Feeling Like Summer

It's really been feeling like summer around here lately. The air-conditioners are humming, the air positively reeks of Jasmine and Ligustrum, and I've already forgotten where I left my knee-warmers. Yesterday's long ride was remarkably smooth and civilized. The biggest surprise was that we caught the tail end of a freak rain shower when we were about halfway out. The long stretch of wet road and light rain was enough to get my feet wet and make a complete mess of the bike. I was riding the Cervelo on Tuesday since I'd discovered last weekend that the Orbea had suddenly developed an alarming amount of chain stretch. Well, anyway, it seemed sudden. When I got home I sprayed the bike with the garden hose to get most of the dirt and grit off.

So since I had a new Campi narrow chain on hand, I changed it last night and crossed my fingers. I had a feeling I'd waited a bit too long, and sure enough it was skipping on a couple of cogs this morning. Damn. When even the cheap cassette costs around $90, this kind of thing really hurts. Maybe I just need to set up an automatic reminder in my calendar to change my chain every couple of months. I would have gone ahead and ordered one last night except for one thing. My debit card is currently in limbo. It seems that some criminal got hold of the card information and went on a little online shopping spree yesterday. I caught it around noon when I got an order confirmation email for something I hadn't ordered. So now I have to get my card re-issued and then wait for the 'pending' transactions to clear so I can have the bank dispute the charges. What a PITA. When I got home there was a voicemail from the bank's fraud department, so at least they are more or less on top of things, although it would have been a lot more helpful if they'd called my work number and sent an email.

Anyway, today's ride was pretty nice, if for no other reason than the fact that it wasn't windy for the first time in weeks. We had a decent group and the pace was smooth and steady except for a nice little surge near the end. I think I'll try and get out to the lakefront after work to put in a few extra miles. I have to drive over to Ft. Walton this weekend, so I don't know what kind of riding I'll be able to get in. Meanwhile, I noticed that the trusty old Campi Ergobrain had hit 86,000 miles. I have no idea why that image came out sideways.