Desperate times call for desperate measures. The snow has kept me off the bike for 2 weeks, so last night I broke down and used the trainer. I’ve never much cared for the trainer. It’s exceptionally boring and unrelentingly grueling at the same time, which is a pretty unappealing combination. I lasted 30 minutes and 10 sweat-drenched miles on it, which is pretty good for me. Using a trainer is a much different workout than riding a bike under real conditions. It’s essentially a full-time grind, with no breaks that you would ordinarily get from riding down hills. It seems like a good way to build endurance, if I could somehow force myself to use it more regularly on days that I don’t ride.
One little bit of weirdness.. when I first went to shift gears, the bike wouldn’t shift. I looked down and realized that the rear derailleur cable was loose. At first I thought it had broken, but it was just loose. I have no idea how or when it happened. The only explanation I can think of, is that the cable slipped at the spot where it’s bolted to the derailleur. The bolt wasn’t particularly loose, but maybe the clamp wasn’t “clamping” it as well as it should have. At any rate, I reattached the cable and readjusted the tension, and all seems well now, but I’ll need to keep an eye on it.
I may attempt to ride to work tomorrow. Road conditions are not ideal, but they are slowly improving, and I think they’re finally at a point where I’d be comfortable riding. That, and I saw a guy riding through Relay yesterday on the way home, and I figure if the conditions are good enough for him, they’re good enough for me. Either that, or we’re both just nuts. Stay tuned.