Mostly recaps of two wheeled rambles through the countryside, but sometimes thoughts on other things.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Mid week hot

The jet stream is still parked in a loop that is holding our area of the nation in a warm handed grip. It's been around 100 F every afternoon, which has lessened my enthusiasm for riding. Yesterday, I puttered in the yard; watering the parched looking spots as well as the shrubs. And my newest reclamation project, a dancing lady orchid (yellow Oncidium to the floral literati among us). It has survived years of neglect, so what will it do with proper food and water, one wonders? Sunday afternoon, while it was also too hot to ride, I tinkered with the Rivendell Rambouillet. One thing led to another, and what began as merely replacing a brake cable which was showing some rust turned into a mini make over for the bike. Here is what it looked like when it came new back in Jan 2007:



Bruce and RB0841


I have since had to replace the bar tape, as southern sweaty rides will wear one out. It looked pretty much the same though when I went for a slightly different look, now that it has over 5,000 road miles on it. Here's how it came out:

More Ram than lamb?Black and blue

I like the black accenting a lot, and the fatter tires are fast yet a lot more comfortable. A number of other Riv owners have made positive comments about it as well. It has new wheels and tires here, bar tape and a black saddle bag. I removed the extra brake levers to give more hand space on the bars, which entailed new cables and housing. It was a fun afternoon, with a good result.
 
Tonight though, my body told me it needed to RIDE. Yes, it was about 100F. Yes a HOT wind was blowing at 12 with gusts to 18. I decided to go for about an hour and see how it was. As long as I kept my output under control, it was fine. Throwing a few "hot" laps made me VERY tired, and when I finished the 10 laps (around my 1.1 mile block), the body felt well worked out. We'll see if I'm sore tomorrow, but if not, then I'll ride again on Thursday.

Hotwinds!!




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