An Evening with Tools

One recent Friday evening found me unsupervised as Le Jefa and the Little Man were called out of town for a baby shower. This meant that I finally had the time to hunker down in my half underground lair to install all the new unobtainium drive train parts on the Niner. Follow along in picture book fashion as I proceed to install a new go system in a record time of 4 beers:


Old go system removed and bb shell is ready for facing.


Required tools, parts and hydration......check.


Who knew that all you needed to PROPERLY face a bottom bracket shell was an old piece of 200 grit sand paper and a sanding block?


New and 'Improved' Niner EBB correctly installed in shell.


Unobtainium Chris King BB and XTR Single Ring crank partially installed.

I had to install the CK BB three different times before I figured out that I did not need any of the 3 spacers provided with the new 73mm width bb, as noted in the instructions. This took 2 beers on top of the 1 beer that was spent facing the bb shell. I decided to stand around and have a 4th beer and look at my handy work that took 3 times as long as it should have and start a new the next day.

Summer is for racing. That is unless you have money for a beach vacation, a pool membership, a friend or family member with a boat or anything else better to do. Since I have none of the above I started training for Bump n Grind yesterday with a recovery ride. I don't know what I was recovering from but I just felt like I needed a recovery ride and I hear a lot about these such rides so I thought I would give it a try. Kinda boring, spinning around on the road atop a skinny tire bike with gears and hair on my legs, doesn't make much sense, but then again not much of what I do anymore makes any sense. Today I will try some short 'Race Pace' intervals, I hear a lot about those so I will give that a try as well.

More on race prep. tomorrow.