Well, the decision has been made a bit easier today. I had ordered a new set of Continental GP4000s for the Cannondale (more on that separately) and fitted them today.
The plan was to fit the outgoing Continental GP 4 Seasons to the Trek 2.3 which then give it more credibility as a touring steed – I don’t fancy the 23mms for a multi-day trip with variable road surfaces.
I got the front tyre on and refitted it to the bike only find that there wasn’t enough clearance. So, that’s pretty much that then! Anyone want a well cared for Trek 2.3 Alpha?!! 🤣
It’s sad really. The Trek was my first adult road bike and we’ve had some fun together, including two RideLondon events and countless other sportives. I just don’t really have a realistic use for it anymore.
What this does mean is that my only real choice for a touring bike from my current stable is, at least for the Paris ride in June, is the hybrid. Although, if I sell the Trek… Hmm…Â I wonder…
Firstly, thanks for visiting this page. I feel it’s only polite to introduce myself. My name is Simon, I live just on the edge of the Surrey Hills to the south west of London in the UK. I’m middle aged, not exactly thin and have a very patient wife and two (less patient) sons.
I’m one of what seems to be an ever growing (and widely mocked) tribe of born again, middle aged cyclists who are prone to wearing inappropriate clothing and generally holding up motorised vehicles on the roads.
When you consider that a mid-life crisis apparently used to involve getting an expensive sports car and a (presumably even more expensive) younger girlfriend, I feel that the current towards getting into cycling can be seen in a more forgiving light.
I started cycling again about six or so years ago when some friends suggested doing the London to Brighton overnight cycle ride. Having completed the Three Peaks Challenge the year before and discovered that having a target challenge to train for was healthy motivation, I was keen to sign up. I rushed out and bought a hybrid bike on the Cycle to Work scheme and never looked back. I managed to complete the LtB ride although it took quite a long time and I had to walk up Ditching Beacon.
Some years on, I’ve been truly bitten by the cycling bug and have embraced the concept of N+1 wholeheartedly. I’m currently on my second drop bar road bike, currently a Cannondale Synapse carbon disc model (pictured above) which is way too good for my meagre abilities but it was on sale and, well, you just have to, right?
The idea of this blog is to share what little useful knowledge I have picked up along the way of getting back into cycling and I hope to add some insight into kit, clothing and so on for any other potential Mamils who may be on the larger size.
I also love to take photos when I’m out cycling and share a lot of these on an Instagram feed. The good news is that very few of them feature me in them. The bad news is that my eye for a picture is greatly outweighed by my ability to capture them.
That’s it, that’s me. I hope this interests you enough to read what I hope will be a regular series of articles on cycling and life in general.
Fatsiclist 