..took my first ride with new pedals. XTR PD-M9000. I measured 320g(pair).
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...3287CBACAF.png


I was running these old Specialized SPD's, 390g. The receiver on these pedals is very small compared to the Shimano's, you have to hit it perfectly to engage. The Shimano's funnel you in by comparison. I averaged 2-3 attempts to engage the Spesh pedals, this morning, I engaged the Shimano's first time, ever time. Very happy.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...74A92899F5.jpg

NPR and BBC are the only place you can get news that isn't a rewritten US State Department press release or that doesn't come from the American SUV and McDonald's drive through cultural mindset. They actually report news from the perspective of how other people view us rather than the red, white and blue filter most US based news organizations use.

The show On Being is pretty good. Krista Tippet has done some amazing interviews with people who do more in one year than most of us will do in our entire lives.

Anyway, it beats CNN and Fox, and there really isn't much else to listen to in Atlanta unless you like Taylor Swift, Christian Rock or songs about pickup trucks and drinking beer.

Mmmmmm, drinking beer with Taylor Swift in a pickup truck.

Yeah, but can she cook a pot roast?

Got destroyed in the Santa Cruz Classis crit yesterday. Uphill courses with a downhill hairpin are not my jam. 37/63 because half the field got pulled after a huge crash with 3 to go.

Rider's stratgies and tactics were very good tho, I hoped you learned some stuff.

Thinking about snagging a pair of those meself. I have M520s, but I want something a little more high-end.

Today I used the carbon mini-pump that specialized threw in with my venge for the first time ever to fix a flat.

It sucks. It is a tweeked version of their mini air tool. So that sucks too.

I can't wait for my 19t freewheel to arrive so I can try tackling the local MTB trails again.

also,

A new How The Race Was Won was posted today. (YAY!)

How the Race Was Won: 2016 Milan-San Remo | CyclingTips

NPR = middle class left leaning white people radio

Having said that, I actually enjoy some NPR programming :D, but I'm not a regular listener. Only radio I listen to regularly is commercial top40 stations and (mostly) San Diego's KSDS Jazz 88.3, a local public station. Jazz88 is a great station with awesome DJs and some programs that I listen to regularly. I probably have it on like 30+% of the time that I spend at home.

In case anyone is interested:

http://www.jazz88.org/listen-jazz-radio/#

That looked like such a brutal race with all the rain and crashes... props for even finishing it in one piece.

Hey, if you made it to 3 to go, don't beat yourself up too much about it.

Also, crits with punchy hills and techy are totally my jam :). Barrio Logan here in SD fits that description perfectly, and I've done well in it historically, placing 3rd and 4rth as a cat3. I should be in pretty good shape for it this year unless something changes, so I'm looking fwd to it!!!!

With the "white people radio" comment, I was wondering if you had ever actually listened. Maybe things are different in San Diego but here in Atlanta it is very diverse.

The local NPR station here had an interview today with Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, President and Dean of Morehouse School of Medicine. Morehouse is an Historically Black College, one of the first HBC's in the nation and Dr. Rice is a beautiful and highly intelligent black woman.

They also had an interview with Derrek Kayango, a former refugee from Uganda who now owns a business employing 60 people and is the CEO of the Atlanta Center for Civil and Human Rights. He is an extremely uplifting and positive guy who spoke on the topic of exceptionalism.




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I was referring to the listener base, just my observation around here.

also I'm back from 'Nawlins, had a great time. Frenchman street on Friday night had just as much good music as I imagined it would.

I'm also the same weight as when I got back, but that's probably because my legs are less swollen and my belly is fat from 4 days off the bike. Oh, and not to mention all of the drinking and eating :). I got a tough 8hrs on tap for the week, including two crits on Sunday and the daylight savings time Fiesta Island "worlds" ride on Th PM. Didn't do it much last year, hopefully it's not as negative cause it's such a good workout.

Oh, and I'll probably ride my SS/FG for an easy hour on Wednesday morning.

Sold the Rapha gilet, so now I have money to get a ringtail vest when I go down to LA next week.

#44 Public Radio | Stuff White People Like

I love this site but you need a self-depreciating humor...can't take it too serious even though so much applies to myself/friends/where I live (Seattle).

Kind of liking watching Portlandia and laughing at the jokes with friends...and realizing half your friends are the exact same way.

Ha! Portlandia was good. I watched the first 2 or 3 seasons in a relatively short time window.

holy **** this is amazing.

portlandia is also a gem of a show, theyre great at finding a niche stereotype and running with it

Glad you enjoyed the Big Easy. Frenchman st is definitely the place to be for awesome local music. Good luck with the races this week!

Rode more singletrack last night and got waaaay outside my skinny-tired comfort zone for the first time. It's addicting.

A lot of Cross racers prefer the XT pedals. I have a pair of them myself and I see no reason to upgrade. They are plenty light and nice and smooth. The XTR just wasn't a big enough weight savings for the cost and since they were going on what is mostly a commuter the XT made more sense. I would rather spend the extra money on nicer shoes.

Thanks mayne.

There's even tons of pro CX-ers running M540's, which seem to be a major price/quality sweetspot. You really can't go wrong with any of that style Shimano pedal. I have 3000 miles on my M520's and all they've ever needed was a little bearing adjustment one time.