Fast and Single
Franz| August 31, 2007 9:34 pmSince we bought the tandem nearly a month ago all the rides that Ann and I have done together have been on the tandem. We thought it was time for her to ride her single bike again, to keep her bike handling skills sharp. So we set out this morning for an easy ride around the reservoirs. We decided to go up Mantelli, a rather steep climb. I looked over while we were climbing and saw that Ann was in her middle chainring. Wow. It was not more than a few weeks ago when she was going up that hill when she had a hard time in the granny gear. As the ride progressed it was clear to me that Ann had really improved her biking. While riding on the tandem I knew we were fast and were climbing well, but it was when we go on the single bikes that it was very clear how much she had progressed. The ride pace was a lot faster than what I expected and I certainly did not wish to go any faster today.
After circling the resivour, we went right on Sycamore then up a short but steep climb. We then went up Blue Bell, a very steep hill. I had Ann go into the small chain ring for that but even then she did not use the largest cassette. Blue Bell is steeper than any part of the Metcalf climb.
Ann’s bike was making a ratling noise all the way so I spend some time when we returned home to track it down. I traced it to the cassette so I removed and and reinstalled and made sure it was tight with the torque wrench. It now seems to fit snug enough and no rattle. When we get it out on the road again I will be able to verify that.
I have a long club ride tomorrow that I am leading, so it will be next week before we have a chance to ride together on single bikes.
Categories: Cycling
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