Beers and Bikes...

Ah...

An evening around the apartment riding inside, then having a couple of beers, and then putting the finishing touches on my new cyclocross bike. I don't think there is a better thing to do on a Wednesday night. I had to cancel the red headset and stick with a regular black Chris King. It looks fine anyway. Here's the finished product.



I may actually ride into school today since it is supposed to be around 50 degrees tomorrow. A new product we at the shop are excited about is the new SKS "Race Blades" fenders that can be set up to be removable. Pretty cool design that can hang out in the closet when the weather is nice. I'll see all of you Ohio folks this weekend as I will be down for some great Jazz at the Blue Olive in Canton on Friday night.

Biology News!

Some things have popped up in the news recently which I find pretty cool. A grad student out west captured footage of a wolverine in the Sierra Nevada mountains outside of Reno, NV. It's the first documented siting in quite some time (I think 40 years). Instant publication would be wonderful! Other researchers in Ithaca, NY are testing a vending machine for crows. Imagine the money that could be made from pigeons in the big cities!

http://www.wireless.is/projects/crows/

(thanks for the link Erin)

That's all for now as I am off for lecture...

New Bike Parts!

Nothing makes your bike happier than outfitting it with a whole new component group. The rest of my components cam in and I had a chance to install them before heading down to Ohio for the end of my Spring break. I had some plans for some long road rides, but weather would not cooperate, just like it has been doing all winter, so I tried out the new SRAM Force group on the trainer. The preliminary thoughts are that SRAM got it right the first time with this group. The shifting has a stiffer tactile response than Shimano and after a couple of minutes, you get used to the double tap system. I was not surprised with the functionality because I have been a SRAM proponent since the inception of Gripshift (and yes that dates me a little.) Overall the bike is much sweeter, and break was great for all the galivanting around town off the bike. Now if only my headset would come in, then I could gush about the 'cross bike...