Maiden Voyage

Yesterday I took my new (tubeless) wheels out for their maiden voyage on the trails. I guess I was sort of expecting to feel a huge difference from the tubed setup, but I didn't really. Maybe I would have noticed it if I'd already been riding the trails a lot and then switched, as it was, this was also my first trail ride of the year. Everything went off smoothly though, I ran the tires at 25 psi, and I hadn't lost any pressure by the end of the ride. Grip was probably better than with the tubed setup (where I ran higher pressures). I didn't notice rolling resistance being especially low, but I might have if I could have made a better back-to-back comparison.

Anyway, for a first ride on the trail, I actually felt really good. The first few minutes weren't great, but I got comfortable pretty fast. I think working on all of the balance stuff over the Winter really helped. I rode all of PLRA without having to dab, which I think is pretty good for a first ride.

By the end of the ride, I did feel like the rear tire was a little squirmy. I think I will try bumping up the rear tire pressure just a few psi and see if that takes care of the problem.

It looks like I'll be playing hockey a little more this Spring. The group I played with this Winter had our last skate on Sunday night. On Tuesday, a guy from the group emailed me to see if I wanted to play with a group this Spring. Since my racing schedule is pretty light this Spring, I decided to go ahead and do it. So, hockey resumes for me this Sunday night again.