I rode to work all five days again this week. I rode in shorts all week, but temperatures were down in the 50’s on Monday and Tuesday morning, and I added long sleeves. By the end of the week it was plenty warm again, though. The wind really got up on Thursday and Friday. It was a headwind gusting to 25 mph for my ride home Friday.

I would have been slower Friday already. The 559 x 28 Conti Gatorskin tires I’ve been running had over 4,000 miles on them, and were in need of replacement, so I did that Thursday evening. I hadn’t been able to find a good deal on the Gatorskins this time, and couldn’t bring myself to pay over $40 a tire. I had also been thinking about going to a bit wider tire for the winter. So I bought a pair of 559 x 32 Metro K tires from Performance for $12.99 each, and put them on Thursday evening.

They’re cheap tires, but have Kevlar for flat protection, so I figured I’d give them a go. They’re lower pressure tires than the Gatorskins and wider, so I knew they’d be slower, but I didn’t realize how much slower. It’s a really noticeable difference. But, the way the fronts start blowing in this time of year, I’m slower anyway, so a slower tire won’t make as much difference. And a wider tire will be nice in the winter, so I’m going to give them a try for a little while at least. There may be some big changes in my commuter setup soon anyway. More on that later.

2011 days ridden to work: 172
2011 commuting mileage: 4202.8

Work commute route