Mar 12 - new wildlife; new wheels

Last year when I went boating with Jason and his boys down by the Haulover Canal we saw evidence of feral pigs ... today I saw one when I was biking. The wind was from the ESE which seems to put wind in your face all the time. In any event, it was time to go south, so I did. I did not expect to be able to get much past the Haulover Canal, expecting the guard booth to be there -- which it was -- and the guard to be turning people back, due to the impending shuttle launch. There was no guard in the booth though, which tells me that their scheduled Sunday launch might be doubtful. They're usually turning people back within a week or more of the launch, unless they've changed that.

Anyway, I turned westward on Wildlife Drive and enjoyed my 6 miles of wind mostly at my back before turning north in Titusville. It was along that drive where I saw the pig. When it saw me, it ran back into the underbrush.

New Wheels ?? Actually the wheels are old ... but the bike is new ! Yes, I rode the new bike, having completed assembly this morning. The wheels themselves are my Rolf Prima Elan Aero wheels -- wonderfully light and easy rolling wheels.

So ... what did I find different about the bike, that stripping down my Litespeed Classic would not have produced ... well:

1) It is lighter. The frame is lighter and the fork is lighter -- I have not weighed the bike yet but I'll do that soon. You can feel the difference with every pedal stroke, and even more so when climbing.

2) I'm carrying less weight overall too because I've done away with the two pumps and CO2 cartridges, using the Blackburn Carbon Frame pump that nicely fits this frame.

3) It has basically has the same wheelbase, vs the yellow bike up north that is longer

4) The difference in the height of the top tube (lower) is noticeable when you're riding and even more when you lift your leg over !

5) Aaron would probably notice a significant difference in stiffness, but I don't. That probably means that I should work harder ...

6) It's cleaner, since I don't have any wired cycle computer. I'm just using the GPS mounted on the stem, leaving the handlebars completely clear.

7) It's shorter from saddle to handlbar. The different angle of the seat tube brings the saddle 1 cm closer to the handlebars plus I got a stem that is 1 cm shorter. That actually makes it more comfortable for me to put my hands on the hoods or in the drops -- I should probably get a shorter stem for the Litespeed at some point.

8) The saddle is firmer. It is the same saddle -- Selle Italia Flite Gel -- but hasn't been softened through use.

Overall, it's great. This will prolong the life of the components on the Litespeed and allow me to switch back and forth without spending a lot of time removing stuff. Especially now that I'm setting up a frame-mount rack etc. on the Litespeed -- my Randoneuring bike -- can be more tailed to that use.

In the meantime, Sandy and Angelika and Abby headed up to Flagler. In Flagler County most of the beach is dog-friendly. They ended up in a park area by accident, missing the sign up at the dune-level signifying the beginning of the park and no dogs allowed. They were informed of such by someone on the beach -- i.e. that fines were $200 and no forgiveness. Later on they were talking to a police officer on the beach (later on when they were not in the park) who said that he was looking for people who had dogs off the maximum 8 foot leash -- 8 foot leash ? We use a 25 foot leash -- Sandy checked the sign and yes, it does specify the length of the leash. He said though that he would not bother people who were in control of their dog, i.e. shortening the leash when people are around.

The weather continues to be great. We were saying last night that this is the week that Jason is usually here and it was so cold last year -- oh well. A week ago when we were out in the boat the water temperature was 62. On Wednesday when we went out it was 72. It doesn't take long to warm things up, and the warming water has a double-whammy, making the air warmer too.

Today we plan to go boating again. We're either going to drive south and launch at the Haulover Canal or go north and launch at Tomoka Park. That depends on the wind, which so far looks good for a Haulover launch. Since we'll boat southward from that point in wide open areas, we don't want high winds. Another option, of course, is to boat down to the Haulover Canal. There's a lot of putting involved, but it's a nice run too.