I want to do this:  2011 Tour de Canal  I sent an e-mail asking for more details.  When they say it is off road, are they saying that my mountain bike would be the appropriate bike to bring?  Would my brandy-new Surly with just a good set of tires on them be the bike to bring?  How hilly is the course?  If it's relatively flat then I'm really not all that worried about it.  I did 35 miles in Florida and then turned around and did 20 more the next day.  I'm in better shape now then I was then.  I meant to ask if I could do one of the 50 mile training rides before deciding if my crazy butt is really going to sign up for the 100 mile ride.

I really hate the thought of having to drive all the way up to DC just to do the qualifying test run, but I suppose I could probably spend the night at the William Penn House since being a Quaker and all - I know the people who run it.  No, I'm not kidding.  I should probably get a bike rack for my car.  Usually I just stuff my bike in the trunk. 

And, if you hadn't guessed from the first paragraph - I am the proud owner of a Surly Long Haul Trucker.  Alas, I can't actually have my Surly until Saturday because I'm having some modifications done to it - mustache handle bars most notably.  They had to order the mustache bars in, so no new bike until Saturday.  I got the 58cm frame because they said that with the mustache bars that I'd be seriously cramped riding a 56cm frame - which they would have otherwise recommended since I tend to like my seat a little low.  So, with the 58cm, if I'm standing over the top tube, there's maybe an inch between my crotch and the top tube.  I find that a little unnerving because I have hit the top tube before.  Not fun!

Wow, it's been awhile since I updated this.  Last time I weighed myself I had lost 32 lbs which is amazing considering how much I've slacked at the gym.  I have been riding my bike pretty much every day - at least to and from work, and usually more.  I let the bike shop raise the seat on my bike.  I have balance issues, so I've never been able to get the full leg extension that they say you should have because I need my toes to at least drag the ground if I drop the feet.  I can't do the stand up on the pedals and then get off the bike thing.  But, now my seat is high enough that I have to at least stand up and move to the front of my seat if I know I'm going to stop because otherwise I'm on my very tippy toes when I drop me feet which is not sufficient to get my balance right.  Let's just say it's been an adventure, and I've come close to falling a few times, but I haven't.

That having been said:  I am getting a new bike!  Weeee!!!!  I'm either getting the Surly LHT or Trek 520.  I don't know which yet.  The bike shop says Trek has a better warranty than Surly, but from all the comparisons I've read online absolutely nobody said:  Buy Trek!  It has the better warranty!  I have also read some complaints about Trek honoring their warranty.  I bounced (literally) into the bike shop this morning, told them I want a new bike (even though keeping my mtn. bike).  I told them that drop handle bars scare me.  I'm afraid I'd wreck, so I don't want drop handle bars.  I told them I want a steel frame, something meant for long distance riding, something that is nice and stable.

Yesterday, I was riding home from work and I couldn't understand why it seemed so hard.  I mean it was WORK to get up Wolfe Street, and I ride up Wolfe Street every day.  I was having cramps in one of my calves.  I was really worried.  This morning, I noticed my front derailler was in third gear.  D'oh!