Know what's great?

Bikes. Bikes and friends.

Last Saturday we were able to get outside, in short sleeves, no less. It was dreary and wet when we started and we regretted the cream vests we brought along – and the new tires we put on for the occasion, promptly torn open by Brooklyn's finest broken glass.

We had a bit of excitement en route to State Line, and then split into smaller groups: Colin and Travis did Bear recon; Daghan, Tom, Scott took to the College Hills; Matt, Lisa and I found some dirt.

I also died *very* hard on the west side cycle path. Thankfully, my pals at Roula took kindly to me and offered up some carbs and coconut water and sent me on my way.

It looked like rain was in store for Castelli, but it held out. And again – in short sleeves.

As with Saturday's sunny fun ride, we had a big crew. Colin Tanner is back. Corey and Matt made the trek. Erwin, Scott, Clark and I all rode five or fewer minutes to get to the park. Good times on tap.

Unlike last week, the break attempts didn't stick. I hit an all-time low average heart rate during the race – 140bpm! Neat! – chilling in the back. We got ourselves organized, but found ourselves swarmed with 90 seconds to the line, and only managed 18th on the day.

But we learned some stuff for next time, and had fun doing it. So while everyone not named Alvaro doesn’t have much to show for our efforts last weekend, we’re feeling like results are just around the corner.

And if not, who cares: it’s short-sleeve season and we’re loving it.

A quick gear review for those of you still reading. So far this season, I’ve been riding and racing on a set of Compass Bon Jon Pass tires. They’re 35c, and I’ve been running them with butyl tubes. They’re great for a fun ride with friends, but I’d been feeling slow as hell in race situations. So I popped some Vittoria 25c Corsas on just before the race (latex tubes and all!) and finally felt fast again. Rolling resistance and aero are real, friends.