Charlotte's post on Loving Bikes reminds me of the small internal fuss I made a few weeks ago at T-Town, when I had to change chainrings.

I hate changing chainrings. Those pesky little bolts in the back are such a pain. And, like at T-Town, sometimes you go from a big thick chainring to a thinner-bodied one, and the chainring bolts that formerly I was able to use a dime to stabilize while tightening now required use of those obnoxious little tools that never work well.

Meanwhile you're greasying your hands and trying to see the inside of your crank spider and bumping your head against the downtube.

On the flip side, I love repacking hubs. No need to clutter up the small kitchen with a disassembled bike - it can stay on the rack in the corner. I bring the wheel to the kitchen table, line up a few cone wrenches, a small cup of degreaser, a tube of grease, and a pencil. And a beer, sometimes.

I love the slight frustration of, after repacking them, trying to find that delicate balance between play and smoothness. Tightening the cones, feeling the axle, backing off the cones, tightening again, checking, tightening the locknuts, feeling again, backing off the cones, feeling, and - yes. There it is. Smooth. All that's left is to ride it to break in that thick grease.

SDC has two interesting posts, one after the other in humorous juxtaposition. One on learning the racing ropes on club teams, and the next on getting a few more mphs on top of your top speed by using deep-dish aero rims. Reading these so soon after racing my first crit with Gui (I probably wouldn't have gone to race without his company) made me think very different things in rapid succession. Yeah, I really wish I had more opportunities to learn about racing in casual-but-committed and friendly environments! That's where it's at! followed by, Hmmm, maybe I should invest in... I mean, buy my way to the top of... Then I could win... HEY WAIT A MINUTE. That's not how I like my brain to work!

I've always valued learning from those who have done before me and have rarely considered purchasing to be a stand-in for membership, education, experience - those foundational things. But those two blog posts were toying with my mind in an amusing way (no criticism to Aki, who writes thoughtful, intelligent posts, and was in no way trying to suggest to unwitting readers like myself that they ought to race on Zipp rims because without them there's no way that they'll get higher than 6th in a small-field 4/5 crit).

Oh bikes.

I love 'em.

Today's a day off, a quiet day here in the Bronx, as I listen to music, enjoy the cicadas outside of my window (cicadas in my neighborhood? Really? Oh the joys of the sounds of my childhood!), and think about packing for my impending move.