n_maher

Yeah, I figured I scored pretty well on the wheelset but didn't know that they were quite that expensive. If you're patient I think you could probably find a similar deal if you can stomach something a litte more used than 200 miles. 25% off for something that's barely used seems like a pretty good deal. If you want an Apex compact for the Trek just let me know. I have one from when broke the big ring on my original crank that probalby has about 100 miles on it, tops. This morning's ride was effing cold - it was 26 when I left the house. It took a good 3 miles to get warmed up to the point where only my fingers were the only thing pissed off and another few miles before they warmed up. It was beautifully calm but at this point I'd really appreciate another 20 degrees or so given that it's damn near May. If the weatherman is even half-right I'll have a nice tail wind on the way home so there's that.

It was a good ride, despite the wind (data below). Don't panic Raf, the HR monitor went wonky about 3 miles in and showed a rather unrealistic HR for a bit. That's the second time that has happened with the Garmin strap. The first time I caught it quick and with minor repositioning it corrected itself instantly - hence me not being worried about the data. I have to wonder if it isn't a result of the low temps and no sweat at the start of the ride? Time may tell. And yes Chris, I have the SLs although I haven't put them back on the bike yet this year. At $750 I'm not sure I could have justified them, I paid about half that for my set which had "less than a season" on them. They were true and in very good shape when I got them and I've seen a few other sets on Paceline in that price ballpark. As for if they are worth it, I can't really say. I'm pretty much a caveman on the bike and not prone to noticing differences between things. Nate pedal. Nate pedal hard. That's about as technical as I get.

Had a pretty mellow ride with two of my "teammates" for the 3-notch ride in the fall. Some pretty good climbs on a 24mi loop with more wind than I would have cared for but that seems to be the norm this spring. Tomorrow's commute into work is looking like it's going to be another cold one...

My sentiment exactly.

Yeah, it's crazy. I was supposed to be headed into the city this morning for a meeting at noon time which has been cancelled. I hope they catch the second suspect soon with no more bloodshed.

Brent, I'm with Vicki in thinking that your back is likely to be the issue. I'd plan on a solid 2-1/2 hours of saddle time and probably more like 3-1/2 hours for the ride (with the inevitable stops). If it weren't for your back I'd say it would be a non-issue but I think the wise choice might be to proceed with caution and get some medium length (15-20mi) rides in before launching into 30+ territory.

and just like that they retract the statement saying that no arrests have been made. I hate the 24 hour news cycle.

I just heard on the local radio that there is a suspect in custody currently on the way to the courthouse for arraignment this afternoon. We'll see if that pans out as well.

Pete also has a PCB for a simple LV reg that looks like it'd work well for this application too, or even something like a TREAD is likely to work better than a generic wallwart. Shit, I think I used to sell the sigma 11's that I built for a few folks for way less than $129. And I love the part about flip the plug around to determine the correct polarity and which sounds best. Major WTF.

Chris, That looks like fun, but I'm not fond of throwing dirt climbs into rides like that. I don't mind hammering on my bike, to a degree, but neither your nor my bike are up for much cyclocross style riding. My brother and I are thinking about doing a ride this year called the Vermont Six Gap. It's 132 miles, 11,700+ feet of climbing. Sounds fun.

I that whole stack.

At your weight I'd talk to a builder. I made the same recommendation to a friend who's 250 or so. And do it soon, the stronger you get the more likely you are to break a spoke and have something bad happen.

Rode into work again this morning. It was 28F out according to the thermometer at the house and the Garmin confirmed that it was effing cold with an average temp for the ride of 35F. Where is spring? The ride home was better at 52F but much more windy. Still a good day of riding and I'm so far ahead of both mileage and pace compared to last year that I really should shut up.

Heard about this when I got home from work. Don't know anyone running this year but my sister in law was at the finish (she works downtown) shortly before this all went down. Thankfully she was well clear by the time that this happened.

Happy Birthday, Jeffy!

Haj, For me the decision not to go FF when I upgraded from the D80 came down to not only future lens choices but what I already owned. In your case, you've got a 18-200 VRII which is the lens that I use (albeit the VRI version) 99% of the time. Would you get better results shooting with a prime? I don't know. I know that I tried shooting with primes and hated it, but I'm lazy and thankfully completely comfortable with my laziness. But generally speaking everything for the FF bodies tends to be more $$. At least that's what I found when I looked into it and I'm just not willing to rebuy the kit that I already have. Maybe someday, but not anytime soon. FWIW I also asked a couple of pros and their advice was to stick with DX if for no other reason that it yields a lighter setup.

Somewhere Chris had posted a link to the place where his team orders gear, maybe that's worth looking into?

Nice rides Chris and Bryant! Me - just got back from my 25 mile loop. Windy and pretty cool, but a good pace ride. Didn't want to push too hard since the plan is to ride into work again tomorrow and I need to be better at working back up to speed. Edit - definitely in a for a jersey and it'd be sweet if Ed could be bribed into cooking something up. Wouldn't mind spending a bit more to get a decent piece as well, $30 seems, well a bit too cheap?

Sorry for your loss, Dan. Sounds like you have some great memories even without the pictures.

You clearly need more business related expenses, Justin. Like, I dunno, maybe a Lambo or two?

Sadly it's not looking very good for me right now. My copilot had to bail out, stupid vacation, and I'm not sure I'm up for doing the 10hr drive in one day and staying down has been ruled out.

This.

Strikes me way too much like a Timex Indiglo watch.

Vicki, I saw that and thought of you. Every Kirk is a one-off original, I wouldn't sweat that you aren't getting a badge on yours or some never to be duplicated whatever bits.

Serious ouch.