The Weather Channel had forecast rain over the weekend, while Dark Sky said overcast, but only a slim chance of rain.
The Weather Channel appeared to be wrong and we rolled out at 7:30am Saturday. I chose the Trek due to the chance of rain, but opted to go with my best set of wheels as they roll a fair bit faster. It was the first time I was able to use my Trek for the intended purpose I used to justify upgrading the bike’s drivetrain in the first place; to make swapping wheelsets betwixt the two bikes as simple as possible.
The wheel-swap took seconds and two turns of the rear derailleur’s barrel adjuster. It worked perfectly.
My buddy, Phill was the only one to show, and my wife was riding, so it was just the three of us.
Our ride was fantastic… I’m trying to think of the phraseology to describe it… It was slow-ish, but enjoyably slow. Simply put… it was fun. We pulled into the driveway with 42-1/2 miles in 2:22:21, an 18mph average.
The joy I get from spending time with my wife on two wheels is as good as it gets.
As for the prayer answered, I commented on a post early yesterday morning. The blogger is a preacher and his devotional for the day really hit home for me, so I let him know that in my comment. In his reply, he added, “I pray you are able to get in a couple good rides this weekend.” 42 miles without a drop and the forecast had called for rain just a few hours earlier… I’d say it worked. Couple that with the enjoyment factor, and it’s enough to make a fella smile.
For a capper to the morning I took my father-in-law to the newly renovated bike shop so he could see how far it had come…. I also took the pedals and bottle cages off the Trek and slid it into the car. While my dad was looking around I took the Trek out and wheeled it to the back of the shop where I used their scale to learn its official weight* with the good (read that, light) wheels.
My buddy, Mike was being pretty cocky, suggesting I’d wasted my time (and money) upgrading the bikes. He said, “Look, when you get down to 18 pounds, let me know”.
18.45 pounds (8.37 kg). And yes, I let him know. Pre-upgrade, the official weight was just over 19 pounds. So, for less than $300, the Venge dropped from 15.9 pounds to 15.5 and the Trek dropped from 19.1 pounds to 18.5… my friends, that’s the cheapest half-pound I’ve ever cut from a bike, and I cut it from two.
*Official weight of a bike: The proper way to weigh a bike is without the cages, pedals, saddle bag, light, etc. attached to the bike. While we all ride with those things, especially the pedals and bottle cages, they don’t count against the weight of the bike – pedal weights vary… some are heavier than others. Obviously, water bottle cages vary as well… with those things removed, everything is apples to apples.
Fit Recovery 
Reblogged this on A Girl, Her Bike, and Their Journey.
Often times it’s the simple things that yield the greatest returns. Thanks for the shout out. It’s an honor to pray for a fellow brother and a blessing to hear of prayers answered. Have a great week.