Shopping

Last Sunday I had a little shopping to do so I added the pack to my Portland and rode off to Cranberry (28 Miles). The weather was a mild 50 some degrees and it was partly sunny which made for a very enjoyable ride. I have my mp3 player loaded up with christmas music to get me into the "spirit". Rolling along Rt68 while listening to the Rat Pack Classics is a great way to spend a sunday afternoon if I must say.

Anyway I finally reached my shopping destination (Trek of Pgh Cranberry) where I picked up a new saddle, two tires for the commuter, a horn, and a floor pump. I loaded all this on to the rack with the help of a few bungee cords and realized that if I happen to tip over I'll need a crane to set my bike back up. It would be like dumping a full dresser Harley and expecting to bring it up on your own, yea right!

A nice shot of Bonnie, Me, & TJ. Ok Her name really isn't Bonnie but I don't think its my place to explain how this name came about or to even tell you her real name. Lets just stick w/Bonnie, ok? She ground up an excellent pot of coffee for the 3 of us to savor while talking shop. In fact she even doubled as the "hand" model in the following snapshots with the chain. She is a very multi-talented individual which is more than likely the reason she is working for the new store. ToP has the distinction of hiring top notch quality people that can be experianced by visiting any of their stores. But enough of that, now just before leaving we thought it best for me to install a new chain on the 10speed drivetrain of the Portland because the chain had some serious stretch.





TJ pulled out one of these newer Wipperman Connex 10 speed chains for me to try. Now the history of me and chains on this particular bike is well known to be short. Short as in the life span of the chains. I've replaced chains on this bike at least 4 times since purchasing it last February. We have verifyed stretch every time! No I'm not some abusive rider but maybe its because of the massive "storktorq" I'm capable of delievering, maybe?


Knowing that I don't ride this bike much in the summer, thats almost a chain a month! They have all been Dura Ace so why not try something else. We installed the new chain but not before removing the seatpost and rack because the bike was to heavy to stay on the Bike repair stand! After completion I again straddled the bike and rode off right from the shop repair area because Bonnie was kind enough to open the door for a clipped in exit!

I found myself stopping several times on the return trip to make adjustments as I found the chain not shifting smoothly. This is expected from a new installation especially since the cassette and chainrings are both worn. Never the less I'll give it some time before making any judgement on it. Once reaching the house I put the bike on a scale which stiffled me with the almost 45 pound reading! I wonder what the pros ride for training???

Thanks to TJ= chain install, Bonnie= coffee, & ToP for the parts.

stork