Get'n Studded

By Paul O'Hara-Hoke

Excerpt from Sears National Kids Cancer Ride Blog @ http://pauloharahoke.snkcr.com


Dave Swindells and I just finished a great Sunday Road ride. Well kinda of a road/cyclocross ride as we were both on our CX bikes.

Was the maiden voyage for my CX bike and I was running with my studded tires. Boy do they ever grip the road and ice; which is a blessing on the ice but makes you work like a dog the entire time. The road buzz coming off them is kind of melodic after a while. Riding these tires all winter will be great for the training come spring when I can switch back to road tires. Also makes the bike steer like a dump truck as the tires grip the road so well.



We cycled from Limehouse out to Erin and Back, stopping in Erin for a hot cup of coffee. In this neck of the woods most things are closed on Sundays, just another part of country living. Fortunately the Coffee Time is always open and a cup of coffee was just what I needed to catch my breath and shake off the cold. That and we needed to thaw our water bottles as they were starting to look like slushies.

Given it was -6c outside it was a great day for a ride outdoors. Nearly no wind and the roads were relatively clear of ice. The climb into Erin is about 6km long with grades around 4%, making us work hard enough to easily stay warm. I always love the decent on the way home. On the road bike I can typically hammer at speeds in the high 40’s/low 50’s; today it was more like mid 30’s listening to the soft buzz of the tires.

Well I have to go and thaw out a bit.