Simple Pleasures
It's been an age since I went for a ride with some friends and came back with a metaphorical new bike. The weekend was 3peaks and friend Colin Dennis, author of the excellent Ernest Press Dorset Mountain Bike Guide. I was riding a friend's Santa Cruz Stigmata - a loaner so riding extra carefully and, well, just not quite at home. Bemoaning the gap in my cycling fleet.
Driving back after the race (Pleasure in lots of pain) Colin mentioned that he was selling his Kinesis Crosslight ... a while later while chatting about upcoming work, the Crosslight came up again and then I committed to buying the frame, fork and wheels. No details, no particular date for the transaction in mind.
A friend Jo has always impressed me with his ability to draw up lists for events and get excited about the preparation. My list:
* need STI's (units, not uncomfortable disorder), rear mech, chain/casette, cables ... bar tape ... ehm, Froglegs!
Initially, I was keen on the Microshift gearing system and would have gone for that, if ebay hadn't dangled some cheap Ultrega STI's at me and someone on Singletrackworld hadn't been selling an XT mech for, well, nothing really. Well, not nothing, ultimately, I WILL be fitting a mountain bike cassette for next year's 3peaks.
A few days of fun web browsing fulfilled my compliment of parts, then a steady trickle of parcels started arriving to my wife's dismay/kids joy - 'dad, it's still your birthday!!!'
Unusually, the BIG (kids in ecstasy- Dad!!! look what's in the hall!!!!) 48 hour parcel arrived in 34, so last night I started a two-day build, initially planning to build in a frenzy tonight for a shake down ride tomorrow. It is always a pleasure to have the time to lay composite parts out and plan. STI units and gear/brake cabling first (like eating your brussell sprouts before cheese mash). A mug of tea and time, plenty of time. Bed.
Today, I worked from home and spent a happy lunchtime hour wrapping bar tape and setting up Froglegs (easier than I'd been lead to believe). Riding the long way to get fish for dinner, the inevitables where ironed out, gears settled in, brake judder sorted. Like a pair of Levis, it never feels right until you put down some power tests and tweak accordingly.
So now, I have an excellent cx bike in my fleet and am about to fillet Sea Bass (today's catch) and get clothes ready for tomorrow morning's cx ride.
Simple pleasure.





