With the new chain and cassette installed and the Orbea more or less back in action, I finally grabbed the trusty old SpeedCific/Nimble wheelset I'd used at Six Gap and lifted it up to hang from the basement ceiling. When I did, I heard an unmistakable sloshing sound. The rims were still full of Dahlonega rain. How did I not hear that when I took them off the bike? I took the tires off the wheels, poured the water out through the valve hole, and left them to dry out. I guess I missed out on some of the superlight characteristics of those wheels last week. Anyway, I still need to change out the derailleur cables because things are definitely sluggish on the downshifts. Regardless, everything was working well enough.
This morning as I rode down the street on my way to meet the group on the levee, I came perilously close to turning around and going back to bed. It was dark and, at least by my standards, cold. I was wearing two jerseys and arm-warmers, and it probably wasn't any colder than 57F or so, but I guess it will take me a little while to acclimate. Actually, I hope I don't, because it'll probably be 80 degrees again in a few days. There will be plenty of time to acclimate in November.
Today's ride was remarkably sedate. Once again there was a pretty stiff wind blowing out of the northeast. Ordinarily, that would have made the ride out to the turnaround really fast, but nobody really seemed to be in the mood for a hammer session today. The pace got going pretty good, eventually, but was never really out of control. The ride back was a long slog with a headwind and/or crosswind that eventually split the group. I doubt we ever got much faster than 23 or 24 mph, but the wind was relentless. It was one of those rides where I was just going through the motions. By the time I was halfway home I was already thinking about which kind of coffee I was going to make.
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