It was still wet today and I’ve been putting off riding the new road bike until it was dry. What a muppet. So out I went on the shiny new, white bike, in the rain and filth. I’m impressed. It’s light, so it goes like a rocket. It’s got carbon stays and fork and nice wheels so it’s comfy on crap roads. It’s new, so everything works as it should…except for the rear mech that started complaining after an hour or so. This is the first time I’ve bought a complete “off the peg” bike so at least I had someone else to blame this time. Poor lad probably had 50 bikes to assemble that day and he couldn’t test ride it up and down Deansgate so I’ll let him off. A quick twiddle with the barrel adjuster and it was fine anyway.

It was an eventful ride. At least 3 thick women decided that they were going to turn across my path from the right, the last one got a right gobful of abuse. Which isn’t like me at all 😉

On one other occasion I looked down momentarily whilst scorching down a main road (I’ve noticed this bike doesn’t do slow or even “medium cruise” – only full-on scorch), looked up and happened to notice that the road was blocked by a car turning right and the car following it had stopped, waiting. I was heading for a crash into the back of it. SHIT. Hard on the brakes (very impressed with 105 brakes), locked the rear wheel and felt it sliding out to the left underneath me on the wet tarmac whilst I was still heading quite quickly into insurance claim and broken bone oblivion, now sideways-on. Everything had gone quiet and like the old cliche, time stood still…I’m going to hospital and my bike will be trashed…then I stopped. Nothing to worry about, I had at least a foot to spare. I turned around to see the bloke in the car behind me grinning and shaking his head in a kind of “you were lucky but that looked exciting” way.

I activated one of those “you’re going too fast” signs that tells you your speed. 35mph down Turton Road which I thought was impressive.