With the La/Ms Individual Time Trial Championship coming up this weekend, I thought I should probably actually take a test ride on the TT bike that Courtney lent me. Ordinarily I'd just bolt a set of aero clip-ons onto my road bike about half an hour before the start, remove my water bottle cages, and go for it. I figured that the transition to Courtney's Cervelo P2 might require a little more acclimation, however. Since the bike has almost the exact same saddle height as my road bike, all I needed to do was take the pedals off the road bike and put them onto the TT bike. Naturally, that was a problem. My pedal wrench is so beat up and worn out, and my pedals so well welded into my crankarms after being bathed in sweat for six years, that they didn't want to come off, so, pending a trip to the bike shop for a new wrench, I went to Plan "B" and installed my antique Shimano/Look (aka "Lance Armstrong") pedals. They don't mate quite properly with the more modern "red" Look cleats that I use, but they're close enough for a training ride.
The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't read the stem-mounted computer without moving my head down, which of course means sticking the tail of my TT helmet up in the wind, so I'll have to move that onto the aero bar somewhere because without a computer to keep me honest my time trials tend to turn into sightseeing tours. The only other thing I noticed was that the saddle is tilted down a bit too much for me. I must say, I really liked being able to shift without getting off of the aero bars! That was a whole new experience! I thought it was interesting that I didn't really notice any difference with the non-round Rotor Q Ring chainring (or whatever brand it is) or the 650c wheels. Anyway, I'm sure that once I put on the TT wheels I'll go faster, if only in my own mind...
The current issue of CityBusiness has a short article on the proposed bike paths along with one of my levee ride photos. I thought it was funny to read that they think that they can put a striped 4-foot bike lane down Magazine Street! Who are they kidding? You can *barely* drive a car down Magazine Street. Of course if they eliminate parking, that would make for the necessary space, but with all the businesses on Magazine and no viable alternative parking, the chance of that happening is about the same as a snowball's chance in hell. I noticed that the reporter ditched all of my negative comments about the city's previous abortive attempts at metro bike lanes that mostly represented innovative ways of reprogramming federal funds to other uses (or pockets). That's OK. I understand the motivation to keep the spin positive.
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