09/10 Back on the Saddle
After my fall on Monday (I will discuss this later, I'm still waiting to upload the sweet pictures of my Badge of Honor) I was nervous that I would be unwilling to get back in the saddle, as they say. To give myself justification to stay away from my bike, I had dropped it off a day early to Gregg's so without a bike, I can't ride, right?
Most assuredly no :) Clever Lilia outwits herself again! When I had made the appointment to get my Creamsicle tuned up, I had also arranged to get my sweet new cyclocross bike from the intern who was selling it to me.
What self-respecting cyclist wouldn't take a new toy out for a spin? Certainly not one with a peer pressuring friend like Matty, who showed up to my office with an allen wrench in hand to adjust the seat (just in case I had any last excuses). I changed into my new tri shorts , threw on my running shoes (new bike = regular platform pedals) and started heading home.
Without clipless pedals, hills are pointless if not impossible so Matty and I took the flat route till the bridge then decided to scoot over to Recycled Cycles which is my secret favorite bike shop, even though I buy almost nothing there. This is because Matt Beers STILL REFUSES TO SELL ME ANYTHING! This may be a slight exaggeration, but he really advises people to buy what is best for them, even if Recycled doesn't carry it. That kind of honesty is hard to come by, and I appreciate it. That's why I shop there :) Matt hooked me up this time with some sweet used clips so I could start doing some real hill climbs. I also got Pam tuned up (the cross bike's name) as she badly needed to be. The guys behind the counter did a lot more work than they charged me for, which is the OTHER reason I love Recycled. When I was riding in, I noticed I couldn't shift my front shifter, that is, from the little cogto the big one. Which is cool, when you're on a hilly route (not cool). But I made do, without clipless pedals everything was weird anyway.
When I brought it in, it turned out that the axle was too loose to shift (duh!). The trueness of both wheels was totally wonky (how straight the wheel rotates) as well, plus I got a functional computer (score!) and a patch bag.
The break in Recycled was awesome, but eventually we had to book it back to Matty's to meet up with Jill, who we then went to dinner with. Sweaty Lilia is a rockin' dinner companion, as it turns out. Coming up 3 Ave West at the end of a long haul is always brutal; for the first half I Was breaking 10 mph (a blistering 11) but the second half got me to 6 mph and I was breathing hard. Hills are not yet my specialty is basically what I'm saying. But that's ok! That's why I train :)