More equipment wear and tear

I put a new Ultegra 10 speed chain on back arround November and a used 11-23 dura ace cassette with a claimed 2500 miles on it. I kept a close eye on my chain wear with the park chain checker. My drivetrain was a black nasty mess most of the winter and was put away wet more often than not. No surprise it was new chain time after only 1000 miles.

Sadly, the last ti cog, the 19t I used often was worn and the new chain skipped under power on the first ride. I pulled the old chain back from the trash. I can get some more life out of the old dura ace if I put the old chain back on. Guess that can be my race setup next cross season. 

To make matters worse, the freehub body on the Xerox Lite wheelset has already devleoped some play. These obviously won't last long. I'm back on my old 105 3 cross w/cxp 22's. I'm wishing for a lighter more aero wheelset but, for now I'm on my tough old comutter wheels which are in need of re-greasing. I knew winter rain riding would be hard on my equipment. Time to bombproof my ride. I light ride really isn't a big help on the road anyway. Cyclocross on the other hand can really benefit from light wheels and a light ride with all the accelerations and lifting over obstacles. 

Even with my slow heavy wheels, I really kicked som butt last week after taking a 50 mile rest week. I always wondered how much fenders an a big messenger bag slow me down and now it know. I crushed all my commute times on my way to the Bicycle certers Silver lake 8:30 Sunday ride. 

My fitness is progressing nicely. Last we I did my daily 10 mile commute plus some extra hills durring the week and then another mostly hard and fast 67 miles on Sunday. My body is really starting to get used to this! It's taken a full calander year of riding 5 days a week. Looking forward to this summer. My first mt. Bike race will be April 5th and I'm stoked for that. 

Spring time, tandem and mt. Bike season begins

Daylight savings is back, and so is the sun! Last week we had so much rain the rivers began to flood but after that, we had 3 days of sun and highs in the 50's. The weather has been good enough to talk the wife into some tandem road rides and her first trail ride in Washington! 

Last year I logged 1000 miles and 100,000 feet of elevation. I should exceed that distance early April this year and my endurance is really professing well. Now I can ride an aggressive 50 miles with hills and sprints after putting in 50 miles durring the week. I would say, I'm am just about ready to race at a cat 3 level and actually hold my own. 

My equipment is a little worse for wear. My headset and bottom bracket bearings were both shot. Thankfully the replacement units are quite cheap with the new designs. My left crank arm spline is also shot but red loctite is filling in the gaps well so I can put off a full replacement for a bit longer. Poor design IMO. 

New cane creek headset bearings and carbon spacer:

My toasted Shimano bottom bracket 

Lord Hill Park:

The Redline trail:

I took Sara out to lord hill for my second trail ride having never been there. It was hilly! About 130 feet of elevation for every mile! I was happy to clear a 25+ % grade climb without putting a foot down or maxing my heart rate. Not beginner trails at all which is what Sara needs to ride. We will have to keep looking. She could also really use disc breaks around here. I could also really go for a rear hitch for a bike rack instead of the trunk rack we have been using. Not items for the wish list. Spring has just begun! 

Tandem bike and trail ride

Last week we had some nice weather and as a result I managed to talk the wife into a group ride out of Snowhomish on the tandem. What fun it was! She did fantastic for her first bike ride of the year logging 25 miles as my stroker. I rode in knickers and no shoe covers as the temps were in the low 50's. 

Our tandem has 26" wheels and Peach is a gear masher so we always ran our of gears but not today. I installed a 54 tooth big ring and a 1.6" rear tire so we didn't spin out till 38 mph. 

On Saturday, I gave my brand new Manatou R7 100mm fork a proper test ride at the Paradise Conservation trail system near Woodenville Washington. My team mate Joe just built up his new BMC hard tail that morning and put the bike though it's paces with a big smile on his face. The loops were short but very sweet and the roots across the trail made the ride fun and chalanging. Half way into the ride it began to snow which was cool with us. It added to the experience. Theses trails are very popular among Seattleites in the summer. I must say, 100mm of travel is plush and gave me a lot of confidence in the rough sections over my old 2004 80mm Manatou Skereb. My trail bike is ready to race! My legs are about ready too.