Who knows?

       When will winter  begin?   We've been locked into a protracted fall season.  It's cold enough that the lakes fail to fight  the wind washing frozen water drops into a jagged ice dam near the shore.  But, it's been warm enough for comfortable riding (at least downwind).

      Normally the winters here leave me alone on the street with the court appointed cyclists, and we have some kind of snow.   Schools are meeting remotely, they have no use for substitutes and I will be missing my daily 12 miles of adventure over the rutted and frozen pathways on studded tires.  Two or three trips out is all I expect each week this winter.  The local high school kids will have to  live without the crazyoldguyonabike to talk to.  Even for a semi-reclusive introvert this pandemic stuff can't go away fast enough. 

      Some time soon we will accumulate  snow and the Rivendell's will be put away for few months.  That will be the final test of my experiment with tubeless tires.  As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am more than impressed with the performance of the Panaracer Gravelking tires and the ride resulting from lower pressure has been indescribable.   I don't seem to have lost any speed,but that's something I don't really worry about, I just maintain my cadence and take whatever fun it delivers.  The test will be whether the sealant remains viable.  I chose to use Flat Attack sealant because it is supposed to last up to 5 years.  It was developed to be used inside tubes and I did need 50% more sealant than other brands recommend.  No, I don't know how much it weighs.  I'm hoping that it won't require refreshment down the line as other sealants do.   If that holds up, I'll be ready to invest in Rene Hearse tires next year.  A hard core roadie and former racer friend of mine says they are comparable to riding on sew ups without the delicacy and flats that tubulars bring to the sport.  We'll see.