It was good while it lasted

I know this is the crudest, most Busch League photo slidshow ever, but I had some time over lunch, and thought I'd give Window's Movie Maker a shot. I realize now that I should've left well enough alone. Some would say, don't even post it, but then it would have been a complete waste of time. So for your viewing pleasure, I present the Lotus Send Off Video. You may have guessed that I have no music on my work computer except the sample songs, so no, classical music was not my first choice for this piece, but I had to work with what I had. Enjoy.

The Lotus and I Conquer the Duece

20 Mile Ride...Check
Proper Send off for the Lotus... Check
Holding back the tears as Becky drives away with the Lotus...Check

As I had mentioned yesterday, I wasn't going to return the Lotus to Larry without a proper send off ride. I hadn't yet done a 20 mile ride, so that was the target last night. I know that I already spilled the beans, but here's the full story.

We were having some furniture delivered so I was stuck inside, envying the beautiful day outside until Becky got home and relived me. I tied on my Nikes, pumped up the tires, and then realized that I had a mileage issue. There is no way that I was going to move my computer to the Lotus for one ride, but I wanted to make sure that I cleared 20 and I wanted to document the ride properly to ensure credit for the mileage challenge. Enter the GPS.

I pulled our Garmin out of Becky's car, and reset the trip settings. The Garmin Nuvi, a wonderful device that makes a great wedding gift (thanks again Jamie and Dolan), measures everything that I needed; mileage, speed, average speed, total trip time and total trip moving time. Perfect. So I pulled my under seat bag from the GT and put it on the Lotus. My cell, and the GPS got shoved into the bag, and off I went. Here's the starting picture. I headed out of the neighborhood and was feeling good. The bike was actually shifting properly, my bike mechanic work paid off for a change. It wasn't until the first hill I came upon that I realized why I wanted to ride this trusty steed one last time. Having to reach for the shifters on the down tube was a total pain, but it made me appreciate the GT and all the creature comforts it has brought me. Gotta love a good upgrade but it sure is easy to forget how good you got it.

I stopped a few miles into it to make sure the GPS was working, it was, exhibit A. So there we were, cruising along, wind in our hair, living the dream. She was actually riding very well, and it felt like we were going pretty fast. We were doing the same down and back loop that normally turns out to be 16 miles, but I took a few side street diversions to add some mileage to it. Here is a picture right after the halfway point. Yes, this is over docmented to be sure, but I thought I'd err on the side of caution. I didn't want my brothers to have any reason to not allow this mileage. This should pretty well prove that I didn't drive around town going 15 miles an hour for an hour and a half.

So things were going well, but I was starting to realize that there were good reasons why I upgraded.

1. It's not my bike.
2. I like to shift whenever I feel appropriate. (while fixed, still tough dealing with the down tube)
3. I like to be able to stop whenever I feel appropriate. (the lotus has some dodgy brakes)
4. Water bottles cages are a good thing to have on a bike. (by this point I was seriously craving some agua)
5. A bike that actually fits is a good thing. (I didn't realize how crunched up I was on the Lotus until I got on a bike that's my size.)
6. Leather and metal toe clips. (yes, I'm totally loving my clipless pedals)

But it's not all bad, there are some things that I'm going to miss.

1. The unbelievably loud and satisfying CLANG when shifting gears. Seriously, people have turned to see what the heck it was they just heard.
2. The sense of authenticity that comes with riding a 30 year old "race" bike.
3. Uhhhh...that's all I can think of, but it's better than nothing.

So, at the halfway point, my moving average was actually 17.6 miles an hour, way faster than my rides on the new bike. Interesting, but not really a scientific study. I think I was a little amped up for this farewell ride, and the wind was at my back the first half of the ride. By the time I made it back home my average was 16.2 and we had made it 20.5 miles. Mission Accomplished. I can now return the Lotus feeling like we completed our journey and now I'm ready to return to my new bike for good. I guess it goes without saying that the max speed on the GPS was not set by the Lotus and me. 86.9 miles an hour, must've been Becky driving.

The Final Ride

My Last Night with the Lotus.

Tonight I have to say goodbye. Becky is heading up to her parents this weekend, which means the Lotus is going with her. She leaves tomorrow afternoon, so if I hope to get in a final ride it has to be tonight. She (the Lotus not Becky) deserves to be back with her rightful owner and I know that Larry will get some good use out of her as the weather in Ithaca is warming up, but it's still a little sad none the less.

I'm going to get in 20 miles tonight on the weathered beauty if it kills me. I gotta send her off proper and this is the best way I can think of. I'll be fighting back the tears, but we'll have a great last hurrah.

The Lotus Rides Again

I think I Fixed It.

Finally got my hands dirty and fixed the shifting problem that the Lotus was having. The reason that I tinkered with it in the first place you might recall, was because the gears would shift by themselves. Funny if your watching a Disney kids movie, not funny if you are climbing a hill and your bike decides you should be riding in the hardest gear. My first attempt at fixing it, solved the auto shift problem, but left me with only 2 working gears out of 27. Not good.

You know that I want to get in a 20 mile ride on the Lotus to properly send it off, back to it's owner. Also, I'd like to return it in a little better shape than I got it. So I headed to the garage last night determined to fix it.

I started with the rear derailleur, because that's what I messed around with the most last time. There was a bolt that could be loosened, which would allow the gear cable to be pulled tighter or given more slack. I thought this was how to solve my problems last time, but since it didn't really work, I put the cable back the way it was before I messed with it and moved on. Next, I found that where the cable entered the rear derailleur, there was a thing I could turn that would loosen or tighten the cable. I messed around with that a bit, but I was noticing that no matter what I did, whether tighter or looser, the shift lever itself, didn't have enough tension on it to keep the thing in the gear that was selected. Eureka! So I tighten that screw, which I may or may not have fumbled with when I "fixed" it last time, and it all came together.

Not only did the rear derailleur move when you moved the shifter, now the shifter was staying in place and keeping the bike in gear. Before I got too excited, I took it to the streets and tested it out in my neighborhood. The thing was shifting like a dream. Well, a thirty year old dream, but you know what I mean. Bottom line, I think it's really fixed this time. The weather is supposed to be great today, so the goal is to get home as early as possible and get in a farewell 20 miles on the old Lotus. It just feels right.

Project: Lotus Re-Birth

Planning a Farewell Ride

So I'm psyched about the new bike and with a couple rides under my belt, I'm feeling pretty good. The only downer is that it'll soon be time to return the loaner to it's rightful owner, my father-in-law Larry. As you know, the Lotus served me well by getting me into cycling with a healthy appreciation for the sport, it's history and it's technological advances. Mostly the technological advances thing. But all good things must come to an end.

To properly close this chapter I feel like I need to give it a good, long, send-off ride. I'd love to break the 20 mile mark on the Lotus...it just feels like the right thing to do. Yes, you know by now that I'm a little bit of a glutton for punishment, I did sign up for a 100 mile road race without owning a bike after all, but I'm not crazy. Riding 20 miles on the Lotus would be a nightmare unless I fix the shifting. I have to admit, after riding a bike that allows you to shift to any gear, at any time, I've found that it's better. Way better.

So on to the fixing. Yup, I'm taking another crack at this shifting mystery. I'm heading to the garage to fix it. I hear you, I know that my bike mechanic skills left me a little high and dry last time, but I was in a rush, trying to squeeze in a ride so I'm thinking with a little bit of time and with the pressure off, I should be able to figure this out. The Lotus deserves that much at least. I'll keep you posted.

Double Digits?

Me? More than 10 miles? Good Luck.

I'm planning on getting in a double digit ride when I get home from work today. It's sunny and beautiful and the Lotus is dying to go further than a couple of miles. I'll keep you posted... assuming I survive.

The Loaner

Still don't own a bike but I got a sweet loaner.

So I'm still shopping for the right bike to carry me along this epic journey, but in the meantime I'd like to get in a ride or two. Enter my Father-in-Law Larry. Larry owns a "vintage", i.e. 20 something year old, Lotus Eclair. In it's day in was a pretty nice ride, and as far as loaners go, it fits the bill to the T. For some reason I find it fitting that I start this journey by dusting off a heavy, old, classic and taking it for a spin. It somehow makes me feel like less of a poser. I think it's good that I'm getting a sense of what real cyclist's who have been doing this for longer than I've been alive went through back in the day. Anyway, the bike in now in my garage and once a nice day comes along and I get to take it out, I'll keep you posted.

This is the same model as the loaner I'm riding. Mine doesn't have all the pimp yellow water bottles or the racks and bags, but other than that, this is what I'm "training" on for now.