New Stuff

Birthday items: Salmon Koolstop brake pads, Road ID with updated address, new red gloves to replace shredded yellow ones, nifty cotton cycling cap with "World Champion" striping and was treated to homemade fish tacos followed by homemade key lime cheesecake. Nice!

I've also added an adjustable stem to the bike so I can ride it into my old age, raising the bar as necessary. :)

Yesterday I was almost run down by a lady in an automobile who ignored a yield sign in our town square. I memorized the tag number and went to report the incident at our local police station. Results we less than satisfying but at least they noted her tag number but cannot make a case without witnesses.

More Bike. Less Couch.

Just wanted to say it.

Riding to the in-laws to cut their grass I passed a young couple apparently walking to the laundromat. The lady was at least 100 pounds overweight. As I passed she shouted "oh, _that's_ not dangerous!". As if riding on the road obeying traffic laws were a death defying feat. I guess she does not consider heart disease and diabetes dangerous.

New "skinwall" 700c x 28 Panaracers on the bike:



I liked the reflective sidewall of the old Armadillos but with 4500 miles on them, they had to go. Installing the Pasela tourguard tires was my first experience with folding tire installation. I am not a fan of the install process. My thumbs are still sore.

I am quite proud that I ride the bike more than I drive the Miata. I would like to eventually convert it to electric.

Wheels and tubes

New wheel installed, we've done a family ride and I took the bike out for a quick 11 miles yesterday.

My LBS after admitting the wheel that was supposedly on order was actually _not_ had the owner intervene on my behalf to give me a good deal on a 105 hubbed unit they had in stock.

While preparing to ride yesterday, I heard an ominous "pwooosh" sound from the garage. It was the tire on my wife's bike deflating. Problem is the cheap plastic rim tape that came with her wheels. It does not cover properly around the valve hole and that sharp edge bites into the inflated tube. I'll be putting Velox tape on her wheels tomorrow.

Hot

Took a ride out Woodbury Pike, which is what Main Street turns into if you go far enough east. So hot that the mongrels on the porch would not get out of the shade to chase me.

I had intended on doing a 20 mile out and back, then hitting the Greenway for another 10. Got caught in a thunderstorm on the way back and headed home. I haven't put my fenders back on, and the thought of all that water under my B17 made me stop.

My front wheel is one borrowed from my wife's bike; I called my bike shop today to get an ETA on my new wheel. Last week they told me it should be in Tuesday or Wednesday (today). The person I spoke to said the wheel was back ordered and would be in next Tuesday/Wednesday. Arrgh. Would it be so hard for them to pick up the phone and give me a call when they found out the wheel was back orderd?

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Last night, I was thinking back to the time 4 or so years ago when I used to commute to work in the town of Roswell, Georgia. Here in Murfreesboro the terrain is extremely flat, with very few challenging hills. In Roswell I had this killer hill, short but very steep, to ride up just as I came out of work. Also, throughout Roswell were rides that would challenge the most dedicated hill climber. I was thinking that there would be no way I could ride those hills now, not without a few months' training. My commute to work here would be a breeze compared to Roswell; less mileage, less challenging, with less traffic. I just have to push myself on my off-day rides to increase fitness.

Ouch

Not so much physically as financially. We were cycling on the Greenway Wednesday when I noticed a sign an a trailhead stating "Greenway monitored by cameras" "Hmm" I thought, "I've never seen cameras here". As I looked back to my direction of travel I realized we were headed straight into a bollard. Swerving into the bushes we went down in a jumble. I wondered if this was caught on video?

The only upside is my new wheel on order has a 105 hub, an upgrade from the stock Tiagra.

The Latest

Catching up the blog a little, I haven't been riding as much as I would like lately. We've done a couple of jaunts on the Greenway, my son and I traveled to the square for a little free music last Friday.

The Trail-a-Bike comes with a pretty aggressive-treaded mountain bike tire which tends to add a good amount of drag. I purchased a 20" smooth tire from the my LBS yesterday and installed it on the TaB. Hopefully when the rain relents I can put the boy on and we'll go for a test ride. While I was at the shop I also picked up a nifty brass bell for my bike (my son had taken my compass/bell for use on his trike).