What a difference a day makes!

Path Racer

What a difference a day makes? Saturday, 2/18/12, it was almost 60 degrees and sunny in Winston Salem. Of course I was stuck inside working all day. Sunday, 2/19/12 the temperatures were in the 30s and the day started out with rain and then that later turned to snow. We only had an accumulation of approximately an inch or so of snow. Monday, 2/20/12, started out in the 20s and then quickly warmed up to almost 50 degrees. The snow quickly disappeared and since I was off work that day I was able to sneak in a short ride. I rode my "Path Racer" fixed gear bike with fenders. There were only a couple of places that water from melting snow ran across the road. Fenders were nice to have since I didn't want to get myself or my bike wet and dirty. The large seat bag is nice this time of year to carry a jacket or cycling hat.

The fenders on this bike are Planet Bike Cascadia Road fenders in size 700x35 in silver color. They are also available in black. They are long and have really nice rubber mud flaps attached to the ends of each of them. I thought I heard something rubbing during my ride and stopped to see what it was. I thought maybe the rear wheel had shifted and was the tire was rubbing against the frame. After a quick check I rode on. Towards the end of my ride I heard the rubbing sound again. I couldn't be sure because despite high gas prices there were lots of noisy cars on the road. After stopping again I found what was making the noise. When I got my bike out to ride I had, without noticing, bumped the rear mud flap and it had gotten folded under against the tire. The damage was done at that point. The rear mud flap now has a worn place and a hole in it. I un-wedged it from the tire and rode on home. While riding home I was wondering if I would have to replace the whole fender or if the mud flap might be available. I checked out Planet Bike's web site and was delighted to find that I could buy a pair of mud flaps and the quick snap connectors to attach them to the fender. The mud flaps are only $5.00 and there is no charge for shipping. Now that's a good reason to buy these fenders! Buy your fenders from a local bike shop. They will get you a good price and will install them for little or nothing. If you need replacement mud flaps you can buy them from Planet Bike.

The worn mud flap on my Planet Bike Cascadia Fender.