So far, nobody had messed with the bike at any of my lock-up locations. I am reminded almost daily by facebook reports and by yesterdays break-in of the neighbor's construction trailer, that thieves are everywhere. It my be more of a "when" my bike is stolen or picked apart rather than "if". The best protection though seems to be to not park it out overnight or at any of Denton's hipster bars. Many of the FB reports I see are of $1K bikes stolen off of the Denton square from a ten dollar lock. I used to think that the chameleon nature of the old Trek would not catch the attention of the bike thief, however these guys seem to be stealing for components as much as whole bikes. I think this topic deserves a separate post.
The 20-ish year old bike seems to be holding up. There is a lot of frame flex when I power up-hills, which is normal for chrome-moly chassis. However, I seem to be getting some play in the head-tube and am wondering if the bearing cups are stretching or cracking the tubing there? Regardless, there is a head tube tear-down in my near future. Perhaps once the weather turns long enough for a complete overhaul.
This does have me thinking of new and shiny things... I would like a little more aggressive road style geometry, and I am starting to wonder about a gravel/cross style road bike. Basically a road bike with a touring style frame and more robust wheels for the crappy roads and trail. Also, I may even justify this based on
How am I holding up? I'm doing okay, nay I am doing well! A 33 mile heat ride this week has me generally tired, but feeling well prepared for the Hotter N' Hell Hundred race on the 27th of this month. As mentioned, for DFW, this is predicted to be the hottest day of 2016, a predicted 103/104 degrees with a 111-ish heat index. Overall my biggest physical concern is related to the sun. It is hot, but that is obvious. But the sun's rays are cooking my flesh, and this is compounded by regularly forgetting sunscreen. Today I brought a spray on 70SPF to leave at the office with the hope that convenience of the spray will outweigh the perceived shortcoming of the product over the cremes, especially if used daily.
I have added errands or a little extra distance to my rides, as I try to push the exercise benefits and to see what is really practical. I did make a grocery stop for produce on the way home one day last week. I was a bit rankled at the thought of locking the bike up at a grocery store, eventually choosing target over wal mart. I'm not sure if one is any better than the other, but I really do not want to ever mutter the words "My bike was stolen at wal mart yesterday." I will likely ride the extra half mile to a Kroger going forward. I am working on a pannier liner made from one of the cold food grocery bags you see at the grocery store to help keep the food acclimatized for the 30 minutes remaining on the commute. Between that and my lunch box, I should do okay.
Next topics: Security, Seasons, Nutrition in no particular order.
