Whiskey Island Recon

It was a fun and very useful ride today at Whiskey Island.

I tried riding the touring tires. They handled the course surprisingly well. I was able to ride uphill and on the flats of the course with no problem. On the downhills, though, they were too slippery, and are probably more likely to puncture on the rocky sections. Also, any advantage they might provide in reduced rolling resistance is probably given right back in extra shock and vibration.

The new Vittorias worked well. I will probably ride those most of the season. I tried ranging the tire pressure down from 80 psi down to nearly flat to see what advantage that might provide. The theory with the lower cross tire pressures on a course like Whiskey Island is that the soft tires would roll right over bumps without transferring the force to the rider, and depleting forward momentum. Subjectively, I can't feel a difference. Anyway, I'm too heavy to take the pressures too low--I'll roll the tire or get a snakebite flat.

The new left brake worked loose after only about 30 minutes of riding! The only prescription is loctite.

The single ring setup is fine. The paved section out to the coast guard station is probably the fastest section of all the 'cross courses I'll ride this season, and I didn't spin out the 36x12 until the last few meters.

I've got some new bars on order, so this week I'll get my position dialed in finally.