April showers...

Or should that be monsoons?

We've had rain now for virtually all of April - apart from the first week or so it seems to have been damp non-stop. In fact I was wishing no one else could come so I could jack the ride in but then the clock struck four and the clouds parted and I drove up to the forest in a brief glimpse of sunshine. It didn't last long though...

Tony, Ryan and I got soaked as we set off after a breather at Walker Barn, and the road climb up to Charity Lane with a head on wind, full on BIG droplet rain and only in a short sleeve jersey was certainly a test of your commitment. With this much water Charity itself was awash, though surprisingly quick if you could blink away the mud and water.

So a good ride, and nice to start to get used to the Five now, I'm finding my feet in the corners now too, and want to start pushing up my speed. I've ordered a new set of chain rings as I'm getting a little chain suck (they are the originals!), and I've replaced the Kona saddle with a slim Charge Spoon. I plan to fit a chain device (the Gamut I had on the BFe for a while) when I remove the crank arm for the chain rings too, as the Five drops it's chain a lot more than the Coiler ever did. I guess that was because the Coiler's rear wheel part kept the chain fairly taught and the wheel sort of pivoted around roughly the bottom bracket area whereas the Five is a high pivot, though I've not looked to see what the axle path would be I expect under load the suspension slackens the chain a touch?

After the ride Ryan inspected his brake pads (see the photo) to find there was pretty much nothing left... I looked at mine when I got home to find a similar situation! Anyhow they've lasted a year or so not bad. Just add it to the list...