One overhaul please!

Extra sleep in a warm bed vs. a cold team ride is always a hard decision, but I certainly feel better when I pick the latter. Today we did a nice 40-45 mile loop from Bothell out to Snohomish and back. It was one of those nice epic days for me. My old Giant is in pretty poor shape and all I could notice most of the ride was how much noise my chain and drivetrain were making. With about 15 miles left in the ride, mostly uphill, my bike quit shifting into any easy hillclimbing gears. Riding up hills with a 30 cadence in a great big 'ol gear while barely maintaining 4-5mph is awesome fun! Given my recent laziness, my legs are pretty fatigued after a typical 40 mile ride, so this was extra punishment.

With about 8 miles left we stopped to assist a teammate with a flat and then I noticed that the quick release skewer on my bike tire looked funny. Hmmm, rewind to last night when I put on brand new tires and tubes. Yeah, the skewer looks like it's going the wrong direction because I never secured it! That's right, I rode about 35 miles today with my rear tire "kinda tight" but not locked down. Brilliant! I guess luck was on my side :)

I've had more than enough drivetrain trouble with the Giant, especially since I crashed it last December. It's gotten me over 2500 miles mostly in crappy weather, so I felt like it deserved a nice overhaul. It's over at Sammamish Valley Cycle until Monday getting stripped naked. I probably should have had it overhauled a long time ago. It'll be just like getting a nice new shiny bike (without the carbon fiber).

Back to work now! Marcus and I have been working like crazy on the bathroom and wet bar. I'm sure I'll have some pictures soon...