It's been a while. I got home on August 9 but my bike was delayed. I got a phone call from FedEx while on the train between Boston and Chicago because the shipping label had been damaged beyond recognition. So FedEx didn't know where and to whom it was supposed to go. Maybe they didn't know it was heavily insured, either.
On August 9, before FedEx finally delivered my bike, I had a road
bike appreciation day. I set out on the same route with my mountain
bike and had a little crash. I got a few scrapes and a bruised leg
which became a large hematoma. Walking was painful, to say the least,
but now it's mostly healed.
A few days later and a few days late, my road bike arrived. I took it to my bike shop to be checked and tuned. After I got it back, I was putting new rubber on the rear wheel when the rear brake brake became loose although the bolt was tight. The fitting that allows a brake bolt to work with a carbon frame, the bits that must be glued onto the frame to make this work, finally let go. If this had happened during my summer ride, the bike would have been unridable and probably unrepairable, too. I took it to the bike shop and advice was sought from Colnago. That took weeks because Colnago has been having personnel changes. The advice was delivered and acted upon. Now I have my bike to ride as described below.
I started out in bright sunshine but the rain that has been flooding a large part of Colorado is not done yet. With threatening clouds looming in the southern sky, I hurried home toward the south and into the rain. I started getting wet with about 5 miles to go and rode the last half-mile in a deluge of drops that felt like hail but weren't.
The bike path has quite a few rough spots where it was flooded. Where the path is bordered by gravel and sand, there are much gravel and sand on the path. Where it's bordered by earth, there is mud on the path. One section was closed with no clue about a detour. The Garmin is not very useful when lost and I saw exactly where to go when I got home and looked at a map. The road is a better bet for a while.
I wondered why my heart rate was suddenly much lower on the summer trip. It was seldom above 110 for the whole trip and the daily average was frequently about 100. Now it's back up to normal with an average rate today of 117 with the last 20 minutes over 137. I still guess that altitude is the cause.
There has been some e-mail traffic among the America by Bicycle group. I wonder why they don't use ABB's Facebook page.
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