Brag moment and plots:
I braved the mechanical monster and re-adjusted my front and rear derailleur on the bike. The chain was randomly slipping when I peddled and making general unhappy noises. Turns out that all it _probably_ needed was to have the cable tightened but once I touched the adjustment screws I of course fucked it up and had to do the whole thing. I will note that the chain no longer slips and the funky noises are gone: success!
As a side note I noticed that I have two semetrical cuts on my bottom right where the bike seat rests. I've been biking in my underwear on the trainer but I guess I should put some sort of padding under my ample ass in the future.
I've been thinking more about a bike trip to Monmout, ME from Boston this summer (150+ miles). Probably should leave myself 3 days each way to do it though I _might_ be able to pull it off in 2. There is an Adventure Cycle route from Boston to Bar Harbor. Not exactly where I want to go but it should get me to Lewistion and I can take 9 from there to Monmouth.I've been trying to figure out what that means in terms of a training schedule. I should definatly start doing the MM on the weekends (~25 miles) when it gets above 50 or so and work up to ~50-70 mile day trips. Hopefully I can do this all before May.
I'm also thinking of getting a cheap folding bike for commuting. Something I can throw in the corner of the lab under a table and no one would notice. Dahon Broadway looks fairly close to what I want though I'm leary of getting a single speed (don't really want to spend 2x as much for a 6 speed).