Well, first off, let me apologize for not writing in awhile. First I didn't complete the DM3 permanent I rode with the two Mikes of Az Brevet fame because of mud and that was a downer, second my Mom died, that also was a big downer, and third we've been dealing with the repercussions of the second.
In other news I did get out for a ride on Monday (kids got my time on Saturday, they're training for Cochise). I intended to go to the end of the pavement. Yeah, intended, yet another ride cut short but let me get to that tragic, yet .....well ok, can't Pollyanna this thing, tragic tragic story.
First off I didn't get off before sunrise so it was going to be warm. Fortunately it was a little cloudy to delay things a bit. All the way across Mesa the legs felt blown. It might have been because I really really crunched them going up Kong with Adela on the back on Saturday, in any case I was not in a happy place but was determined to get a bike ride in come what may.
I may not have written about this but in the last few weeks I made the discovery that SRAM offers a derailer that allows you to put a cassette with a 32t ring on it on a road compact crankset so I can spin a little better on the steeps, also spin a little better on tired legs too, which I am sure will come in handy on the Mt Lemmon brevet in November as it came in handy Monday.
The guys at Canyon lake let me use their water spigot since the store was closed fortunately as it was getting warm. I then kicked myself in the butt and headed out to Tortilla flat right in front of another cyclist who upon approaching asked if I was going to the brevet in Showlow on Sat. He recognized my RUSA jersey of course. I'm pretty sure it was Pete who I rode off and on with at the Route 66 300k last spring. I could only mumble a reply as he passed for my shifter decided to break right then. Yeah, the expensive one. This would make #2 to break on me and I didn't think it would be under warranty the original having been purchased with the bike 3 years ago.
So, back to the Marina I turn to go lock my derailleur into a sensible gear for the way home since I was now reduced to a two speed. As I pedalled along in a sad funk, a wasp decided to give me a consolation kiss. Fortunately my mouth was not open enough for him to go french on me. He got my lower lip pretty bad and my upper lip not as much. Yep, when it rains it pours.
It was a ride of spinning and grinding from here on out depending if I was in the big or little ring. Mostly spinning as I erred on the side of being nice to my knees. At the top of the big climb I re-adjusted my derailleur to give me a nice gear for going 20-21 mph in. The day was kind of shot after that but homemade ice cream cheered the soul at the end of the day.
Incidentally, since the replacement shifter was installed last May (after it broke going up the last big hill on the Mines to Pines 300k) the two year warranty applied since it resets when you get a replacement and not when the original part was purchased! Thank you SRAM for being cool about backing up your stuff. So, even if I could have had the day off today, I still could not have ridden the High Country 200k which I am running support for everyone tomorrow. Guess I'll just enjoy the time with the kids and riders tomorrow.
In other news I did get out for a ride on Monday (kids got my time on Saturday, they're training for Cochise). I intended to go to the end of the pavement. Yeah, intended, yet another ride cut short but let me get to that tragic, yet .....well ok, can't Pollyanna this thing, tragic tragic story.
First off I didn't get off before sunrise so it was going to be warm. Fortunately it was a little cloudy to delay things a bit. All the way across Mesa the legs felt blown. It might have been because I really really crunched them going up Kong with Adela on the back on Saturday, in any case I was not in a happy place but was determined to get a bike ride in come what may.
I may not have written about this but in the last few weeks I made the discovery that SRAM offers a derailer that allows you to put a cassette with a 32t ring on it on a road compact crankset so I can spin a little better on the steeps, also spin a little better on tired legs too, which I am sure will come in handy on the Mt Lemmon brevet in November as it came in handy Monday.
The guys at Canyon lake let me use their water spigot since the store was closed fortunately as it was getting warm. I then kicked myself in the butt and headed out to Tortilla flat right in front of another cyclist who upon approaching asked if I was going to the brevet in Showlow on Sat. He recognized my RUSA jersey of course. I'm pretty sure it was Pete who I rode off and on with at the Route 66 300k last spring. I could only mumble a reply as he passed for my shifter decided to break right then. Yeah, the expensive one. This would make #2 to break on me and I didn't think it would be under warranty the original having been purchased with the bike 3 years ago.
So, back to the Marina I turn to go lock my derailleur into a sensible gear for the way home since I was now reduced to a two speed. As I pedalled along in a sad funk, a wasp decided to give me a consolation kiss. Fortunately my mouth was not open enough for him to go french on me. He got my lower lip pretty bad and my upper lip not as much. Yep, when it rains it pours.
It was a ride of spinning and grinding from here on out depending if I was in the big or little ring. Mostly spinning as I erred on the side of being nice to my knees. At the top of the big climb I re-adjusted my derailleur to give me a nice gear for going 20-21 mph in. The day was kind of shot after that but homemade ice cream cheered the soul at the end of the day.
Incidentally, since the replacement shifter was installed last May (after it broke going up the last big hill on the Mines to Pines 300k) the two year warranty applied since it resets when you get a replacement and not when the original part was purchased! Thank you SRAM for being cool about backing up your stuff. So, even if I could have had the day off today, I still could not have ridden the High Country 200k which I am running support for everyone tomorrow. Guess I'll just enjoy the time with the kids and riders tomorrow.
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