There’s only one thing better than a bike ride….

I woke up yesterday morning feeling fantastic.  It was entirely unexpected, of course.  Usually, after a long stretch without a day off, the morning after the day off is a little rough.

Work was good, I got a lot done, then went home.  My wife waited to ride with me on the trainers.  I put The Bourne Legacy on the DVD player and we got to it.

Literally (really), ten seconds in and I shifted to a harder gear.  My legs felt spry, almost young.  I killed it for 40 straight minutes before downshifting to warm down.  It was awesome.

The only thing better than a bike ride is a bike ride after a much needed day off.

The rest of my evening was spent with a smile on my face.  I might not wait another 30 days before I take a day off again.

You know, come to think of it, perhaps the Title is a bit off.  Maybe it should have been, There’s only one thing better than a bike ride (when it comes to things you do with your clothes on).  Sorry, it shan’t happen again.  Probably

…In any event, I received an early Christmas present for helping a friend with some consulting work:

My friends, that’s a pair of Park Tool cable snips.  Up until yesterday I’ve used a pair of 45 year-old wire cutters that came from my father’s toolset.  They were amazingly sharp and worked excellently, but they distorted cable housings when I snipped them.  To fix the distortion, I had to stick thin nail in the housing end to bring it back to round.  I’ll still keep that nail handy, but the tool above is designed to cut cables and housings round rather than flat.  They also have a built-in crimper for cable end caps.

While regular (professional) wire cutters technically work on cables, a pair of cable snips belongs in my tool bag.  It’s the difference between getting the job done, and getting it done right.  I used one of the shop’s while volunteering to fix some Christmas donation bikes and I can tell you, they’re the cats pajamas.  If you work on your own bikes and don’t have a pair, I highly recommend you pick one up.