1. The rear shift lever in a Campagnolo setup is supposed to be tapped like a staccato note on a piano. You're not supposed to gradually press on the lever; it won't shift cleanly that way.

All this time I've been "leaning in" with my finger against the lever, and then not removing my finger right away after the shift. Sometimes the result would be that I'd inadvertently push the derailleur halfway toward the next cog. Today I started "tapping," and I couldn't believe how crisp the shifting was. D'oh!

2. A blazing hot grill at the beginning of cooking will burn the skin of the chicken. All this time my customary modus operandi was to fire up the barbecue and close the lid for ten minutes prior to bringing out the chicken; my intention was to burn off the old grease and disinfect the grill with extreme heat. When I brought the meat out the temp gauge would say 800 degrees and the grill would be blazing hot. This would burn the skin of the chicken, and I always wondered why it didn't taste quite as good as I thought it should.

So today I started up the BBQ and this time, for a change, left the lid up. After a few minutes I scraped the old grease off the grill, and then got the chicken going. The result? Great success! The meat cooked perfectly, and it was tender and juicy. Perfect piri-piri!