Sunshine Threatens and an Introduction

I rode in to work today. The rain finally began to fall, melting much of the snow in the streets. The constant downpour combined with the poor road conditions made for quite a treacherous cycle. Still, it was exhilarating, being on a road bike for the first time since mid-December. I have taken the dual suspension RM out a few times in the snow--but that is a completely different type of riding. I have been pining for the long hard effort of a long solo road ride. Anyway, I got 15 minutes of it this morning, going "hammer and tongs" all the way, as H.G. Wells put it in "Wheels of Chance".



My winter commuter is a beautiful 2004 Jake the Snake with some fine upgrades. I just put on an ultegra drivetrain, including crankset (which I have been babying by cleaning and even pouring warm water over after a salt-filled excursion today!), and it has a significantly stronger wheelset than the one that came with, with an XT hub in back and a Ritchey hub up front. It also has a pair of ugly black fenders more or less permanently bolted to it during the bleaker months.

When I was 9 or 10 we used to call bikes that had fenders "fender bikes" (so apropos!); but that also denoted any bigger wheeled contraption (that was probably owned by your sister or a grandparent) that was actually embarrassing to be seen riding, fenders or not. This was the era when stingrays were giving way to BMX bikes (1979-1982). I am over all that fender shame (more or less--but they come off if the weather even threatens sunshine...) And anyway, this "fender bike" isn't so bad... I think the Jake is the one of the greatest bikes I have ever owned. If I could only have one, I think it would be a cyclo-cross. But thank the baby Jesus I don't have to choose just one.