New bike box day? Until the box that UPS brought is opened, that's what it is. To be continued, maybe tomorrow...
Meanwhile, I got a call from Battle Road Bikes that the bike I had brought them on Monday was ready for pick up on Tuesday, two days early if anyone's counting. I put an old Specialized Sequoia with a nice lugged frame that I bought from someone on the iBob list on the rack, and drove over to the bike shop. I took the Sequoia in, explained that it had developed a stuck stem, and handed it off to Jim. While Matt was ringing up the work on the Surly, Jim fixed the stem and returned the Sequoia. I bought a tail light to hang on the presumed contents of the bike box, put both bikes on the rack, and drove home, very pleased with these guys.
Chores and errands ensued, the sun went into hiding for the night in that annoyingly premature way that it does around here at this time of year, and I took the Surly Trucker DeLuxe out on the Minuteman to exercise its newly adjusted front derailleur. It was shifting better than it had in years, which of course put me in a jolly mood as I rode through the cool and dark.
Mal's yard was flooded with photons, so I borrowed a few to photograph the newly restored bike. A creepy artifact crept into the picture, but then it's the dark time of year, and creepiness is rife.
Had a ball riding the Rat Trap Pass tires again, for the first time since mid-August. This has me thinking about how the RTP Extralights on the Surly compare with Humptulips Ridge Extralights on the GT. The differences are subtle and interesting. I'll gather my thoughts about that, and see if any of those want to become words suitable for typing here.
In high school soccer news, Arlington High was playing Brookline High, to the cheers of a boisterous crowd.
I rode home thinking that I'd need to put off a shake-down ride for the Sequoia until tomorrow, and that I should take the GT in for service next, to prepare it for its Winter Beater duties.
rod