Slushy accumulation

Did he say . . . ?

Yes, that is in fact what the guy on one of the weather sites I check said about tomorrow's weather, about an inch of slushy accumulation.

I don't like missing a day, I really don't like missing two days in a row. Missing consecutive days very quickly has a negative impact on fitness. Further, if I missed today I was looking at missing at least three in a row and the forecast for after that is not what makes me optimistic about riding again any time soon.

So, despite that fact the weather today was clearly worse than yesterday, I rode today. Someone stop me if you have heard this before, I have the gear.

Raw is another word the weather guy used and that is what it was out there today. It was cold again and the wind absolutely howled. I have the gear but the truth is that I was more comfortable walking on the coldest day of the year than I was riding today. But there is something exhilarating about being out there on a day when it is hard and today was HARD. It was exhilarating.

There was another reason I went and it is related to two items of yesterday's bicycle news, one already reported on and one not previously mentioned. Sorry about the sloppy focus but the flash doesn't work on all settings for my pocket camera. I use the flash infrequently enough that I haven't bothered to get it straight yet which settings it does work on so sometimes I end up with photos taken without flash. Focus is hit and mostly miss on no flash basement photos.I purchased the NewLook a year and a half ago on eBay. It came with all Chorus components except for a Centaur crank. At the time I looked into upgrading the crank to Chorus to make an all Chorus bicycle (my other two nicest bicycles are all Chorus bicycles). Campagnolo has introduced 11 speed componentry in all of its upper level gruppos. My bicycles are not new enough to have the newest stuff and anyway, the reviews on 11 speed have been mixed. At least one opinion that I respect considers the 11 speed inferior to 10 in several important respects, most significantly ergonomics. So I have Campagnolo 10 speed. The NewLOOK had a Centaur crank and I wanted a Chorus crank. Last year was soon enough after the introduction of 11 speed to mean that when I shopped on eBay I discovered that new 10 speed was no longer available and used 10 speed, at least used 10 speed Chorus, just did not seem to exist. Along the way I also learned that for a crankset that 11 speed is interchangable with 10 speed. The problem for me is that 11 speed says "11 speed" on it. An 11 speed Chorus crank would have worked just fine with my 10 speed drive train but it would have offended my sensibilities. And it would have cost $600.

So late this past winter (does he mean yesterday I hear someone saying) I again started to search eBay for a 10 speed Chorus crank. Enough time has passed that such items are now available and for a considerable mark down from the previous winter's new equipment prices. I was a bit surprised during the search for used to discover a NOS (new old stock) 10 speed Chorus crank for sale. I obtained that and installed it yesterday. That is what is pictured above with the Centaur crank on the floor and the Chorus crank now on the bicycle.

Yes, I do have a torque wrench. In fact, I have two of them. I assembled my own bicycle from parts don't you know. You need a torque wrench to make sure some of those parts are correctly installed. Actually I have two torque wrenches, one for very low torque, and the one pictured, for when you really have to lean on that thing to get the connector installed tight enough.

As I was working on the installation I had to lift and otherwise move NewLOOK around several times. I hadn't really forgotten but even so, every time I have been away from that bicycle for even a little bit of time upon the return to it I am always, always, stricken by how light that thing is. It weighs absolutely nothing.

The bad road bicycle lives during its off season hanging from the garage rafters on hooks. During the time of year that I ride it I leave it on the hooks, lifting it down each day for riding and lifting it back up for storage. It's OK, it is a really nice bicycle and bicycles are not THAT heavy. But the recent up and down lifting of that bicycle gave me a meaningful comparison of the weights of the two bicycles. The conclusion I reached was too strong to ignore.

I knew from yesterday's out the window observation that nearby streets were probably swept but I set out today on the bad road bicycle to make a few checks to see if riding the featherweight bicycle was going to be possible.

Nearby city streets are swept. The nearby state highway is swept. County maintained streets are not yet swept. I rode about half the ordinary ride on the bad road bicycle making these observations and decided that I had enough information and enough clear streets to make the switch.

So here is one going in (Bianchi with empty water bottle) and one going out (LOOK with full water bottle). The change has been made.Ominously, the first time I shifted from the big ring to the small ring I dropped the chain. But an experienced bicyclist has no difficulty remounting a chain and all of the front shifts after that were Campagnolo quality faultless. The new installation is a success.

Anyone want to buy a Centaur carbon 10 speed crank? 53x39, 172.5?

The change was not quite as simple as just wheeling one bicycle out and one bicycle in. I also have to change shoes.The top shoe is a mountain style shoe mounted with the cleats for the Speedplay Frogs that I ride on the two Bianchis that I own. The Sidi shoe on the other hand is a road style shoe mounted with the cleats for Speedplay X series pedals, my pedal of choice for all the rest of my bicycles.

A change of shoes, a change of bicycles, now all I need is a change of weather.