Sunday Stroll

Doing the Huck Finn

Ever have one of those days when the victory is just getting out the door? A little tired still from Thursday's redlining with the SBHs, I just wanted to get loose and get some miles in tonight. Not quite sure how, but I ended up with an 18.6 average, which means the bike trail part of the ride must have averaged around 19.5, so I guess I put in a pretty good effort. In spite of modest expectations, it turned out to be a very nice ride.

As promised, I stopped and took some pictures of William Pond. This is the namesake of William Pond Park. I thought it might be spring fed, but I was told it is fed by feeder pipes bringing water over from the American River. I got there 1:45 minutes too early for really great pics, but will have another go at it soon.

While I was taking the picture I met a pensioner on an old steel bike that needed some TLC. He told me his name was Tom. We talked for 20 minutes, and he was happy for the company. He has an odd ailment - he retains potassium - so I'm going to try to help him with his diet. He promised to give me a shout out if he sees me on the trail, and I will do the same. His wife is reportedly a great cook, so maybe I'll trade dinner for tuning up his bike. For all of his physical limitations, he seemed quite confident in his 30+ mile ride. What a great attitude!

Speaking of the SBH, I asked, and as I suspected, they don't want people riding with aerobars in peletons, unless they are out front pulling. I use my handlebars, especially the drops, so infrequently that I have pretty much ignored their positioning. Riding fast on the hoods and drops with SBH was a lot harder though as the bar was positioned so poorly.

I repositioned the bar downward at the brake blocks, which put the tips up a bit, and importantly, the flat handgrip now fits reasonably well. The hoods are down too far, but I'll wait on that until I retape the bars.

Meanwhile the aerobar position is unchanged and I can now effectively use the drops. I made it a point to ride in them as much as possible, trying to ignore hands that wanted to go numb to develop more power in that position. We'll see how it goes on Thursday.