September | 2012 | Christov

Yup, I signed up for the Elk River Century 50-miler. I’ve only been riding road bikes since about February, so when I signed up a few months ago, I thought this would be the most reasonable ride. Other routes available were 10, 36, 62, and 100 (hence the name, Century). For this event I have been preparing by riding hills around Stepford and during my recent Gallatin trip. Also why Adrian, Tim, and I rode out to Lynchburg last Saturday and why Adrian and I rode in to Lynchburg and back out on the final 14 or so miles of the route last Monday. While in Bedford County, we paused at Grassland Farm / Alexander Greer House to snap a few photos. Highland Rim Bicycle Club did a very good job organizing the event and provided a couple of stops for food and drink on the way.

Adrian rode his still nearly new-old-stock 1986 Bianchi Trofeo, and I rode my far less than pristine and now franken-bike 1985 Razesa. Adrian’s a better athlete than I am, or at any rate, a stronger cyclist.

Here’re the photos from Grassland Farm –

Did I mention that it rained a lot? I got caught in a cloudburst riding in to the Lynchburg as I approached the square. I took the two pictures below while still six or so miles from Lynchburg.

I’d made a hash of removing the cotter pins from the cranks of my Raleigh Sprite (ca. 1973 or 1974), so I requested the assistance of my local independent bike mechanic, Luke. Since Harris Cyclery had sent me the Rivendell Silver Downtube Shifters I’d ordered, I took the Razesa to him for their installation, as well. Picked-up the bikes Friday afternoon and tried out the new shifters with a ride over to my mom’s house to surprise her, my wife, and my son. It’s only about an eight-mile roundtrip, but necessitates driving in some traffic and has one pretty steep downhill on the way out. They worked flawlessly, but had less “ratchet” feel than I’d expected given the Rivendell’s somewhat florid write-up and comparison to the SunTour Power Shifters (which I have as stem-shifters on the Miyata). Still, they worked flawlessly. Luke said the right-side Simplex shifter that was original with the bike was about worn-out. Eric had told me that it has for some years exhibited a tendency to come loose, and that tendency has in my experience manifested several times when shifting into a lower gear on what are for me challenging hills resulting in the availability of only the highest of the six gears in back. Now, I will no longer have to carry a stubby flat-head screwdriver when I set out. Here are some pictures of the Rivendell shifters on the bike: