. The power and hard man physique only come from lots of base miles.

This weeks tip is something we all neglect keeping your tyres clean. Cleaning your tyres is, after keeping enough air in them the key to healthy puncture free tyres. If like me you spend too much money on obscure handmade European tyres you want to look after them and even if you just buy the bin end specials it still worth doing to reduce your chance of punctures. So how does cleaning help apart from making them look nice? Well it’s the only way you can locate the little flints, thorns and bit’s of broken glass that embed  them selves in your soft rubber while riding the streets. These can all lead to punctures and leave nice cuts to attract more trouble.  So when you have finished cleaning your bike and its nice dry and shiny it’s time to give the tyres a bit of love. Close inspection of the tyres coupled with a small flat head screw driver and/or tweezers will have them flint/glass free and some time spent with super glue will close up those puncture attracting cuts. Less punctures, better tyre life and check the air pressure for good measure.

Arm warmers, yep simple things and if you use them already then this article is not for you. I bought some reasonably priced black Lusso arm warmers nigh on five years ago and have not looked back. They are an integral part of my cycling wardrobe and get worn for eight months of the year when its just warm enough not to need a full sleeve jersey and its a rare summers day when I can be sure of not needing them.

So what makes them so great? They keep your arms warm natch, but then half an hour into your ride and the sun comes out you can role them done and cool of and catch some rays, then on the shady descent, back up they role with out hopping of your bike. If you get real lucky with the weather they are thin enough to stuff in a jersey back  pocket too. There comfy and aero, no baggy sleeves to flap and funnel wind up to your armpits. And they just look PRO.

Stijn Devolder photo by Ed W

On holidays at the moment so after a bit of a sleep in, coffee and breakfast I jumped on the bike and went for a bit of a ride. Nothing too strenuous, a loop around the lake, a few miles down the bridleway, cut across the moors to grand union canal then a final loop round lake then home. A nice flattish one hour loop with a bit of single track thrown in for fun.

Grand Union Canal

Being a week day it was quiet which was pleasant, means I could lit rip a bit more on shared paths which were near empty. Funny moment at the lake at the end of the ride. A couple of ladies started feeding the ducks bread, the Canada Geese saw this and stormed in like the Met Police charging a climate change protest. I had to avoid about twenty hungry looking geese on the warpath, the ladies dumped the bread and legged it. No damage done, all though I did have to clean a load of duck manure of the bike when I got home.

Fresh air and exercise made me ravenous so had a holiday treat of a fresh fish finger bap mmm.

Fresh fish finger bap

Cleaning the bladder from a hydration back pack is a pain, no bones about it. Getting it dry so it stays non-funky and fresh for the next use now thats hard, especially in a country with not a lot of sunshine.

So the solution and tip for this week is wash the bladder well then throw it in the freezer. No germs can grow in there and it wont start smelling. They thaw in seconds once you run them under the tap as well. Easy.

Remember boil your bidons.

Ride safe.