It’s been a while since I’ve posted, mostly because I haven’t had anything real interesting to share. I’ve just been logging away the miles and preparing for the event I participated in today.
I rode in my cycle clubs annual even – the Golden Apple. I chose the 60 mile route and got started about 7:30 am. I wasn’t riding with any particular group of people as most wanted to get a later start but I picked up with different people along the way. It was an absolute great ride with the exception of my first flat in over a year. Coming out of a fast downhill I could feel the bikes back end get squirrely and a quick look down confirmed my suspicions. I managed to get it stopped without wiping out and set off to change the tube. I found the offending staple in my tire and of course removed it so I wouldn’t have a repeat. Of course the new tube I was using had a faulty valve and wouldn’t hold any air so I had to borrow a tube from one of the road marshals at the intersection I was stopped at. Once that ordeal was over I was on my way again.
There was no more mishaps for the rest of the ride and I was taking it pretty easy. I had done 50-52 milers before but this one has a lot of climbing so didn’t want to burn out early. Even still at the 44 mile rest stop I needed an extended break for about 15 minutes so I could sit down and recover a bit. That certainly helped and I was able to finish the ride strong. Total mileage ended up being 62 so I managed to squeak out my first metric century in the process! Oh and total elevation gained was just over 4000 feet – Strava and my Magellan both agreed for once!
In other news I bought a new crank, FSA Gossamer, to put on my bike and ditch the square taper crank as it flexes too much under power. The Gossamer isn’t the lightest crank on the market but they are stiff and should shave about ~1lb off the bike in combination with the BB swap. After that I’m contemplating upgrading to 10sp from my current 8. With all the hills around here I’d really like at least a 28 in the rear and I can’t do that with my current setup. The biggest expense with doing the swap will be the shifters so I’m keeping my eye out on ebay.
Happy cycling!
Hey man, I don’t know how I unfollowed you but it obviously took a long time to figure out. My bad brother, a thousand apologies! Problem is rectified.