Friday Five; October 26, 2012

Five things you should have done on your 6:00 a.m., 37 F degree, rainy ride back from the auto service center after dropping off your car.

I was reminded of all of these things yesterday morning… 🙂 These are actually good tips for any early-morning fall ride though.Thought I’d share.

Pump your tires up the night before – ’cause you know you don’t have time in the morning.
Wear the winter wind-proof scull cap that covers your ears and not the euro-chic cycling cap. Regardless of how tough you think you are – it’s cold out there!
Wear the wind-proof gloves too. It may be a short ride, but your hands will get cold.
Charge your headlight battery the night before – having your light begin to run low on juice near the end of the ride is not luck; it’s poor planning.
Take your own advice and just do your pre-ride check the night before. I mean come on, Matt – you’re smarter than that! 🙂

It was really cold; I was freezing; and to top it off I also had stolen a few CO2 cartridges out of my seat pack on the last MTB ride I did – so I was riding without any flat-changing capacity at all! In the rain, on tires with lower-than-ideal pressure: a sure recipe for a flat. That’s right; I do stupid stuff too.

Have a great weekend, everyone – and run through that pre-ride check tonight before your ride tomorrow a.m.; o.k.?