New! (Old) Bike!

Yay!

I met a lovely, funny, fantastically conversational woman on a ride a few weeks ago who sympathized with the lack of a granny ring on my bike.

(Vocab: A granny ring would be a third chain ring, the little one that you would switch to so you can climb hills on the bike by spinning quickly, using your aerobic energy rather than your strength and wrecking your knees)
(Backstory: The bike I ride, is actually an Aquila racing bike - it's super light, was engineered for a guy to ride in a racing position for most of the time. I've replaced the bars, seat and tires, and the frame is a reasonably good fit, so I ride it, but it isn't designed to climb hill after hill, and the gears reflect that)

Anyway, so C. and I were chatting, and she offered me her older Miyata touring bike. It was her "baby" (much as the Beast was mine)... and while she wasn't riding it anymore, she wanted it to be loved.

So I picked it up Saturday morning... a lovely pale blue Miyata bike. Heavier than my Aquila for sure - but with features that will make it a lovely city rider. A rack, and space for another on the front. Solid with a smooth pedal stroke. I'm so freakin' excited about it! The plan is to start the restoration soon after the rally, and get it on the road hopefully by fall.

Here's it's work list: In order of priority.

- recable the brakes, gears, get new housing for the cables.
- clean the chain and assess the chain rings, cassette, and current chain stretch.
- replace chain rings, cogs, and possible the chain (entire drive-train system).
- adjust derailleurs to smooth out gear changing.
- assess tires
- get a recreational seat
- get Mr. Tuffy's for the wheels and install.
- replace toe-clips

That's not so bad really, it's a great older bike - and I'm really excited about it! It's going to be a fantastic ride once it's all sorted!

Whoh! Stuff happening!

Okay, well, I haven't posted in awhile, but I'm still around. Here's my little update on things gone by:

July 12 - I went to Brampton to meet my auntie for an event, and promptly got hit by a car 5 minutes after getting off the Go Train. I've decided Brampton is possibly the most cycling unfriendly city I've ever encountered. Long story short, I was super angry, the woman who hit me paid for my new wheel, and the bike was at Cyclepath in Brampton until last night when I picked it up.

All that said -- the guys at Cyclepath there are GREAT! And totally helped me out as I was dirty, hurt, angry, and trying to hold it together in shock of being hit by a car. They gave me a clean cloth to use in their washroom and room to leave my stuff while I went in search of a drink, and even hooked me up with a few instant ice packs. Great people - definitely recommend the shop.

Luckily it seems that my injuries were largely superficial. The Chiropractor has made some comments about how my back is out of alignment, and I've got bruise and some road rash, but I'm okay, and live to bike again.

This week I've been busy looking after final preparations. I've booked my hostel for the 2nd night in Mtl, I ordered a ton of instant ice packs today to use in the evenings, and last week my mom took me to MEC and bought me some nice new shorts, a shirt and a sweater. I just need to pack, clean and relube the chain, and possibly do one more training ride.... honestly though, cycling is the last thing on my mind right now!


So this weekend my team is riding 100k to Campbellville and back. I'm not sure if I"m going to go or not, mostly because I'm a little afraid of the bike's new components, and want to take it on a slightly shorter ride first. Or maybe I'm feeling lazy ---- I'm not really sure! Either way, I'm considering biking out to Clarkson and back on Sunday instead, because 70k will give me the feedback to make any changes, and isn't too short a ride. I'm wondering if I'm punking out though.

So fundraising is done, health forms are faxed in, rooms are booked, now its just a matter of getting there in one piece.

Will that be the hardest part?

Long Long Rides!

Well, I took a week off from Riding, in honour of Pride weekend here (actually they were canceled so the bike rally participants could participate in the Parade - me, I chose to dance on the sidewalk and cheer).

Anyways -- back at it this week. Canada Day I ended up overhauling the front end of the bike. I replaced the handlebars, retaped the bars, and did some minor adjustments to the brakes and seat position --- it took a long time, but was super rewarding. I love working out my own bike.

Last weekend I did two rides, an 80km ride to Oakville and back with a stop in the middle to have lunch with my Uncle, Aunt & cousin (yummy!), and then on Sunday I did the training ride, which went nearly to Oshawa on the bike rally Day 1 route - which ended up being about 100km by the time I got on the Subway at Union.

I have to say it - Dairy Queen Blizzards are the best post-ride snack EVER! Cold, delicious, sugar-filled. Get me home to shower and lie on the couch!

It's Tuesday and I'm still at bit sore in the legs from Sunday's climbs up the Scarborough bluffs, but I got a new blender yesterday, so am making a point to drink my protein shakes like a good little athlete.

Really -- I wish I could share more, but other than training there isn't much else happening. It's a matter of training, riding, and then letting my legs & lady parts recover before doing it again!

oh dear...