Spring is in the air

 Here we are, halfway through April, already it is warmer and a bit drier, yay to the second part, not so yay to the first part, I don't get on so well in warmer weather, so while I have not felt fantastic I have managed to get out on the bike nearly as many times this past few month as I did all last year, with all the chaos I am going to take that for a win, I am taking steps to make myself better, to try and recover even if a little, some of what has been lost. Armed with what I learned from the Diabetes clinic I have started to make changes, small stuff, nothing too drastic too soon, food logging and trying to eat more mindfully, hopefully I can smooth out the peaks and troughs and get more okay days, at this stage awesome days, nice but I don't care for them, I just want days that are in the middle, I can do things, does not need to be a lot but I don't feel beaten up after.

While I might not always be up to getting out it doesn't stop me from getting some work done on the bikes when the weather permits, with the Wednesday built up and rolling I am doing more to pre the bike for further use, one of the quirk of the frame is that it needs a certain type of rack for the back, the Surly rack is a beast of a unit, a 30kg loading and it does weigh a fair bit too, but ideally it is the tool for the job, the play is to strap a pair of Ortlieb gravel bags and a dry bag on top, add into that the 19l Wizard Works bar bag I should be able to load it up in a fairly balanced way, it's first test bivvy is only in a few weeks and well I am looking forward to getting out and about, I will probably add cages to carry water on the fork legs and at a later date I will get a frame bag custom made for the bike, probably an Alpkit one as they are cost effective and fairy nice. Before I plump for the panniers I am going to experiment with attaching dry bags to the side of the rack, I have some ideas using Ortleibs QL3 mounts and an anything cage, I will experiment.

All together I am really happy with the bike, it has already reminded me how much fun it is to ride and how versatile it is, I need to pick up some new tyres for the plus wheels, being in the shed in direct sunlight for a couple of years has not done the rubber compound any favours. With all this in mind I have actually made the decision to sell my Surly Bridge Club and reassemble the Genesis and use that for errands and tarmac rides, the Wednesday can do all that the BC can do and more so it makes sense to move it on, it frees up some much needed cash, going to wrap it up here, there is much more to do, I am feeling quite cold and flu like right now but I am hoping to get out for a ride over the weekend provided I get the Genesis finished, and play with my little RC car while I am out there so it is bye for now!