Snap, Crackle, Pop!

WEATHER THERE: sunny, -2C (-5C with windchill), 8 km/hr cross/headwinds
WEATHER BACK: sunny, 7C, 11 km/hr headwinds gusting to 28 km/hr

I need to change my tires - BADLY.

My beautiful Myka Pro mountain bike is still wearing her insane Schwalbe Ice Spiker tires. These were the all-time best tires in the history of the world for riding on ice and snow, but now that the streets are largely bare they are simply 5 lbs of metallic rolling resistance. They are the bike tire equivalent of wearing spurs, given that there is no way I could possibly sneak up on someone: from a block out, a pedestrian would be able to hear me coming with the snap-crackle-pop sound of my studs demolishing the road beneath them. It literally sounds like I'm riding over Rice Krispies everywhere I go. I guess that's a good thing for safety - being loud - so I guess there is always a silver lining!

But, man, it does not help my feeling that I'm embarassingly out of shape to be riding on tires with that much weight and rolling resistance. I'm working my ass off to maintain speeds of 20 km/hr - and, sure, maybe that's a combination of me being out of shape and my bike needing a good spring tune-up and whatever other excuses I can come up with - but I'm thinking that these daily commutes would get a whole lot easier if I had my regular tires back on. I'm going to try to take my bike in to the shop to get the tires changed out on Wednesday evening or Thursday during the day because - sadly - I've never learned to change my tires myself. And, maybe even more sadly, I'm not that interested in learning - keeping the chain clean and lubricated is enough dirty work for my taste!

I'm hoping by next week I'll be back on regular mountain bike tires and enjoying an easier, faster ride. In the meantime, if you hear some snap-crackle-and-pop nearby and a whole lot of panting, feel free to wave and give me a sympathetic smile. I could sure use the encouragement!