Good

As predicted my weekend was fantastic. Saw my kids, got to tickle and tease my grand kids, ate too much, got some great rides in, and I spent time with friends.
Today was for recovery. Clouds moved in as I moved out, but maybe 10 drops at most. Roads didn't even get wet. 37/16.5

While Working Today

Beautiful Easter Ride

Took the fast bike out and met up with Amy. She whole-heartedly approved of the new build. I'm lucky to have such a good friend.
Lots of talk, lots of blue sky, lots of enjoyment, with buds popping, green emerging, more leg showing, spring's hold seems to be more and more sure everyday. 50/18.6

First Hundred Of The Year

Wind was screaming out of the west today consistently blowing between 15-25 mph. Apparently that wasn't enough, gusts of 30-35 mph were also necessary.
5 showed 3 finished. Charles needed to get home a little early. He had some lame excuse. Something about needing to catch a flight for Florida that departs at 4:30 today. He's going on a cruise.
Out of the 100 miles ridden 60 were either directly into the wind or we were echelon-ing.
It was just 3 of us at 30 miles. I came out of this scenario pretty good as I was the shortest out of the 3. I'm 6 feet tall, and these boys are strong.
It was really just about watching the wheel in front of you, and taking your turn up front. The wind turned rollers into mountains. We are good cyclists, but I'd look down at my computer and see 14 mph and even 10 mph. I started to wonder if the ride would ever end.
At 50 miles we stopped to refuel. Pretty much just cross wind left. We took up 3/4 of our side of the road in our echelon formation and were now able to manage 20-21 mph. The noise in our ears was mind numbing.
Finally we came up on County Road 122, our turn east. We'd done our time, the shackles were off. 28 mph was now conversation pace, when just before 14 mph had kept us silent. We were flyin', free...felt soooo good. We could hear again, hear that beautiful sound of the tires humming on the asphalt. I sneaked a look at our average speed. It was 18.9. I felt pretty good about that, and allowed myself the thought that 20 mph was doable by the end of this effort.
BK had a light jacket on. Into the wind the front of it was plastered against him and from his shoulders back, it was flappin' like crazy, making that irritating sound. Now going 25 mph it fell silent and virtually motionless.
Started feeling those last 20 miles, even though they were wind aided. The small inclines were inflicting quad pain, and there was definitely heavy breathing going on, but we dug deep and persevered. Nobody was giving up.
We were all smiles at the end, congratulating each other, and acknowledging the hard effort. The wind didn't beat us, we didn't give in. This will be a memorable ride for me. 102/20.2

Friday Night Ride Pics

Got to do all the stuff I love today. Spun around the lakes on my fixed gear De Rosa for a few miles, took some photos, and then stopped at the bookstore and picked up a couple of new novels. Finished the day off with some hot homemade chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven. Yeah, I put some homemade vanilla ice cream on them...got kind of melty...oooohhhh yeah!
Maybe 10 miles tonight.

Clouds Over Lake Of The Isles

Sunset Over Lake Of The Isles

I'll be hanging out with the kids and grand kids on Easter. 100 miler tomorrow. This is gonna be a goooood weekend.

The Tweak Is Done

So there's no trimming mechanism on the DA 7900 front derailleur. I spent a good hour fine tuning that derailleur this afternoon. I got it so that the chain guide rubs only a little in the 12 and 11. That wasn't unusual with the 7800 either. I'm a little nit-picky when it comes to my bikes, don't like squeaks, tics, rubbing, or any noise other than the hum of the tires on the asphalt. I was very pleased with Orca's (fast bike) performance tonight.
Near 80. Downed a whole bottle of water on a 2 hour ride. Lake ice has been gone for two or three days now, but the breeze is still cool off the lakes. Just did my usual spin along the greenway, Mississippi, Minnehaha Creek and Lake Harriet, Calhoun and Isles. 37/17.2

???

Pulled out the instructions trying to improve the trimming adjustment, and found this statement:
To improve gear shifting performance, the SIS adjustment method for the FD-7900 front derailleur is slightly different from previous derailleurs. In addition, the trimming mechanism has also been abolished to improve shifting performance.

OK that explains why I'm having problems with it trimming.

It Is Done

Met up with an old buddy at the Depot and rode about 20 miles with him. We haven't seen each other for a year, so it was nice to catch up. He's just getting into cycling, so we kept it simple, which I try to do anyways, around the lakes and along the greenway.
We got together about 3:30. I'd been working on the bike build, but wasn't quite done with it. All that still needed to be done was program the computer and tape the bars. When I got back from my ride with Andy I finished everything up on the build and took the finished product out for a test drive. 40/16.8
Pre-Test Ride

Post Test Ride

Everything was dialed in just right. I was careful to use the same measurements from my CAAD9. The only problem is from the front derailleur. The trimming isn't working right, and I get a little chain rub on the chain guide. I stopped at Mid-Town Freewheel and borrowed a Phillips screw driver to put an end to the rubbing.

D/A 7900 is fantastic! The clean look from routing the cables along the bars is something I've wanted since I started cycling.

The frame is as stiff, quick and responsive as my Arin was, and is not nearly as sluggish on the hills as my CAAD9 is. Now I've just got to get the sludge out of my legs.

Oh yeah. The bike as you see it weighs 1.60 pounds less than my CAAD9.