All the Small Things

I have so many little tasks to catch up on, (besides the endless laundry), so today is one of those days where I'm trying to fill in some of the gaps. I had a "test day" yesterday on the computrainer with coach Shayne, so I've had a small break from the bike. (I have a 75 mile ride on tap for tomorrow, so I'm catching my breath today.)

Ethan is out in Montana riding the MS Global with Bill and Tyler Hamilton. He decided to take his bike on the plane with him to Montana... whereas I'm trying to decide whether it's easier to ship the bike out to California for the EOD Ride, or not. I'm on a JetBlue flight out of Boston, non-stop, the morning of October 10th, and have visions of arriving in San Diego while Skipper lands in Houston. I've called Adams Avenue Bikes out in San Diego to make shipping arrangements, but the person I need to speak to just hasn't been available when I've called -- and the time difference keeps tripping me up. I may have no choice but to take it on the plane anyway. I'm going to try and give Adams Avenue another call today.

Shayne took me to task yesterday for having a dirty bike. (I was riding through downpours last week! Of course it was a mess!) He looked at it and asked when I last cleaned the chain... and it hadn't actually been that long... but he scowled when he asked me, and I just couldn't defend myself. I could picture him polishing his Tommaso after each and every ride. (He's kind of a nerd that way.) So I spent 45 minutes cleaning and lubing the chain and washing down the bike today. Now it's all sparkly.

I also added an aerobar to the bike to try and catch a little relief during long stretches. Ever since I changed my riding position, my right hand and arm have been going numb after each long ride. (On Sunday, near the end of the Ride for Angels, my right hand was so numb, I couldn't shift gears. I had to reach over with my left hand to change gears on my right shifter. Crazy.) A few Spiders (Tracy and Serie), both suggested adding an aerobar to help relieve some of the pressure on my right hand. Noted and done.

Sadly, I had to remove my bike bell to add the aerobars. (Sigh. Shayne wins.)