FAWOFYW 05/10/2011

For the first time in six weeks, the weather was decent enough that the Tuesday night hammerfest out of North Park wasn't canceled. This was also the first night that we were in full-on, leave 'em for dead, Find A Wheel Or Find Your Way mode, so I was feeling a bit of trepidation as regards my utter lack of fitness. All in all, it could have been far worse. :)

The group split rapidly while still in the park; a few of us kicked it up to high 20s and left the pack behind. I managed to hold onto the leaders' wheels until traffic at the intersection of Wallace and English separated us; likely a good thing, as I was burning way too hot trying to keep up with the three leaders. After that, I was trapped at the traffic light on 19, so the rest of the group caught up.

(I was delighted that Chuck Kennedy had shown up on his Carbent; it was nice having someone there with a riding profile similar to mind.) Once regrouped, Chuck and I stuck together; flagrantly abusing the recumbent aero advantage, we left the group behind on Gamelands headed down to the Red Belt, then followed the tradition 36-mile route back to the park.

'Twas a nice ride...although I was still a bit sick from yesterday's 24-hour bug, and my ankle is NOT fully recovered from CtC, I managed to maintain a good solid 19 mph average over a reasonably hilly route, and felt strong at the end. Bodes well for the rest of the year.

The M5 CHR held up well; I jury-rigged a computer onto it 5 minutes before the ride, so my calibration may be a bit off; but the shifting has improved significantly since this weekend's tweaking. I'm still on the fence about swapping out the hamster steering for some tweeners...I think I'll give the hamsters a few more weeks, then swap out and see how I like it.

Inaugural FAWOFYW of 2011

Find A Wheel Or Find Your Way is actually bit of a misnomer, at least until slightly later in the season. It's the Western PA Wheelmen's Tuesday night fast ride out of North Park, and is usually spirited, but no-drop, until at least May. Once the switch gets thrown, though, it's pretty much Katie bar the door...

Anyway, I managed to make it out after work. Fred was leading the ride; myself and Tony were the sole participants, as the weather was cold and threatening enough to dissuade many of the regulars.

'Twas really pleasant...it'd been a while since I had a nice fast group ride, and the riding style was a good change of pace from A) commuting and B) sustainable stupid-distance.

The route was an abbreviated version of the usual; rather than head down State Gamelands and back up Conway Wallrose or Hoenig, we took Mingo to Knob via Pleasant Hill. Skipped Tech 21, too, which no-one seemed too distraught over. ;-)

Nice to blow the cobwebs off. The compact crank worked well, and I've finally gotten all of the fender rub adjusted away, so I guess it's time to trim stays and semi-permanently affix wire for tail light and whatnot. Just in time for the Pittsburgh Randonneurs Spring 200K this Saturday...