Wow - that is some turnout!
As for here ... The wind had dropped, the rain had stopped, the sun had come out - it was one of those rare winter days when I actually felt like riding my summer bike! Especially so today because I had fitted latex inner tubes and I wanted to see if they lived up to the hype!
I decided to repeat
a route that I did before Christmas because I still have a pretty clear recollection of what it felt like riding it on my other bike. (Although both bikes have Michelin Lithion tyres, I should really have put the new tubes on my Basso rather than my Cannondale so I was comparing like with like, but if only one bike gets them, then it has to be the best bike!)
I normally use lower tyre pressures than many riders - 85-90 psi front and 95-100 psi rear. That is because I find the roads round here unbearable at higher pressures, so I trade an increase in rolling resistance for increased comfort. Latex tubes are supposed to be more comfortable than butyl so I put that to the test and used 100 psi front and 105 psi rear today. (My Campagnolo Khamsin wheels are rated to 116 psi, so there is room for further experimentation in the future.)
What a change in the weather! Unfortunately, it looks short-lived as some more nasty low pressure systems are heading our way from the Atlantic ... It felt great being out on the Cannondale in the sunshine again, even if temperatures were still quite low and I was wearing winter kit.
I don't want to do a full latex tube review here because I am saving it for a couple of personal projects that I am working on (a book and a website). Let's just say that I was enjoying my ride. I even managed to overtake a couple of riders on the way up to Blackstone Edge from Cragg Vale. I spotted them from way down the climb and decided to try and catch them, then slow down a bit as I went by so I didn't look like I was showing off!
I took a picture of my bike by the reservoir. The waves on the water revealed that the wind was slightly stronger than I thought it had been. That tells me that the combination of the new latex tubes, my lighter/stiffer bike, my slowly decreasing body weight and slowly increasing fitness made the climb feel easier than the last time I did it. Things are looking up!
When I have had a few weeks of decent weather and ridden up Cragg Vale another 3 or 4 times, I will pick a wind-free, dry day and see if I can break 30 minutes on the Cannondale up the TT course for the first time in 7 or 8 years.
View attachment 37863
I didn't have a GPS or computer on the bike, but I was starting to spin out a 53/13 gear on the descent to Littleborough which puts my speed in the low 40s in mph. (It is often a 50-55 mph descent for me, but the cross/headwind slowed me down.)
I started picking out rough stuff to ride over, the kind of stuff that I normally avoid. In fact, over the course of the ride, I aimed my bike at patches of very poor quality chip-and-seal, manhole covers, drain covers, painted rumble strips, sleeping policemen, ruts, minor holes and stretches of cobbles. The only hazard that I did not ride over was a big pothole. I was not willing to risk my bike and my neck to find out what happened if I hit that at speed!
I eventually got home feeling much fresher than I normally would, and having had a nice couple of hours out. 22 miles and 1,800 ft of climbing.
PS Oh yes - those latex tubes ... should you buy some?
Put it this way - are you the kind of person who can tell the difference between standard definition TV and HDTV, and does it impress you?
If your reaction upon seeing HDTV for the first time was 'So what!' then don't bother with latex tubes! The differences are there if you pay attention, but maybe that kind of thing isn't important to you.
When I saw HDTV for the first time, I stopped dead in my tracks and thought "WOW!" Well, I had the same reaction to the latex tubes. They make a significant difference to the ride quality of my very stiff bike while also allowing slightly improved performance. There is room to experiment with the trade-off between comfort and performance, but here is my one-word review -
BUY!
) and my efforts were rewarded with a large slab of cake. 
No photos, you'll just have to imagine the smile of joy and relief when the dratted thing fell into place. And then stayed inflated.
