What can I say? It was a mixed bag today. My Trek is now at home, repaired and ready to roll. That’s good. It was stormy early this afternoon so there was no riding. Not good. To celebrate the return of the Trek, I called Shirley and said we’d go out tonight – Ciatti’s. Nothing wrong with that. After dinner, we went home, I got out the new aero bars and started the installation process. Now it gets bad again. They DO NOT FIT! The handlebar diameter is much larger than can be accommodated by the what should-be mating parts. Good grief. Just when I thought I'd figured most everything out. Should have known about sizing. I have three jerseys that are sized M, L and XXL. They all fit the same. This is not the same situation, of course. I've learned that handlebars can be 25.8 mm or 31.8 mm in diameter. It seems as if many of the aerobars will provide means to fit either. The set that I got do not. Six millimeters, less than a quarter of an inch. So near. Yet so far.
In addition to this pretty major setback, the fancy computer has so many leads that are under the handlebar tape, with no slack, that I couldn’t get it out onto the aero bars even if I could get them on. When (if) I get a new set of bars, I'll have that to deal with, too. Oh, well, nothing to do now but get this sorted out. Stay tuned to see what I’ll do to recover from this predicament.
The new shifters and cables on the Trek make everything work smoothly. Better than ever, I think. I've only cecked them out at the shop with the bike up on a stand. I am eager to get out on the road to see how everything feels. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice and maybe I’ll do the baseball thing. A rainout today means a day-night double header tomorrow. Ride at noon, ride again after work. Play ball!
Total ~ 1414.2 miles
Check out comment #1 for this post and you'll find a blog-in-a-blog, aka bloglette, thanks to Shirley.
Moving On
The original purpose behind The Fourteen Percent Ride has long since been fulfilled. So, I've decided that Mighty Proud will be the last posting. It just seems right.
But, don't worry. Or maybe you should. In any event, I plan to continue. I'll keep riding. And writing. Click here to come along in my new blog ~ The Long White Line. <-- check it out!
But, don't worry. Or maybe you should. In any event, I plan to continue. I'll keep riding. And writing. Click here to come along in my new blog ~ The Long White Line. <-- check it out!
Thanks
As I've ridden for the last two years, I've picked up on the fact that Shirley, my darling wife, has been more worried about my safety than impressed with my "accomplishments." How do I know this? Well, when I'd come back and tell her, for example, that I'd hit 53.6 mph going down FO, she'd reply, "I don't want to hear it." Being the sensitive sort I figured out, after many such comments, that just maybe we were not on the same page here. But last week, she told me that she would "greatly reduce her focus on the 'fear for my safety' issue." We talked about the tour, looked at some maps, researched nutrition suggestions on the internet, and so on, just enjoying the idea of the ride. How nice is that? Thank you, Shirley!
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SHIRLEY'S BLOG-lette
Welcome to Shirley's Blog-lette. Everyone in my family (husband, daughters) has their own blog site except me, so I thought I'd latch onto Jack's blog (sort of like mistletoe in an oak tree).
Today at 9 am I rode my bike 6.0 miles along the Pammel Creek walking/riding path. The wind blew balmily at about 10 miles per hour out of the great beyond. The temp was perfect and the skies were overcast (I love gray). The heavy rains that kept Jack off his bike were still hours away.
You may be interested in my bicycle. It's a burgundy colored Regatta. I was traveling at a speed of not too many knots. But I did manage to pass a few walkers. Back to my bike - it is of the fat tire, brick tied behind variety. Although, I am actually the brick. I haven't ridden in a long time and I need to tweak the sharp turn skills. I have a huge black granny saddle that spreads the joy. If you know what I mean. I'd like to buy a new bike (not to keep up with Jack, that will never happen), but I'm reluctant to spend money until I know exactly what biking is going to do to my arthritic right knee and my annoying low back problem.
So, until I know how things are going to fall out, I'll continue to ride my old brake-squealing, three-speed clunker along the really beautiful Pammel Creek pathway. Bye for now.
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