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Today I went for a ride with BestMate/RidingBuddy. Talk about a perfect day for riding. The weather was absolutely superb. I had the ride of my life too, with an average speed of 23 point something Kph, which is just a touch under my PB. Independently of this, however, there is a stretch of path that is always tough due to headwinds. Today, the headwinds were noticeably absent (or perhaps a touch of tailwind) and I was able to hit... and maintain... 38Kph. I absolutely NAILED that stretch. I felt like I'd just taken that path into a corner and bitch-slapped it. So - to any of the people who've been trying to talk me into a drop-bar road bike, because "flatbar bikes can't go fast", all I can say is this: BITE ME.

Unfortunately the joy didn't last. I noticed a strange sound coming from the back of the bike. It sounded like some sort of abrasion/rubbing noise. In horror, I thought it might be the brake pads rubbing against the wall of the tyre. This sort of thing results in a catastrophic tyre failure - catastrophic not just for the tyre, but also for the rider. You do NOT want to experience a tyre wall blowout at speed. So we pulled up at around the 20Km mark to examine the bike. The pads were a little close and off-centre, so I adjusted them, but the noise was still present. In frustration, I disengaged the brakes altogether, to find that the brakes were not the source of the problem. I was really mad by this point. I knew it would be a bad idea to do our planned 100Km ride, because by this point I was thinking it might be the axle/bearings/some other important part of the bike. So we nursed the bike home. Round trip: 43Km. Very unhappy about it because I knew from the moment the ride started, that I was going to have the ride of my life - fast, long, energetic. Instead, it was cut short by something that I couldn't diagnose/fix on the side of the road. *sigh*

I plonked the bike onto the workstand just now and it is a conical shaped rubbery bit that is part of the axle assembly. I suspect that this conical shaped rubbery bit is in fact a dust cap, and whilst not a mechanically significant component of the drivetrain, helps to protect it and therefore needs to replaced/lubricated. I suspect I could do this myself, if only I knew how, and if only I had the right lubricant/parts. However, since I don't have any of the required knowledge, lubricant or parts - off to the doc she goes. I'll take the bike to the LBS up the road from work tomorrow. I hope they can get this thing done before the Great Brisbane Bike Ride next Sunday.