Max speed 31mph. WOOT!

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On my last biking entry, I complained about wrist pains and thought about adjusting my bike (saddle height, etc.).  I changed my mind thinking that I’m probably just getting used to the road bike frame geometry.  I tried the advice from (the late) Sheldon Brown and tried to maintain proper posture while on a bike.  It seems to be working…there is much less pain today.  

…or it could be placebo.  Whatever.

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I’m fairly certain i need further adjustments on the bike. My wrists kind of hurt a little and i found myself having the need to slide forward on the saddle. Maybe my posture is off.

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if you’re like me, you probably detest using Firefox by now (which has slowly turned into its ugly predecessor, Netscape). I could not stop using it because the Garmin communicator plugin is having problems with Safari 4 (used for uploading GPS data to trimbleoutdoors.com).

That is until today: I found this forum thread on the workaround. Now I can finally ditch Firefox on my Mac.

Speaking of GPS…DeVelMan pointed out yesterday about the GPS iPhone application, MotionX. In theory, this could be potentially a replacement for my trusty Garmin Edge 205. However, upon reading this one review by a presumed seasoned biker, it was deal-killer for me. DevelMan tested the trial version and pitted it against his 205 and found that there was a significant lag. At $2.99, it’s probably decent…but come to think of it, i don’t think i have the guts to have the iPhone exposed and mounted on the bike while riding, considering my “skills” on keeping my bike in balance, especially on trails.

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I just finished a (short) ride with my new bike: a Surly Cross-Check.  I probably did something right by choosing the bike because I beat my record for my “basic” 5 mile ride (usually with the Trek hybrid) by 2 minutes!

As for the bike, I went with the stock complete bike in 46cm gravy brown frame through Halter’s Cycles, only replacing the saddle with my Brooks B17, and using a plain pedals (i.e., not “clipless”).  I did a thorough bike fitting with my LBS, I am 5’6″ (barely 30 in. inseam) and looking at the forums, I see people mostly going for 50cm…which made me wonder a bit if I got a size too small…but looking at the bike, my stem is standard, the seat is just in the middle of the rail…so I learned that bike fitting is *really* important when buying a bike.

I should really post some pics of the bike…maybe later today.

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My new bike arrives tomorrow!

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Since I’ve managed to keep this hobby long enough to have fifteen entries about it here, I’ve decided to move my cycling adventures to a different blog. I’ll be moving the entries from this blog to the new one.

(Does that mean this blog willl never get updated? )

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Total miles: 502.36

I found a wallet lying on the middle of the street this morning as I was doing my routine road-biking; the wallet had a driver’s license, a couple of credit cards, and some cash.  I returned the wallet to its rightful owner and got a decent reward from it.  I didn’t want to accept it because I just did what most human beings would do…but the owner insisted, “That’s the thing; it could been found by somebody who would opt NOT to return it.”  It’s hard to argue with that, ‘no?

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I went to Mercer County Park again with my usual bike buddies last weekend, and guess what happened?  Another flat tire.  Jeez.  Maxxis Ridgelines REALLY suck.  So the next day, I bought a new pair of tires.  I was contemplating on getting Panaracer Fire XCs, but the stuff I’m reading about fake Fire XCs is a bit disconcerting.  My bike buddy steered me (pun LOL?) towards getting Kenda Small Blocks based on the environment my bike is usually in (which is um…the garage?)…which is mostly cross-country with very little climbing and/or downhill.  The Kendas has a decent amount of good reviews, so I pulled the trigger and got myself a pair of 2.1s (instead of the recommended 2.35…simply because I find the stock Ridgeline 2.2s too fat already).

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Total miles: 459.26

I finally replaced the pedals on my Trek hybrid with Shimano M520 clipless and beat my current 11.5-mile road route by 5 minutes.  FIVE MINUTES.  It’s either I’m just too awesome, or the clipless pedals have made a huge difference!

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Total miles: 401.67

Yesterday while trying out a new trail, I got lost for the most part and ended up somebody’s backyard!  That was scary and embarrassing at the same time.

The Maxxis Ridgeline tires that came with my Cannondale pretty much suck; I got two flats in 5 off-road trips.  I’m thinking of replacing them with Panaracer Fire XC’s since it has the most positive reviews on MTBR.com.

I submitted my application as a first-time voter (became a citizen less than two years ago).  Yes, I know this is NJ, but I’ll be damned if NJ becomes a swing state this elections…and I’ll be damned if McCain wins this coming November.  Open your eyes and ears, people: Vote for Obama!

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