Please be gentle with me!

Managed a ride around Penhydd on Saturday. This title would have been my plea if I'd voiced it. I'm still not right from the Christmas lurgi. Not helped by Christmas binging and inactivity, I felt quite unfit. So with low expectations and some trepidation (following my problems at Hopton Woods) I ventured into the hills with EG. He was harbouring a 4 month sabbatical, so we must have looked a right pair of not-rights when we stopped just above the car park 100 odd metres into the trail, gasping for our last living breathes. In fairness we'd already ridden a mile up from Pontrhydyfen where we park.

EG went onto scalp me over and over again on the climbs. Except on the climb to Hidden Valley. There's a little man inside me, who says things like "Nah, watch Eastenders instead, it's far more interesting than fitting a new tyre" or "100 calories for a really good Rum Truffle is a fair trade - go for it, in fact, eat the whole box" and "If you stop and have a rest here things will get a lot better!" Well, he flipped my climbing-mode-on switch!! And off I went. However, apart from that my laziness and love of food was making it's presence felt and it took us about 2 hours and 45 mins to nearly do Penhydd (we shortcut the end). Time for some fitness work methinks.

On the upside - no incidents, some bottoming out of the forks (a sign of my weight) made the bike a little twitchy in places. But at least I feel ready for another ride.

The 4 weeks since I last rode (Hopton at Christmas), The bike has sat neglected in the garage. WHAT A MISTAKE!! I drove home the 75 miles from my Mom & Dad's - It was a cold snap and the roads were salted and damp in places. The bike, on the back of the car, must have been covered in road salt. My big mistake was not washing it down before dumping it in a cold insufficiently ventilated garage. By Saturday the corrosion on it was heart breaking. Lots of the annodised parts have white oxidisation on them especially where the aluminium meets steel, like the spoke nipples. The chain was furry with rust (and it was nearly new!!) . The worst thing was the Rock Shox lower legs. Though they were already somewhat crusty, the corrosion was even worse, lifting off horrible big patches of paint. Now I'm waiting for a new chain, nearly all the links are stiff, wonder if it contributed to my constant scalping!?

Moral of the story - always wash the bike if it's been on the back of the car in the winter, road salt is evil!