It was warmer yesterday morning before dawn as I watched stage 4 of the tour of the Alps.

It didn't take long for the winds to pickup though as the clouds blew off and away.

.3" of rain from the storm was left as the sun came up.

I got the boys to school then once home finished getting my bike ready with the rack and panniers. I was on the road a little after 9am and headed towards Deer Park. My first climb up out of the valley.

Then the nice mellow mile straight away.

I LOVE the Varia radar, it is sooooo handy on days like yesterday with the blasting wind as I can't hear shit behind me when.

The sunshine belied the CRAZY ass winds. 10-15mph constant wind with gusts to 25+mph were what I had to contend with for my FIRST ride with the panniers on. As I headed north I found I could barely ride no hands with the cross winds and ended up leaning hard into the wind most times.

SUPER happy I have my cycling windbreaker as it was able to keep me warm enough but never too hot to cause me to sweat. Plus the high-vis orange is another thing to make me stand out to the traffic.

The clouds around Mt Spokane looked pretty cool.

I got to Autozone in Deer Park just before 10am and went in to get my brake caliper and pads. Those panniers act like sails almost they catch so much of the wind...

But they are big and easily held the parts.

Soon I was back on the road and headed off for home.

I went through the north roundabout on the 395 then west to Monroe.

I have not been on a section of Monroe before so it was cool to ride it instead of drive it. As I headed south the wind was at my back and I was able to do a couple of climbs much easier and in a much higher gear than my trip north.

I made it down to Wild Rose and then headed back east to the farm. We have some long straight roads that I can ride which are sometimes a pain as I can see the high point way off ahead of me.

Tired of the winds I headed back home and as I rode to a stop by the house I hit 25 miles exactly.

bike 4-23.JPG

After resetting my zones this is what I got for HR zones. A lot more at threshold which I guess is possible, though it didn't feel exactly like threshold...

bike 4-23 zones.JPG

I had to get food in me and had the PDC on while I ate a big bowl of oatmeal. Littler managed to squeak out the wins and won the night.

Out to work on the car I had to grab a pipe wrench to break the caliper bolt free. The pin was the problem as it was locked in place and didn't allow the movement needed to keep the pressure on the pads even. The front side was WAY too tight and caused the pads to get eaten quickly.

Being by myself I had to adapt and overcome to bleed the breaks once the new piston was attached. I used my foot to pump the brakes a few times then used the metal post to hold pressure while I went around. I was able to use the post to press the brakes and exude brake fluid so I could then tighten the bleed valve without getting air sucked back in the line. What a difference it makes! No more grinding or squealing.

The test was done picking up each boy from school before getting dinner made. The chilly wind was still blowing but not nearly as hard as we went out to soak before bed.

Today is starting chilly but should warm up okay. Boys to school in a while, last stage of the tour is on now, I will return the core of the caliper for refund, go out for a mellow ride, setup more work for next week, and get some shit done around the farm finally....

Over 1/4 of the way to my yearly miles goal!