Yesterday's commute carried more anticipation than usual. I finally installed the left-hand Microshift brifter to my main commuter, the 2015 Charge Plug after replacing the broken original right brifter last month. THe new left is a 3-speed, but the bike has a compact double. I experimented with using just one and two, and just two and three, and went with one and two as there was less chance for cable slack. I had shifted a few times around the block, but this was to be the first ride with the new shifter. I realized I had no barrel adjuster to trip the shifter (or the rear I installed last month) so I was a little nervous about the ride to work.

Also, construction was scheduled to begin on two points of my MUP to MUP route. The first would be half way where the new trail extension crosses Van Buren Street...a needed safety upgrade to the crossing. Being only 7:25am, nothing had been blocked off or started.

The second project, the removal and replacement of a BIke/Ped bridge two doors down from the office will be more problematic...but they hadn't started or blocked the bridge yet, either.

The new shifter performed flawlessly and I enjoyed that it requires less hand movement (specifically twisting) than the original Shimano unit. So now both shifters operate with just a finger swipe and a knuckle budge.

The weather was sunny and cool-ish, about 50F.

By the ride home, which started an hour late, the bridge was fenced off, but the adjacent right-turn lane was merely coned off, so I rode it for the 50 feet over the river where a curb cut-out puts one right back on the trail. This will probably work until they begin removing the car bridge.

Halfway home Van Buren Street was closed to traffic, but the MUP across it was open. This project is scheduled to take 1-2 weeks. The bridge...a YEAR!

Add a mild tailwind both morning and evening and the day's commute was pleasant, if a little uncertain.