I thought I'd start this winter season with new brake pads for Awesom-O as the Swissstops have done two seasons and were looking a bit tired. I was somewhat dismayed to see the Swissstop green pads seem to have been discontinued so I decided to try a different, cheaper option. I've used Clark triple compound pads before and been very impressed so I took a chance and ordered these pads from the Disco brakes website. They cost £12.24 for four packs of two ie two complete sets which is a lot cheaper than the Swissstop pads. Anyhow, I got them fitted and have done a lot of dry riding and one wet one and have been quite impressed overall. In the dry they lack the immediacy of the Swissstop pads but there's no shortage of stopping power.
If you need to, and grab a handful of brake lever, you can stop from 20 mph is under 20 feet perfectly easily. It's also worth mentioning that these pads never, ever make a noise. They stay silent in all conditions which can only be a good thing. In the wet they work just as well. I did notice a lot more grey sludge (which is a mixture of microscopic rubber and aluminium particles) on the rims after the ride than you get with the Swissstop pads but I guess it's the research at Swissstop around making pads efficient but rim friendly at the same time that makes their pads much more expensive than these ones. Anyway, overall? I'd say these are way better than stock Tektro pads, slightly better than stock Shimano pads but not as good as the superb Swissstop product. A solid four stars!
1st December: My neck's feeling a lot better now so I decided to take Awesom-O out for a spin. It wasn't too cold, around 10 °C with very little wind, but it was threatening to rain which at least meant I'd be able to do the brake block review I've been waiting ages to do. I did the usual, three ups and downs of the farm track, and ended up really enjoying the ride. It didn't rain but there was a constant heavy drizzle so the brake blocks finally got a test in the rain. I was wearing my Climb and Conquer jacket and Sealskinz windproof gloves so I was perfectly warm although the gloves do make your hands very sweaty. Anyhow, it was great to finally get a ride in and 25.3 miles to start December.
4th December: It was the first properly cold night of the year tonight, 4 dropping to 3 °C, so I girded my loins and took Awesom-O out for a spin. I was going to do three ups and downs of the track as usual but, although the rest of me was warm, my toes were absolutely freezing so I did two and headed back in via the kebab shop, ahem... I'm going to look into ways of keeping my toes warm in this sort of weather. My toes get so cold they actually go dead, numb and grey and need a good ten minutes in a hot bath to come back to life.
I believe kitchen foil comes into the equation somewhere so that's a handy research project if it's quiet at work tomorrow. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I was cycling along Outlet Lane on the first 'up' when a barn owl that must have been perched on the barbed wire a couple of feet to my left took off and flew along in front of me for a few yards before jinking right and disappearing into the trees which was pretty cool! A rather enjoyable 19.6 miles.
9th December: We've had a few days of strong winds and heavy rain but the weather wasn't too bad today, windy but dry, so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. Because my toes got so cold the other night, I'd ordered some merino socks from Tredz. I wore them today and also wrapped the front of my shoes with foil to keep the wind out. It wasn't cold today, around 10 °C, but my toes definitely stayed warm, it'll be interesting to see if my toes stay warm when it gets really cold. Anyhow, I was on my first down when I saw a couple of horsists up ahead so I diverted to Holt Green and back and then did a last up and down before heading home. Following all the recent rain the second puddle is starting to form again so Awesom-O was filthy when I got in but it was a windy ride but enjoyable overall and another 24.6 miles.
16th December: We've had some really crappy weather recently, including storm Deirdre yesterday, but the weather was relatively pleasant today so I took a 'filthy from the last ride' Awesom-O out for a spin. I didn't do anything interesting, just a lap of the fishing pond and the usual three ups and downs of the farm path, but it was a pleasant enough ride despite getting close passed by some tool in an Evoque on the way back through the village. The wind wasn't too bad and it was around 7 °C which was no challenge to my stolen goat jacket. One issue I haven't solved is getting frozen toes. I tried wrapping the end of my shoes with foil before I put my overshoes on but it didn't make a lot of difference. I suspect I need new overshoes, the Sealskinz ones I have now are thin and open bottomed. The basic thick neoprene ones I had previously from Wiggle were much better. Anyhow, another 25.9 miles.
23rd December: It was raining constantly today but I'm short of mileage for the month and there was hardly any wind so I took Awesom-O out for a spin. I was going to do the fishing pond and the usual three ups and downs of the farm path but on the second 'up' I saw at least four girls on horses on the path ahead so I turned around and decided to do the 27 instead. In a bid to keep my toes warm I was wearing merino socks, foil over the end of my shoes and my new DHB overshoes but alas, this was not to be a ride of warm feet... As I was heading down barrow Nook Lane, I noticed that the whole left hand lane was under water right up to the white line. Me being me, I decided to cycle through it but hadn't realised it was a good four inches deep and my right shoe immediately filled up with water! Anyhow, it wasn't particularly cold, around 7 °C, so my feet were actually OK and it was quite an enjoyable ride overall and another 26.9 miles.
26th December: The area of high pressure is still sitting over the UK at the moment so although it was overcast and misty, there was little wind and the temperature was around 6 °C. I took Awesom-O out to do the usual and had quite an enjoyable ride burning off some of the festive season excesses. I wasn't the only one either, there were quite a few roadies out which was good to see.
There were no horsists out this time but I am getting rather bored of doing the farm track so I did two ups and downs and then the road to Holt Green and back for 25.2 miles. I did notice the day after this ride that the chain was really rusty and barely turned. I think that what happens is that as the chain dries, all the crushed grit and silt in the chain dries and wicks all the oil out of the links. Anyhow, easy enough to apply more lube.
28th December: I'm still feeling a bit jaded with doing the farm track all the time so I did something a bit different today. I carried on until the end of the bypass and decided to do part of the route towards Leisure Lakes but then changed my mind part of the way and ended up in Newburgh. I soon realised there was no circular route back because you basically end up in Skem so I turned around. It wasn't a particularly fun ride, I got close passed so many times I lost count, I really don't know how people commute with going postal occasionally. Also, although it wasn't warm, around 10 °C, I was absolutely boiling, even with my jacket open. Anyhow, I survived and it was another 23.6 more miles.
30th December: I don't need too many miles to complete the year so I decided to split it into two rides and just do a quickie today. It was overcast and around 10 °C so after boiling myself on the last ride I wore my castelli Alpha over my merino and took Awesom-O out for a spin. I set off up the bypass, did a lap of the fishing pond and then to the end of the farm track then added a mile or so by heading up Simonswood Lane and looping back via Back Lane and then home via Hall Lane through Bickerstaffe. It was quite a fun ride, I felt just right temperature-wise, and another 15.5 miles.
31st December: It's been dry for a couple of days now so I decided to take the Strael out and do the ride I did yesterday again. It was relatively warm and not too windy so it was quite a pleasant ride overall and the 13.8 miles meant I finished the year with a satisfying total of 2,404.8 miles.
