April 2022.

18th April: Well, after a 2 year break followed by 1,200 miles on Zwift over 6 months, it was time to hit the road again. The Continental Grand Prix GT tyres on the Strael were three years old and fairly worn so I read a few reviews and bought a pair of GoodyearEagleF1 tubeless tyres and a Muc-Off tubeless kit. I removed all the rim tape from my Hunt CAD 30 wheels and applied the Muc-Off rim tape. Getting the tyres on was a massive pain in the arse because the tape covers over the dip in the rim bed leaving nowhere to tuck the beads. I think in future, it would be better to use something rounded to force the tape down into the dip in the bed instead of relying on air pressure to do it. 

Anyhow, I fitted the valves and added a good slug of sealant to each wheel, inflated them and gave each tyre a really good shake around to distribute the sealant. The next day, the rear was flat so I added more sealant and that seemed to do the trick. A few days later, the front one went down. I resolved the issue by adding half a bag of sealant to each wheel. Excessive but it seems to have done the trick, having said that, the front is very low now - tubeless, eh?

 Anyhow I headed out and did a selection of my usual routes. My legs felt fantastic although I felt like I couldn't get enough oxygen which is probably because I had Covid-19 a couple of weeks ago. A surprisingly enjoyable 22.0 miles.

24th April: Well, with my new tubeless tyres topped off again, I headed out again to some of my old favourite routes. It was a bit cooler, and a lot windier, that the last ride so I wore my black long-sleeved decathlon top instead of the jersey I wore last time. After six months on Zwift, I'm still relearning the ropes of riding IRL 😁.

My legs felt pretty good again but I still felt I couldn't get enough oxygen into myself, especially on the long uphill drag along the East Lancs. No doubt a side of having Covid-19 but hopefully it will clear up eventually. A fun ride and nice to see some of my old haunts again. 16.6 miles.