We have unseasonably cold weather for late April in what is likely that last clutches of winter. Blooming flowers did not get the memo. Fortunately it didn't hard freeze everywhere sufficiently to kill them:
Today was a short ride up the ATT and through Duke Forest. I mixed it up a little by riding in the gravel beside the trail. This paid dividends later.
I found the front derailleur shifter frozen hard. I found this in the middle of a very busy intersection while stuck in low gear creeping along. Oh well, I'll get there when I get there. After navigating traffic I found nice patch of grass to investigate the shifting dilemma. After some prodding I found two pieces of gravel nestled inside the derailleur mechanism wedging it in place. Two little pieces of gavel about half the size of a dime placed just right held the whole operation in low gear. This requires investigation to see if I can protect the shifting mechanism better. Another lesson learned.
It took a few minutes to repair shifting so I headed back home to secure a daylight finish. This is an interesting little piece of connector trail in Duke Forest. I think it is paved underneath several layers of sediment washed in from what has to be many rains.
In paying close attention recently I found my left pinky to pressing firmly against the outside of my shoe. This interferes with my downward power stroke. This in turn I think is contributing to my left knee issues. I repositioned the cleat once more slightly to the inside of the shoe and just behind the ball of my foot. I changed out shoe inserts as the new ones push my foot further to the outside. I'm going to give this a try and if problems persist the next step is 1/2 size bigger shoe.
I've also added leg exercises to better support my knees. Here's hoping. I'm finally getting a handle on GPS issues. I think I'm getting close to a final map using http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl . With good basemap the Adventure Cycling Association GPX tracks are much more manageable. This may alleviate the need to rebuild my own GPX files.
I was originally considering this week for a trip up the GAP/C&O. Pittsburgh got snow this week. I'm happy to not be on that trail just now.
Coming up on the todo list:
- new tank bag, handlebar bag, and top tube bag
- acquire and learn Steripen for water treatment - anyone have pointers?
- inline water filter
- more big miles - still hoping to do the TNGA route or GAP/C&O
- bike computer for GPS backup and reroutes
- new and longer hose for frame bag water bladder
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