Started off the first day of the month by cleaning up my bicycle. It was a gritty gross mess after two hours of drizzle, mist and s and, thanks to the last ride in February. Then I figured out a locking hitch pin solution for the Rocky Mount receiver rack.
I used a Master Lock just the lock part as the Rocky Mount Pin is threaded to take out the play between the receiver and mount.
The original lock below the pin and the new Master Lock, lock at the end.
First Fondo of March out of the way on the 5th. It was not easy thanks to not having a lot of seat time leading up to the attempt. I used a new route after exploring the trail along the toll road by using that going and returning from Santa Margarita I hit just over 100 kilometers back at the house.
I shot some video with the iPhone 14 Pro and pieced it together into a short video. I need to mess with the editing more, but that is not cycling specific so I’ll leave it at that. Good weather with the temperatures thanks to a chilly onshore breeze keeping it just this side of cold at times. I think I found another route further back into the hills to the east that will add some distance and likely more climbing. I need to check for parks and rest stop s along this new section when I feel up to that. I am definitely not at the level of fitness to ride back to back 100’s yet.
First full week of riding in March 2024 done and dusted. I managed 19:45 across six days. Two good group rides that were mostly flat.
After several incidents when using CO2 cartridges and my Shiny Object inflator where both the CO2 cartridge completely drained and the valve stem in the tube became both loose at the stem and/or the valve opened after warming form the inflation, I began looking for another solution. Last Saturday I had a flat. Swapped the tube only to find my partially used cartridge not only empty but loose in the inflator. I had a second cylinder and used it. Later on the ride I noticed the tire was down a bit. I pulled out the inflator only to find it empty. Another rider in our group was inflating another tire and brought his inflator over to fill my tire as well.
The CYCPLUS on the right replaced the two cartridges and Shiny Object inflator on the left in my seat bag. This is a USB rechargeable inflator. On longer rides I carry a power pack. I may begin carrying this in my jersey instead of the seat bag.
Almost everything in the seat bag is there to repair tire or tube problems. I do need to add a hex wrench large enough to tighten the seat clamp bolt. And a smaller hex for the brake alignment. I added a second plastic tire lever because these new rims were so hard to get a tire on, but I’ve learned a trick. The tire needs the bead broken completely away from the rim on both sides all the way around. Then it is far easier to remove. With a group helping that induced haste lead to attempted short cuts. Bad idea. The hand pump is nearly useless piece of composite bling more than a tool. I’m on the lookout for a better frame style pump. Similar to my old school Silca frame pump from back in the day.
The RSV vaccination was an experience similar to the pneumonia and shingles vaccines. I got flu-like symptoms beginning about 8 hours after the shot. Aching muscles and joints and chilled. Once those hit hard enough I headed to bed an hour early. I woke in the night no longer with freezing feet, but still aching and sore. By morning, very late morning 9:30 for me, I was mostly OK. Still sore but the aching was mostly gone. I was still tired since I’d not really slept that much. Two more naps during the day and early to bed again got me feeling just about normal on the second day. I would prefer not to have experienced this brief discomfort, but I’ll take it over RSV. Every once in a while I have reactions like this to vaccines. I’ve always been this way since I was a kid. It is not every time and when it does happen it has never lasted very long.
The good news is my inoculations are all current now and I’m ready for our trip to Japan.
Fourth week of the month, started off with late Spring weather. A really nice change. A couple of rides with base layers, but no arm or leg warmers.
Not particularly fast. The fitness is returning. I did surpass my distance and saddle time from February. And just like that March exits with a whimper. No riding the last week as we complete our annual Spring cleaning.
Totals for the month:
Distance: 794km
Climbing: 4,781m
Time: 35hours
Along The Way 