Thursday, May 5, 2011

Tires & Chains; Rain & Dirt.

Less than 20 days left. Yes, that's less than 3 weeks. Like blink twice and I'll be in Charleston. Soooo, probably a good time to make sure I have all my gear and know how to use it.
Time to hit up those offers from friends!  First lesson (ok, more like 40th lesson, but who's counting?), how to change a tire.  Pretty fundamental skill to have while on the road, whether it's in a vehicle or bicycle.  Instructor of Choice: Chris Lanyon.  Super knowledgeable friend here at school who was able to break everything down into simple terms to get the message across.  I now know how to use those little yellow plasticy things that were on the required list of things to buy (aka - tire spoons/levers).  He also fixed the clicking from my chain.  I sounded like a ticking bomb while shifting sometimes.  I at least knew that wasn't good, even if I had no idea what it was stemmed from.  Now, I have a quiet bike again and a basic understanding of how to tweak the tension of the gears and how to keep the chain moving the right way.  Thank you Chris!! Hope those pedals work for you!
Today, I discovered what it must have felt like to have a wet diaper as a baby.  I took my bike out for a spin in the rain for the first time.  Also, got to see if my rain coat was suitable for bike riding.  I think it'll suit me fine, one less specialized thing to purchase... whew!  Nice 20 mile ride in light rain on a mostly paved path/road resulted in a nice brown streak up my entire backside.  My padded shorts, jacket, and Camelbak looked like a dirty skunk when it was time to dry out and clean up.  
Crunch time. Biking every day (except for this canoeing weekend).  My bike computer is finally up and running-- time to start racking up the odometer mileage.  Minimum of 500 miles before Charleston.  Perfect time to start exploring the hills of the Bayfield Peninsula!  I'll be out everyday if you'd like to join! Call me up or find me on here!

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