Last pleasure ride?

I fitted the new front tyre to the Bonnie, balanced the wheel, gave the brake caliper a clean and put it all back together. The tyre still has its whiskers on after about 50 miles, but the wobble on deceleration has gone. On my 'test run' I was able to coast the bike from 50 down to walking pace with my hands off the bars (indeed, folded across my chest) and there was just the faintest tremor at the sharp end, which didn't develop into anything at all. So that's another little issue out of the way.

I was writing about this on a forum I visit, and someone far wiser than me said that it was probably more to do with the fact that I had balanced the wheel properly. Wheels do indeed go out of balance as the tyre wears, so that may well be part of it. Or all of it. who knows? At any rate, I now have two good tyres to deal with the winter roads.

We had a TOMCC meet in a pub for Sunday lunch today (The Sloop, Porthgain: excellent beer-battered cod) and this time I went in the car and took Anna along to meet the gang. We had a great time, but it was a little sad when they were all talking about going on to other places and I had to drive home in a Ford. Still, Anna bought me an ice-cream, so the day wasn't wasted.

After I had fed the dog and cat, the sun was still shining, so I fired up the Trumpet and had a quick blast, up the coast to St Davids and back. It has been a glorious day, perfect biking weather, and I was mindful of the fact that it may well have been the last good Sunday of the year. At least I got a ride in. From here on, it's probably going to be waterproofs and steady riding for a few months. Still, there is the Vintage MCC Machine Display and Social Run next Sunday at Saundersfoot, so that's another thing to look forward to. We meet for breakfast, which is always a sentence I am pleased to hear.