An expedition into town today led to the acquisition of some Continental Spike Claw 240s (at the only local bike shop that wasn’t sold out of winter tyres). The physio also made my knee work again – well, it’ll still be recovering for a few more weeks, but now it bends at least.
So maybe eventually I’ll be able to ditch the crutches and start utilising the fancy new winter tyres. And perhaps one day our car will no longer live at the mechanics.
After Sundays adventure I’m hobbling around on crutches with a knee that is swollen like a water balloon and won’t bear much weight. Thankfully there’s probably nothing broken, fractured, twisted or torn, so I just have to wait for my knee to stop panicking (it has an built-in air bag that doesn’t deploy quickly enough?) and recovery might not take too long. I hope.
Then I shall buy these tyres (Schwalbe Winter Marathons) and laugh in the face of any ice and snow in my path.
The things you do when you don’t have a functioning vehicle.
(Yes those are nordic skis and poles strapped to the bikes – it worked quite well)
So apparently it’s largely uphill along the highway from Canmore to Banff. Only 700 metres gain over 25km or so. Gradual enough to make you think it’s flat, and that you’re just really unfit – until you turn around and go the other way.
Despite the cool temperatures on Thursday (it was around minus 13oC at 11am, I don’t know that it got much warmer), we went Banff-wards by bike – largely to go and see the new Warren Miller movie (Children of Winter, much better than other Warren Miller movies I’ve seen in recent years).
Friday morning brought fresh snow to telemark in, and then the homeward-bound cycle (with the added bonus of a brand new balaclava, which led to much more warmness).
Breaking the fixie out of confinement, I took it for a ride along the river and through the streets of Melbourne. Going back to riding fixed wheel was fun. Though I forgot I have to look out for snakes rather than bears, and at one point clipped the tail of a brown snake who was happily wriggling across the bike path.
