Apr 1-12 - whoops - bikes and generators

I'm back on the trusty old Litespeed. Seems that the downtube S&S coupler didn't suck up enough solder and failed, so much for my Florida 600k.  I'm going to try again next weekend in Georgia, which should be a pleasant ride with some climbing. 

Luckily the failure wasn't catastrophic. At one point I heard a snap and thought that I'd run over a small branch. Later the shifting started getting sloppy as the stretching downtube pulled at the shift cables. It took me a few puzzled stops to figure out what the problem was. I was only 10% through the 600 … no way of finishing … wouldn't trust gorilla tape. Sandy provided rescue service. 

So … the SS frame will go back to Mark for repair. It's already stripped and ready. The repaired Ti frame is awaiting my pickup and then rebuild. I expect to do the pickup end of April when I make a quick trip to the cottage and then head back down to VA for Hamid's 1200k ride.  The Litespeed will do another 1200. The SS missed its chance. 

Part of the reason for the trip to the cottage is to figure out what has happened to the generator. It's in an error state and I want to review, arrange for repair or replacement if necessary, install the remote monitoring kit if it's simply a matter of clearing. Pat Martin went over and turned it off for me. Hopefully David can come up that weekend and we'll do this together. 

We now have tickets for Madrid (May 18-30) and Italy/France (June 15-July 11).  I hope all this works out!  Sheryl will be with us for the 2nd trip. We fly to Madrid from Miami; Paris from Toronto. Sheryl will fly from Montreal. 

Life is too complicated. 

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From my iwdt