I dropped the my Specialized Langster off at Bike Haven in Fairhaven, New Jersey last Saturday. The weather was miserable and I knew I need to have my bike tuned up. The chain was sagging and I did not have any more room on the drop out to tighten it up. I have also noticed an annoying creak in the bottom bracket. I had been putting the work off because I did not want to miss a single riding opportunity. Of course Sunday morning turned out to be a good riding day (the tempurature dropped quickly later in the day as a storm moved into the area).
Garrett is the wrench turner at Bike Haven and he has done some work on my bike before. I stopped into the shop over the summer and I had him install a new computer. He also did a small tune up with the bike was on the rack. This time I want the whole thing. My goal was to fix some of the issues that I have been having. I knew that I need a new chain and I was thinking that I might have to replace the bottom bracket. The lights in the repair shop showed that the rear tire was well worn. Garrett suggested buying a new Continental Grand Prix 4000 for the front and moving the much new Contintental Grand Prix 4000S from the front to the back. As much as I would like to have matching tires on my bike I could not see spending an extra $60 and replacing a perfectly good tire. I will get it next time.
Since I have been traveling during the week I knew that I would would not be able to pick the bike up until the weekend. I just made it into Bike Haven before they closed a 6 PM on Friday. I was impressed with the look of the bike. It actually looked better then new. The new chain and cog shined (I am still using the freewheel side) . The rear hub now rests at the front of the dropout. I could not wait until I could get my next ride in. The weather report for Saturday said that it was not going to be much warmer than freezing but I was hopeful that it would at least be sunny.
I woke up at 7:30 am this morning (Saturday) with the sun shining. I could tell it was cold (around 20 F). I bought some wool socks and a pair of thermal tights at Performance Bicycle in Richmond, Virginia last week. I have not yet got a set of booties but I was hoping that these two items would be an improvement over the lighter tights and cotton SIDI socks I have been using.
I was not able to get out on the road until arount 1 PM since I spent the morning running errands. While it was cold I felt pretty good and I took off on my usual route. As I was heading through Colts Neck I was thinking I might head out through Little Silver and Rumson. I was thinking that I might come back via Navesink River Road but my right toes started freeze up and I could not them to warm up. When I got to Laird Road I made the left hand turn that made it a 28 mile ride rather than the right hand turn that would have been much longer.
While I saw a group of riders on Holland Road while I was running errands I did not see any other riders while I was out on my ride. There are a couple of group rides scheduled for 8 AM on Sunday morning. Since it is supposed to be nasty in the afternoon I am going to get up early and get another ride in. I have Monday off so I am hoping I can get 3 days of riding in. Otherwise I will be heading to the gym. Three days of riding in February would be a nice treat. I am willing to settle for two.
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