Breaking in the new wheels!

Over Memorial Day Weekend -- which day? Sunday? We got to go for a real, change-of-scene bike-ride with No-H and 'the other' -- soon-to-be spouse J, in rur-burban Madison. I hear that turklets were seen en route. I missed them. I never see wildlife unless it's pointed out to me by, like, airport runway-guys with those flashlights. But my goodness what a fun ride that was. 14 miles, I'm told, of uppy-downiness. I got to ride up -- my favorite -- and I got to ride down -- really, really fast! Plus, the landscape is absolutely stunning in that part of Wisconsin.

But man am I slow! So the beloved grippy, anti-skid, nubby tires will be coming off. That change won't make me super-speedy -- it's not a race -- but I don't like it when people have to wait for me to catch up. I have a set of Continental Town & Country tires (who thought of this name?) on my old bike that I'll just move to the new bike. They're not slicks. I'm not too in favor of completely losing what I like most about having a mountain bike. But they have a lot less tread. Being slow was a little frustrating. It's not like I'm not in shape to do that kind of ride. I slept extra well that night, but had no muscle aches, chest pain or shortness of breath afterward. I guess I have to give some credit to the cup of ice cream I ate beforehand. I never bonked, and amazingly I didn't overheat. (I was told it was about 90 degrees F that day.) So. Roadier tires and higher psi for next time.

And more riding in the meantime. Because I love my new bike. It didn't take me long at all to bond with it.

Just heard that here was an accident in La Grange between a pedestrian and an Amtrak train this afternoon. I hate it when that happens. Heartbreaking.