2008 Fat Cyclist Jersey For Sale

I'm selling my 2008 Fat Cyclist jersey. I love it, but it's WAY too big for me now. It's an XL, and on the high side of an XL club cut too, and I wear a large in Twin Six jerseys. I know many of my readers are also readers of Fatty, so maybe one of you would be interested. Here's what it looks like:

From fatcyclist jersey

So if you think you want this bad boy, you can bid on the jersey on eBay here. Good luck!
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Ride to McCook & Polar CS200 CAD Death

Saturday morning I got up at 5:45a, and lit out for Burker King at 6:15a sharp. The first thing I noticed was the mid-60F temperature, with low humidity. Hello to Autumn in the Rio Grande Valley!

The group formed up at BK, and we decided that the slight north wind would fit nicely with a ride to McCook. In my 2.5 years in the RGV, I had never ridden this route. I'm glad we chose it, because it was perfect.

The ride leaders chose roads and streets with less traffic, and once we cleared McAllen / Edinburg, I really enjoyed the farmland scenery. It resembled the riverbottom farming around Navasota, Texas, that my Pa-Paw toured for me and my brothers when we would stay with them in Millican, Texas during the summers. The grain processing facilities reminded me of the Emerald City -- structures reaching skyward, out of place in the flat, technology-barren surroundings.

At the turnaround in McCook, we stopped at a true country store / mercantile. The place was straight out of The Last Picture Show -- wood floors, screen doors, cranky proprietor, cranky customer visiting with proprietor, and one gas pump. I'll be back, and I'll bring a camera.

Here's a link to the route that we rode:

During the ride, my Polar CS200 CAD finally succumbed to its illness. It had been very ill for a long time. It would work, then pass out during a ride. It would wake up, then report strange data, like 78 MPH speeds. It is 2.5 years old, which is about 90 years old in human years. So my guess is it was just old, and it was time. I replaced its battery AGAIN yesterday, but that didn't help. Here's what it looked like when it finally expired:





Rest in Peace, Polar CS200 CAD. You've been a good friend.

Treason Against Mexico!

Here’s a terribly framed photo that I took with my phone on my drive into Mexico:

It’s part of a political mural on the side of a business, and it says:  

"...Gobierno ó Individuo que entrega los recursos naturales a empresas extranjeras traiciona a la patria!"

 In English, this translates to:

"…Governments or individuals that send natural resources to foreign companies commit treason!"

 I believe it’s a quotation of former populist Mexican presidential candidate Jose Lopez Obrador.  Regardless of who said it,  it doesn’t really make me want to be working for a foreign company with a factory in Mexico!

Another Trip to Austin

I have been summoned by management to Austin for a meeting.  Could be good news...could be bad news.  Regardless, it's Austin!

I booked my room on Hotwire, and got a room at The Driskill for $119 a night.  If you don't know this hotel, here's a shot of the outside, and one of the lobby (from the downloads section of their website).  Errr....it's kind of nice, and a definite steal at $119.  I wonder if they'll mind if I roll my bike through the lobby?

It might not matter if they mind if I waltz through the lobby with my bike, as I may not even take it.  I'll leave the RGV around 6am, get to Austin around 11:30a, attend meetings, then have dinner with my brother and his family around 6pm.  The next day, I'll leave Austin around noon.  So I think I'll probably just pack my running shoes and do a few miles around Lady Bird Lake on Wednesday morning.

Maybe next time...

Texas - OU Weekend

This year will be a first for me and the family -- we're heading to Dallas for the State Fair, and to see the Texas Longhorns play the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl. In years past, we've sold our tickets to help finance the rest of our season tickets, but not this year! The tickets came in today, so now it seems a little more real.

Luckily we booked our hotel 2 months ago through Hotwire, and got a great deal on downtown suite. Victoria's sister, her 2 kids, my mother-in-law, and some cousins (also season ticket holders) will be there with us, which will both help keep our 2 kids entertained and make it a fun trip for the adults too. We'll travel up on Thursday, do the Fair on Friday, game on Saturday, and travel back home on Sunday. That's a lot of driving, but it will be worth the effort to see two top ten (maybe top 5?) teams play in a nationally televised game.

Oklahoma will be a huge challenge for the Horns, but that's not much different from any other year. It will be a great game between two well-coached and talented teams. Hook 'em!

More Money, More Drivetrain

After replacing the cassette last week, Speedo still couldn’t get the shifting dialed in.  Things got better, but after riding Thursday and Sunday, I was still getting hinky shifting and the chain seemed VERY loose.

During the Sunday ride, the Major looked at the drive train, and said “your rear derailleur is hung”.  It wasn’t pivoting properly and taking up the slack from the chain.  The blue arrow in the photo shows the malfunctioning pivot point.

My non-expert opinion is that the spring that holds tension on the chain is broken, and binding the movement of the shaft. When I first started noticing problems in Austin, I think I would have noticed if the derailleur wasn’t moving. And I really think Speedo would have noticed when he was replacing the cassette.  My assumption is that it finally failed catastrophically on the Sunday ride, because I can barely move the pivot by hand. 

So I bought a new derailleur, and it’s being installed today.  Now my bike has a new cassette, chain, and rear derailleur.  I didn’t want to spend this money, but without it the bike isn’t rideable.  I’ve sent a letter to the Congress asking when my bailout check will be arriving.  I’ll keep you posted on their response.

Long Weekend of Construction...and a few Rides

I took Thursday and Friday off last week to make a 4 day weekend. Nothing fun -- I rebuilt a rotten and improperly constructed section of our pergola. I'm exhausted from the physical labor. I'm just not used to it.

Additionally, I squeezed in a 30 mile ride on Thursday, and 45 mile ride on Saturday, and a 3 mile run on Friday. But the construction work was more physically challenging than any of it. Swinging a 2 lb sledge overhead for about 1000 strikes will do it to you.

More on the construction tomorrow when I have time to upload photos and write something meaningful.

Seat Pack for Sale on eBay

If you need a seat pack, this guy has one for sale on eBay. Current price is $0.99, which is an absolute steal. I highly encourage you to bid, as the price is low and you could probably win this pack for well under $100. The seat pack will help you ride faster, and it actually wards off the evil spirits that cause flats and mechanical problems. In fact, if you have this seat pack, once you fill it with tubes, CO2, multi-tool, and tire levers, YOU MAY NEVER NEED TO OPEN IT AGAIN. Good luck to you!

New Cassette on Order

My new cassette, as well as some spare tubes and socks, is on order from the Wal-Mart of bike shops. Who said that first? Bike Snob? Skibikejunkie? Can't remember. But thanks to 2 day shipping upgrade for members, the order should be here on Wednesday.

I heeded the advice of a more knowledgeable mechanic, and bought the cheaper Ultegra instead of the Dura Ace. He assures me that I DO NOT want the Dura Ace, as it would require much more frequent replacement. And of course Ultegra costs half as much as Dura Ace, because it's half as good. Whatever. Sounded good to me, so I ordered the Ultegra, and hope to have it installed Friday. Here's my proof:

I went back with the stock 12/25T set. I was tempted to change it up a little for the Austin hills, but decided to stick with it. It worked for me while I lived in Austin, and it will work for me on the LIVESTRONG Challenge.

Beginner's Guide to Cycling in a Paceline

Before I moved to the Rio Grande Valley, I had never cycled in an organized group. I had read about it in magazines, and thought I knew how to do it, but after I tried it I realized that it's not that hard. You just need a few simple pointers, not a 3000 word article.

Here's my advice to any beginner that is going to try riding in a paceline for the first time. In my experience, most beginners do okay with draft distance and overlap, and if they have a problem someone will quickly remind them. So I'm omitting these important safety tips and focusing on others. And, most people can't remember more than 3 pieces of advice at a time, so I'm going to give you my take on the 3 most important things to do and remember.


DON'T PULL TOO LONG

As you ride in the paceline, you continually move to the front as riders rotate off their pull and drop to the back. When it's your turn, don't pull too long. If you pull too long, when you rotate to the back you will not be able to keep up, and will get stone cold DROPPED by the group.

I would start with 100-150 pedal revolutions to define your pull time. Just count each turn, and when you hit the number, slowly and methodically move to the side, slow a little, and let the next guy take your place. If you feel like you're reaching your max heart rate and your legs are rubber, you're pulling too long. Pull off immediately, and don't be shy.


RELAX AND CONSERVE ENERGY

Don't tense up in the paceline. If you find yourself constantly swerving, braking, accelerating, changing gears, and just generally jumping all over the place, you're doing something wrong. Relax your grip, control your cadence, and focus on riding smoothly. All that other stuff will just wear you out mentally and physically. I try to make sure I NEVER look at the wheel in front of me. Look past the rider in front. If you're focused on the wheel in front of yours, you're controlling your actions at an overly micro level. You'll be constantly trying to accelerate and decelerate, and you will burn energy much faster and blow up.


DRINK EVERY TIME YOU ROTATE, AND EAT REGULARLY

Never underestimate peer pressure. I've noticed that many riders won't drink until they see someone else take a drink. They either forget, or they think that as soon as they take a drink, the group will surge and they'll be in a bind. So independent of what the rest of the riders are doing, I always take a good drink as soon as I latch back on to the back of the paceline after a rotation. Before we had two kids, Vic and I would go on one or two serious hiking trips a year, and I learned that you need to drink even when you're not thirsty, because you CAN'T TELL WHEN YOU'RE DEHYDRATING. So drink regularly, and my suggestion is to set your schedule to the rotation of the paceline. Of course, for longer lines, you might want to drink in the middle and at the end of the line.

For eating, I recommend you NEVER wait until the ride stops or turns as your signal to eat. Instead, eat something after the first quarter of your ride. In other words, eat something halfway to the turnaround or your first long stop. For the more seasoned rider, maybe you can just slog it out. But for the beginner that is trying to hang with a paceline for the first time, you need energy. So don't be afraid -- eat something. You'll feel better, and have the energy to stay with the group.



And if you want more instruction, go to one of the many magazines or web articles and you can get dozens of tips. These are just the three that I personally think are the most important for the beginner that is just learning to ride in a paceline.
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Hill Training in the Flat Rio Grande Valley

As I've mentioned in previous posts, my next big ride is the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin. I may do another organized ride before then, such as Conquer the Coast. Then again, I probably won't do Conquer the Coast, mainly because it requires an overnight stay in Corpus Christi, and I only have so many body parts that I can give to my wife as collateral for overnight rides.

I feel a little silly admitting this, but I'm more worried about riding 90 miles in the Hill Country to support the LAF than I was about the double century ride to San Antonio. The reason is that the ride to San Antonio was flat and with a light tailwind. I can ride forever in those conditions. But when you throw a hill at me, I lose confidence. As I've progressed in my cycling training, I just haven't done enough climbing or hill training, and I can feel it when I ride hills. I know I can finish the 90 mile ride, but will I feel good doing it?

So I've started trying to ramp up my training to give me better hill performance. Last Tuesday, I rode Granjeno Loops, injected with some intervals. I hate intervals, so after I did a couple I latched on with some riders and just kept a nice strong heart rate and a 20+ mph pace.

But on Saturday, I met up with some local riders and did the same ride as last Saturday. Only unlike last week, I vowed I wouldn't get dropped. For me, this meant being prepared for surges up to 30 MPH, and riding at 80% of my capacity for about 70 miles. Other than intervals, I rationalized that this kind of intensity would be a flatland approximation of a hilly ride. So here's how the ride went:


RIDE SUMMARY

• I still need to replace my cassette. I adjusted the shifting Friday night, and no matter what it jumps in the looser chain positions. This meant I rode almost the entire ride in the big ring. This really isn't a huge thing on a flat ride, so don't give me too much credit, but it was a source of frustration.
• On the way out, the ride was very disorganized towards the rear of the peloton. We were trying to ride in a 2 wide paceline, but when I rotated off the front there was a large group of non-rotating wheelsuckers in the back (no disrespect, we've all been there). But this meant trying to find a place to squeeze in, and when you're riding with amateurs like me, sometimes this can get a little tricky and stressful.
• As we turned south on FM 2221, we hit the gentle rolling hills, but that's all it took to split up the group. I hung with the fast group, taking pulls and feeling very good. I made sure I took very reasonably short pulls so that I could make sure I wouldn't blow up and get dropped. It worked. I was never dropped.
• On the biggest downhill, the group broke the 30 MPH mark. No big deal at all. I wasn't with the group last week, so when I heard they were riding at 30 MPH, I assumed it was flatland speed. But that wasn't the case. It was more like 25 MPH on the hard surges, and 22 MPH otherwise.
• We didn't stop as a group at the turnaround. I was depending on stopping for water refills, so I ran out of water about 3/4 of the way through the 70 mile ride. I decided to push through and challenge myself, and it worked out for me. I was really thirsty thoug, as I SWEAT LIKE CRAZY ON THIS RIDE. My entire kit was soaked, including my shoes and socks. I could squeeze sweat out of my gloves. It was 81F when we started, and drizzling, so I assume we were at high 90% humidity. It was probably 93F by the finish.

RIDE STATISTICS

And here's the data on the ride. No exaggeration: I think this was my best performance on a ride of this length. That doesn't mean I'm getting ready to start racing, but I'm happy! Important note -- data includes my ride from my house to the ride start, and back. This had the effect of being a personal warm up. Additionally, when the ride started, we warmed up as a group. And then we warmed down at the end. So I'm even better than the data indicates!

• Ride Duration: 3 hr 21 min
• Distance: 68.5 miles
• Speed: 20.4 avg (21.9 from shop and back, according to a fellow rider)
• Peak Speed: 32.5 MPH
• Average Cadence: 90
• Heart Rate: Strap Broken for 6 Months
• Calories: See Heart Rate (Polar doesn't Calculate Without HR)
• Power: Who Knows

I'm very pleased with the outcome of the ride. If I can keep this up, I'll feel really strong heading into the LIVESTRONG Challenge.

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King of the Causeway

King of the Causeway is a month from now. I missed it last year. I'll miss it again this year, because it's held on October 11-12, which is Texas-OU weekend, and I'll be in Dallas for the game.

I wish I could be here, because I think it's one of the coolest concepts out there: a time trial on one day, and a poker run the next. At the end of the poker run, all riders will cross the Queen Isabella Causeway from Port Isabel to South Padre Island. And the top qualifiers in the time trial get to race each other across the Causeway. Due to the length and traffic, it's not often that cyclists get to ride on the Causeway. It will be a great end to the ride and time trial.

Team McAllen is heavily involved in organizing the event, so I'm a bit partial. But I think this event has the potential to grow into a much bigger and well-known event. I encourage everyone to check it out, and consider participating. Time Trial form in PDF is here, and Poker Run is here. Hope you can make it!

Ride Your Bike

I follow How to Avoid the Bummer Life, and they recently posted the image below, which was snagged from a postcard sent out by Swarm! LA.

Lately I've been riding to the group ride starting points, so I'm already taking Bike Swarm's advice. Riding to the group ride start is just a small part of Eddy Mercxx's beautiful piece of advice. Here are my corollaries to Mercxx's Law, all of which I've had to tell myself during my first 2.5 years of cycling:

• When you think that spending your bonus check on new gear will make you faster, RIDE YOUR BIKE.
• When you want to sleep late in the morning instead of riding to meet your team, RIDE YOUR BIKE.
• When the temperature starts dropping, put on your cold weather gear and RIDE YOUR BIKE.
• When you pass near your house during the group ride, RIDE YOUR BIKE past your house and do a few more miles.
• When you want to buy another bike, get out the one you have and RIDE YOUR BIKE.
• In the heart of winter, put your bike on the trainer and RIDE YOUR BIKE.
• If you're traveling out of town and taking your truck, make the extra effort to take your bike so that when you get to your destination you can RIDE YOUR BIKE.
• When you and your spouse agree to have nights out alone so that you can remain sane parents, use your time to RIDE YOUR BIKE.
• If your derailleur is out of adjustment and you can't tweak the barrel adjustment to fix it while riding, ignore the chatter and RIDE YOUR BIKE using the gear groups that work.
• During the summer, when you get home from work at 5:30p and it's 100F+ outside, put an extra water bottle in your jersey pocket and RIDE YOUR BIKE.
• If you're trying to bridge up to the next skill group, join up with them and continue to RIDE YOUR BIKE even when you get dropped.

Taking his advice and riding my bike obviously won't make me equivlaent to Mercxx, but it made me a better cyclist, and that's more than good enough.

Help Beat Cancer

On October 26, I will be participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin. I'll be riding 90 miles through the Texas Hill Country to help raise money for the fight against cancer.

I don't need to tell any stories to convince you of the need for us to win the fight. Fatty can do that much better than I can. And you already know that the Lance Armstrong Foundation is a key contributor to the fight, and a worthy recipient of funds to support the fight.

If you wish, contribute to my fundraising goal here. If you would rather not, please help in any other way that you can. Thanks in advance for your help in the fight!

Longhorns Season Tickets Decision and Home Opener

We've been Texas Longhorns Football season ticket holders since the national championship season...the last one, that is. Relocating to South Texas, some 5 hours from Austin, does not make it easy to attend games, but we try. This year, we've conceded a partial loss. We're only going to a few games: the home opener, Texas-OU in Dallas, Missouri, and maybe the Thanksgiving day game against the Aggies.

It's just too tough to manage with 2 kids, a lagging economy (i.e. reduced bonuses for me), work commitments, extended family commitments, etc. Additionally, it absolutely kills cycling. It's hard for me to take my bike to Austin, much less convince Victoria that I can break away from the family for a few hours. And due to the stress of travelling, I end up reducing the number of rides I do at home in the valley. So it's not always good for the family, and it's definitely not good for staying in shape for cycling.

So, not going to so many games will help on several fronts: family stress, financial stress, and cycling fitness. Additionally, we get to sell the extra tickets for some big coin, which is nice.


HOME OPENER

Here's a couple of shots from the home opener against Florida Atlantic. The first one is a traditional photo we've taken in the parking garage the last 2 years. I know...we're weird. But doesn't Victoria look like a fan?

Before the game, UT retired Vince Young's #10. He was there for the ceremony, along with some of his teammates and other famous Longhorns like Matthew McConaughey and Kevin Durant. It's difficult to explain what this guy means to the Longhorn fans. I'll put it this way -- as Vince was entering the stadium, and the fans yelled louder than they did at any point during the blowout of Florida Atlantic, my friend sitting next to me said 'I think I'm going to cry'. And he wasn't joking.

Here's a terrible photo of Vince walking in for the ceremony. He's the guy in the black shorts, waving to the crowd, being followed by 27 camera operators. The ceremony hadn't even started or been announced, and look at the fans giving him the Hook 'Em Horns, pointing, and watching him enter with their binoculars. The feeling in the stadium was amazing.

Since I know ALL of my readers are Longhorns fans, I'll post lengthy game summaries and photos after each game I attend. Just kidding, OU fans. And Aggies. And Texas Tech Sand Aggies. I love ya'll too much to do that to you.

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Saturday Bike Masters Ride Report

As I mentioned in my last post, a local bike shop hosted a ride last Saturday. This is somewhat unusual for the RGV, so I was excited to participate.

I left the house at 6:00a, with my big hunk o' headlamp in operation, along with 2 flashing rear lights. I'm always surprised how my fellow amateur riders will make fun of my headlamp because of the added weight, as if by removing the headlamp I would become a CAT 1 racer. I've run over so much junk on Shary Road that I won't ride it in the dark without a headlamp. It ain't safe.

Unfortunately, my drivetrain was still slipping, even though I replaced the old chain. When I was in the little ring and higher (smaller) gears in the rear, the chain slipped like crazy. I made subtle barrel adjustments, with no luck.

So I rode up to Bike Masters, and there was a good crowd already. I saw folks from Team McAllen as well as several other RGV cycling clubs: Cactus Cruzers, River Rockets, and Sports Federation of the Valley. I asked the Major about my chain slip, and he suggested it was time for a new cassette, since I've never replaced it in the 2.5 years that I've been putting several thousand miles on the bike. I guess I'll have to consider that, but I hate to spend the money right now.

We rolled out at 6:30a or so, and it was still dark. My headlamp gave me nice illumination of the rider's butt in front of me, so I turned it off to save batteries. For the first 15-20 minutes, we rode at a nice pace that allowed us all to chit-chat and warm up. We then did a route that tooks us northwest, which was a welcome change from the normal ride to Progreso. Here's a link to the route map:

As we finished the warm up miles, I rode out with the faster group, and we ramped up to 23-24 mph up Conway and FM 2221. When 2221 turned south and turned into Jarachina Road, the group picked up the pace to near 30 mph, and unfortunately I was quickly dropped. Being dropped allowed me to enjoy the rolling hills and ranchland of Jarachina Road at a more leisurely pace of around 20 mph. I caught up to a friend changing a flat, let my heart rate slow as I waited on him, and we continued on to Expressway 83.

We rode a few miles, hoping to find a convenience store where we could wait on the lead group coming back. Instead, we saw them coming towards us, u-turned, and tried to latch on to 2 cyclists that dropped back to help us bridge the gap. I couldn't make it. I dropped again.

So I rode back the 30+ miles alone, which was fine. I passed a group of slower riders, which gave me a little misguided confidence. I finished the ride with an 18.0 mph average. The wind slowed me significantly on some sections of the return, but when I wasn't in the wind I felt good and was pushing 20-21 mph.

When I made it back to the shop, most of the fast group was still there. I grabbed a water and some granola bars, refueled then rode the 5 miles or so back home. My legs were a little rubbery, my kit was dripping sweat, but I felt great. It was a good ride, although I'm anxious to get my drivetrain repaired.
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What Can Cycling Do for You?

Cycling can improve your life in many ways. It helped me to do this:

February 2005, ~ 223 lbs.

Aug 2008, ~ 173 lbs.

Bike Shop Symbiosis

When I first moved to the Valley, there was only one bike shop: Bicycle World. It’s an all-around good shop, with a good variety of bikes, clothing, accessories, and competent repair service. They are a little pricey, but what LBS isn’t?

But since moving here and starting to ride with Team McAllen, I’ve wondered why there wasn’t a tighter affiliation between the cycling community and Bicycle World. Yes, they sponsored rides. Yes, they offered team discounts. This is MUCH appreciated.

On the other hand, one thing always bugged me – why didn’t they offer their store as a base for group rides? When I lived in Austin, I rode in a few group rides that originated at Nelo’s Pro Cycles. Austin Tri-Cyclist hosted well-known rides on the weekends. But as far as I know, not one non-charity group ride has originated from Bicycle World McAllen in the last two years.

I’m not a bike shop owner, but I would think that this is a great way to build business. You would probably sell the bejeezus out of water bottles, tubes, supplements, socks, and other last minute must-haves. At the end of the ride, you’d sell a little more. Plus, everyone would be super-thankful that you provided your restroom facilities. Instead, Team McAllen’s weekend rides start and end at a Burger King. I love the Home of the Whopper as much as the next guy, but somehow it’s just not a good fit.

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from the Team. Bike Masters, which is a new, smaller, but higher end shop, is hosting a ride tomorrow. Kudos to Bike Masters for their decision to embrace and support the local cycling community by opening their doors and supporting the very activity that drives their business. I’ve purchased a few things from them in the past, and their ride hosting will make me want to do more business with them. I hope that this ride, and those to come, helps their shop prosper.

New Rubber and Steel

Today or tomorrow, depending on available time, I’ll be doing one of the most frequent maintenance tasks in cycling: replacing my tires and chain. It’s a coincidence that this is happening at the same time, but I’m glad as it saves me time in the garage. Also, making a double swap like this gives me that new bike feeling. It’s sort of like when I pay for preventive maintenance on my truck. As I drive away, I’m always thinking ‘man this thing is driving better’, when really it’s not. The same thing happens when I change tires and / or the chain. I feel better about the bike, but I don’t think I can really tell the difference.

So here’s the nitty-gritty that all cyclists were thinking as they read the first paragraph – what tires and chain are you using? And here’s the answer:



What Tires?

I’m a cheapie when it comes to tires. I buy things on chainlove.com, performancebike.com, the LBS, and anywhere else I can find a sale on reputable brands. In my experience, there’s not that much difference in performance for MY KIND OF RIDING. If I were racing, my approach might be different. If I were riding really rough roads or strictly city routes, I might buy a different tire. But not right now.

So I’m currently riding on Continental Ultra Races. These have been pretty good, although I have a lot of cuts on the front tire, and have had 2 flats. One seemed to be a tube problem, the other was a ‘push through’ flat due to a through-and-through cut in the tire. I’m replacing these with Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps, which I picked up at Bike Masters (one of the LBSs) because I thought I got a good deal. This is probably too much tire for me, but like I said, I buy partially on brand and model, but with a heavy weighting to price.

And lastly, I’ve started buying black tires. My bike is black, with silver accents and just a touch of blue. In the past I’ve bought tires with grey accents, grey bar tape, and a few blue items. But now I’m leaning towards plain old black. It’s easier to find, and I’m not too picky.



And the Chain?

I purchase chains with a different set of criteria than tires. I buy high quality, serviceable chains that are easy to remove, clean, and replace. That limits me to a few brands, such as SRAM and Wippermann.

I’ve just about worn out my SRAM PC-1090 10 Speed PowerLock chain (sorry for the non-SRAM link, but just try to find the chain on SRAM's site). Speedo checked it with his chain tool when he serviced my bike before the San Antonio ride, and it was close to needing replacement. I’m hearing a lot of chatter and having trouble with derailleur adjustment, so I’m going to replace it.

But I really have come to dislike the SRAM chain. It requires a new PowerLock link every time I remove the chain for cleaning. That’s $3.50 or so each time I do a thorough chain cleaning. If I wanted to go through all that, I would use one of those wacky chain washers and just not remove the chain. But I would rather remove it and do a really thorough, soaking clean. So I’ve ordered the Wippermann 10S0 (steel) Connex chain. It uses a reusable link, and comes highly recommended.

I’ll have my own opinion on the new tires and chain shortly, which I’m sure to bore you with at a future date. Any comments or suggestions on my choices and logic are welcomed.