1) we could get a bike ride in together
2) ELi could water her client's gardens
3) So I could ride around the area.
The Daccordi hadn't quite finished molting in the cocoon, so on that day I rode the Langster fixed gear. That was fine, but I was wishing for most of the ride that I was on the Daccordi. Yesterday the Daccordi emerged as a bright new butterfly, and so today I took her out to dry off her wings. It's incredible what new cables, new chain, and thorough cleaning can do. I was pretty satisfied with how my 13 year old Campagnolo rig shifted before. But now it's almost effortless. I swear now I don't have to push the shift paddle in as far to enact a snappy, quick shift to the next gear. A couple of times during the ride I couldn't tell whether or not the shift had happened. Of course it did. But the action of moving the chain from one sprocket to the next was so effortless as to not even make a sound or change my cadence. That and the new old stock Cinelli cork tape propels the bike down the road like a rocket.
Despite the blazing sun beating down at 85 degrees, it was a great ride. Those roads between Newfields and Epping above Hwy 101 are great riding, with decent pavement (compared to York County, Maine), some pretty good climbs, narrow quiet farm roads, a lot of shade, and the Newfields Market for a rest stop before returning home. The Newfields Market has sandwiches made on bread baked there. A local artist whose work has shown occasionally at BUOY Gallery in Kittery, Sam Paolini, bakes all the sweet treats and sells posters of her colorful art in the market. Pretty perfect offerings and location, especially today because by the time I made it back there, I was pretty wrecked. I had sort of exploded. My legs didn't want to work anymore. My mind wanted to wander. My whole body was ready to recline on the couch. My feet were also starting to complain with hotspots above my Crank Bros. cleats. I stopped and sat in the shade outside while I ate half of the half sandwich they made me, with mozzarella, pesto, spinach between two thick slices of bread. It was huge. That, a yogurt, and a V8 down, I got back on the bike. My feet were really starting to kill. It was a bit of a slog home as I lost more and more steam and my feet were growing more painful by the mile. Click HERE to see the map.
FINALLY I got back to the house where Eli and I are house sitting, threw off my Specialized Mountain Pro shoes and socks, grabbed a seltzer water from the fridge, and flopped on the couch to rewatch the 5th stage of the Tour de France. Cavendish made one hell of a sprint in the last 50 meters to win the stage, definitely worth watching twice.
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