After practice this morning, I headed to Bike Doctor in Bloomington. My beloved Kestrel was way past her checkup date, and with the miles piling up, I knew the chain would likely need replaced. Eric wasn't busy, so it looked like a fast turnaround.
The chain was definitely ready to go. For those of you who care, they should be checked/changed every 1500 miles. I also got the bike tuned, and with little fuss the bike was ready to go.
Fuss. There was a little fuss. A Fed Ex semi dropped off some goods, then clipped a power line on its way out. It blew a transformer, and it was sizzling when we went out to look at it. I stupidly crept up to the downed power line to be certain it was dead and away from the road.
It wasn't.
This is a mistake I will never make again. You have no idea what kind of power is coming off one of those lines until you are close to it when it cooks off. O.M.G. I'm glad there was no video of me running away, screaming like a little school girl.
Speaking of screaming like a little school girl, you Garmin fanbois might want to take note of a couple of specials running at the Bike Doctor. First is the Garmin Edge 200, a GPS bike computer which will record downloadable data from your ride. The main advantage it has over its wrist-mounted cousins is it displays current speed in a more user-friendly fashion. It's going for $125 in store, with a $30 rebate from Garmin tacked on. $95 for a Garmin? Not bad.
The other Garmin deal is the Garmin 910, the model I recently bought. It retails for $399 (which I paid), but Steve can get it for $319. I love mine, it is so versatile. I was even able to get lap swim info from an indoor pool tonight! Waterproof to 50 meter depth, 20-hour battery, multi-sport capability... it's exactly what I was waiting for in a Garmin.
With nothing to do until the ride, I did what any unemployed person does in the middle of the afternoon - I slept. I took an hour or so nap, and I feel much better for it. I've been letting myself get behind on sleep again, and it finally caught up with me.
Dan, WinD, Miller, and I met at the Lighthouse for an easy ride into southwest winds tonight. It was blowing pretty steadily, so there wasn't a whole lot of conversation on the way out. What I did notice was how well WinD is riding the borrowed Kestrel. Very, very well. There might still be some adjustments to be made, but if she can clean up her aero position a bit and get comfortable there, look out.
We finished the ride with the highway dash, a quick 2-mile stint that had Miller playing the coachman - whipping his workhorse (me) into higher and higher speeds. Actually, that's not what really happened. He road pretty much beside me, unwilling to take the easy draft. I just liked the sound of "The Coachman". Heck, if anyone deserves that name, it's Jimmy, especially after his Tuesday night performance. What am I talking about? When Jimmy drafted off Miller's monster pull out to the start, then in the last quarter mile asking to take a turn on the front. Yeah, that one!
I was able to arrive at BNL somewhat late, but on time to get my swim done. I went ahead and tested the Garmin, not expecting the satellite pickup to work. It did! I got a bit of data I didn't think I could get, and I'm finding the thing to be even more useful than I imagined.
Ride workout data
Swim workout data
Jim-N-I is this weekend. Rest up tomorrow, gang.
The chain was definitely ready to go. For those of you who care, they should be checked/changed every 1500 miles. I also got the bike tuned, and with little fuss the bike was ready to go.
Fuss. There was a little fuss. A Fed Ex semi dropped off some goods, then clipped a power line on its way out. It blew a transformer, and it was sizzling when we went out to look at it. I stupidly crept up to the downed power line to be certain it was dead and away from the road.
It wasn't.
This is a mistake I will never make again. You have no idea what kind of power is coming off one of those lines until you are close to it when it cooks off. O.M.G. I'm glad there was no video of me running away, screaming like a little school girl.
The other Garmin deal is the Garmin 910, the model I recently bought. It retails for $399 (which I paid), but Steve can get it for $319. I love mine, it is so versatile. I was even able to get lap swim info from an indoor pool tonight! Waterproof to 50 meter depth, 20-hour battery, multi-sport capability... it's exactly what I was waiting for in a Garmin.
With nothing to do until the ride, I did what any unemployed person does in the middle of the afternoon - I slept. I took an hour or so nap, and I feel much better for it. I've been letting myself get behind on sleep again, and it finally caught up with me.
Dan, WinD, Miller, and I met at the Lighthouse for an easy ride into southwest winds tonight. It was blowing pretty steadily, so there wasn't a whole lot of conversation on the way out. What I did notice was how well WinD is riding the borrowed Kestrel. Very, very well. There might still be some adjustments to be made, but if she can clean up her aero position a bit and get comfortable there, look out.
We finished the ride with the highway dash, a quick 2-mile stint that had Miller playing the coachman - whipping his workhorse (me) into higher and higher speeds. Actually, that's not what really happened. He road pretty much beside me, unwilling to take the easy draft. I just liked the sound of "The Coachman". Heck, if anyone deserves that name, it's Jimmy, especially after his Tuesday night performance. What am I talking about? When Jimmy drafted off Miller's monster pull out to the start, then in the last quarter mile asking to take a turn on the front. Yeah, that one!
I was able to arrive at BNL somewhat late, but on time to get my swim done. I went ahead and tested the Garmin, not expecting the satellite pickup to work. It did! I got a bit of data I didn't think I could get, and I'm finding the thing to be even more useful than I imagined.
Ride workout data
Swim workout data
Jim-N-I is this weekend. Rest up tomorrow, gang.
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