Jan 5 - and so it begins

A cool day and a strong headwind ... once upon a time I would turn around after a few miles and wait for a nicer day but I know now that it's better to just get 'er done; I'll feel better the next day as a result.

That's especially true when I've had almost four weeks off the bike.  I felt like I was breaking in a new saddle or an old butt, take your pick.  My legs did a lot of complaining but I know that next year at this time it will only be worse !

Sandy had a facial appointment in Orlando and stopped in to see Jim and Sheryl at their rental.  I'll have to get the address so that I can swing by on my next ride north.  Judging from the weather forecast, that'll be soon.  North winds 'r us. 

Today we're going to the Verizon store to activate her new phone.  I'm sure that she'll see a difference with the phone but she doesn't see much difference in the tablet, other than the weight. 

I caught up on a few things, including some bike maintenance, before I headed out.  I installed the new spoke in the Rolf Prima wheel, getting that trued up, and did some shifting adjusting with the Litespeed.  It's far from perfect, the combo of Dura-ace shifters and mountain rear derailleur.  No matter how much I tune it, the chain hits the ramps and/or needs an extra little nudge to shift on the larger cogs.  I'd be better off with down-tube friction shifters and then I wouldn't notice it.  I even used the dropout alignment tool, thinking that might be the problem, but it's spot on.

When I initially install a new rear derailleur the shifting is great but it doesn't take long for it to get sloppy.  When I first setup this combo it wasn't this bad but since then I've been buying the lower end RD's and perhaps they're just not as precise.  There's too much play in the pulley, I think.  Anyway, it's what I have to do to ride an 11-34.

Onward ...