Leave Work Early Today And Go For A Ride, You Deserve It

Once again I was very busy yesterday.  First, I had to get my children to their various institutions.  (The younger helps assemble Apple products; the elder has moved up to sneaker manufacturing.)  Then, I had to go vote:

With the addition of that "I Voted" sticker I now have one of the most cloyingly smug bicycles north of 145th Street.

Sadly, my write-in candidate of Shirtless Guy Who Photobombed de Blasio did not defeat incumbent Andrew Cuomo despite my enthusiastic door-to-door campaigning:

Then it was time for the real work to begin:

But before it could I had to address some front shifting issues.  Curating gear changes between the large and small chainrings has been somewhat problematic on this bicycle for awhile now, but between being lazy and having like fifty other bicycles the way I've been addressing it has been to fiddle with the barrel adjuster while riding and then simply forget about it after riding.  Yesterday however (perhaps inspired by voting) I resolved to finally Do Something About It.

As I worked to correct the problem, I wondered why Shimano had designed a front derailleur with geometry such that in order to move the chain over onto the larger ring the outer plate of the derailleur had to move so far over that it hit the crankarm.  Then it dawned on me: they hadn't.  The cage was almost certainly bent.  This explained a lot.

I then rummaged in my parts bin for a replacement derailleur, but the most suitable one had a clamp that was way too big, even for a shim.  So, with no other options, I set about rectifying the problem via judicious application of force applied by means of pliers, adjustable wrenches, and whatever other grabby-ended levers were at hand, and before long the shifting had gone from "crappy" to "eh, that'll work for now."

I may have to requisition a new front derailleur from the CFO--or, more likely, steal one off another bicycle.

At any rate, after that off I went, over the GWB to Route 9W, the Fredliest cycling corridor in the Western Hemisphere, where I saw someone riding a Cannondale Slate:

I've been bicycle blogging for over 11 years now, and I've been alive on this planet like four times that.  In that time, I've largely gotten over being irritated by certain bicycles for no reason.  However, I must admit I still find myself bothered when I lay eyes on a Cannondale Slate.  I know it's petty and stupid of me, I'm sure it's a fun bike to ride, and if someone gave me one I'd gladly ride it.  (DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SEND ME A CANNONDALE SLATE.)  Also, if you have a Cannondale Slate and love it then I am very happy for you.  Still, as a distillation of all that is trendy into a single bicycle--650b, drop bar go-anywhere bikes, suspension on bikes that really don't need it--it annoys me in the same way as people who get decked out head-to-toe in hiking gear and carry trekking poles to take a morning walk in the park.  What can I say, I'm shallow that way.

Anyway, other than that it was a good ride.

Speaking of gravel bikes:

The GR2 looks snazzy too, but it comes at a super-steep price: $6,500 for the frameset and up to $13,000 for a complete build.

Oh come on, it's not even made of wood!

Sorry, no sale.