Sunday afternoon ride

I wanted to check out the new brakes on my Vita. Bike Shop Guy changed the brake pads and cables, after telling me that he didn't have the regular brake pads in stock. Instead he had clear brake pads, which come complete with a warning that they are for "experienced tricks and trials riders" only. Right.

"They're kind of noisy," he warned me. Well, I thought they'd be, you know, a little bit noisy. I rode the bike home from the bike shop and they were a little bit noisy. Not too bad.

BUT -- yesterday I decided to go for a ride around town, on the trails and streets. It was such a nice day that I ended up riding 33 km. I had to brake pretty often -- for family groups, dog-walkers, stop signs, etc. And the brakes were not a little bit noisy -- they were embarrassingly noisy. Screechy. Ear-popping. When the cute guy in the orange shirt gave me a big appreciative smile upon hearing my brakes as he ran past, I knew for sure that they were too much. I'll head over to the bike shop on Tuesday and ask Bike Shop Guy to change them. Maybe we can use the clear ones on my winter bike.

Another patch of Arctic Coltsfoot -- they are already going to seed...

 ... and the wild strawberries will soon be in flower.