I enjoyed coaching the kids, and most of them improved greatly. It was also nice to actually WIN.
Yeah, I know they're 9/10 y.o. kids, but there's no reason not to play to win. Fuck all that "everyone gets a trophy" crap. That's what has created 'special snowflake' children, who become millennials...but that's another discussion for another day.
And #2 son was pursued, again, to play on the traveling team. We took the pass though, for several reasons.
Now I can get back to riding long on Saturdays, instead on being limited to early morning, full power dashes.
That being said, I DID get a full week on the bike this past week.
3 CX rides, including early Saturday morning, and a longer than usual mid-week road ride to shake down the 11v stuff on the Ridley. We'll get to that in a moment...
Did a LONG, solo, CX ride yesterday, and summarily got my ass kicked by the wind, and one of the dirt roads that I frequent. Seems the County thought it necessary to put crush and run over the entire length. The stretch just was NOT fun. I'll skip it next time out.
Twas quite green out on the dirt though...
Upon returning back to Service Course, I realized that I've ridden the tread off the rear Clement LAS on the CX bike since I got back outside after surgery. A new one is on the way. If you have a CX bike, and haven't ridden these tires, you should. Trust me on this one.
There's a LOT of style going on in this photo. A LOT!
Now, back to the shakedown of the 11v Ultegra. First, it's dead easy to set up. Easy peasy.
It shifts great...better than 10V 7900 D/A. There's been a LOT of trickle down from D/A in the 11v Ultegra. Lots o' carbon bits...
The levers are WAY different than the 10v D/A I've ridden for years. That took a minute to get accustomed to. They're longer (more reach) and smaller in diameter, thus, they feel slightly smaller in the hand.
Everything was copacetic...except something that I changed, and shouldn't have...
I installed aftermarket, ceramic, aluminum pulleys. While they spin like no one's business, they just didn't work with the R/D and chain.
The new 11v chains are directional, thus the inner and outer plates are different. The stock lower pulley is shaped to deal with this.
The ceramic units were not, thus, when shifting in the upper end of the cassette, the chain jumped the pulleys, and wedged itself between the pulley and the R/D cage. Not good...
Actually a good way to shear off a R/D.
Once back, I swapped the stock units back in, and everything SEEMS to be in order. We'll see...
FYI, the stock units are sealed bearing. No more bushings.
I pulled the seals, and both were a little lacking in the lube department. I smashed in a bit of FSA ceramic grease, and put the seals back on. They spin similarly to the ceramic units.
Sometimes (most times), it's better not to overthink things...
Happy Monday! It's nice outside (here). I'm doing nada today, other than watching The Boss finish laying the 1400 pavers she had delivered for her patio rehab. You have fun with that dear...
#RideDon'tPose
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