Pro Race 3

On Saturday evening, I cleaned and checked my bike in preparation of the Chiltern 100.  I looked over my tyres and realised they needed changing.  They had lots of nicks and cuts, many of which have been super-glued several times.

The only tyres I had were a pair of Michelin Pro Race 3s in red.  I bought these on a whim as they were on sale on a web site.  I'd heard they were nice to ride on but were very slick and prone to punctures.  I had no time to get to a bike shop so had no real choice and put them on.

First of all, they looked really good.  The red and grey really made the bike look sweet.  At least I'd start the race looking the business.  Other than that, there is nothing much to report.  No punctures.  No problems.  They seemed to give me a smooth ride although I'm not sure I'd put money on being about to tell the difference between these and the Continental GP4000s tyres I had on before.

But at £35 each, I'm not sure I will use them all the time.  I think I'll see how long these last and then decide.

Other thoughts

CamelBak
I went to use it on Saturday and filled it up, put it on and water started squirting out of the mouth piece. I found it had a small hole and the pressure of wearing it was facing the water out. I was straight onto Wiggle and they were very good. I explained I needed it for a marathon I'm doing in 12 days so didn't have time to send it in first. They agreed to post a replacement

Tyres
All hail the Continental GP4000s tyre. I don't know how they did it but the 65 miles I rode where on some terrible roads, unseen pot holes due to all the water, loads of leaves, fallen sticks and branches and lots of general crap on the roads. Not once it I slip, skid, wobble or get a puncture. Amazing.

Taper time
In the past, two weeks before a marathon has been a serious taper fortnight. This time, as the marathon is less time pressured, I'm going to try and run hard up until Saturday and then taper for only 7 days. I wanted to see how fresh my legs feel. It may backfire a little but I am curious.

Yearly Targets
As mentioned previously, I am going to miss both my yearly running and riding targets but I have set new smaller ones to get to at least 80% of the cycling and 60% of the running. The cycling is very doable, the running will take a bit of effort but I should make it.