I had the day off today and decided to take the Shogun for a nice long ride up and around Smithville Lake this morning. Of course when I left the house the skies were completely clear and the birds were singing; by the time I reached the lake things had clouded over. Within the passage of the next hour the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down. I reached the house only a few minutes ahead of the hail. Sitting in my living room at 1 pm it became so dark that for a moment I actually lost track of time, thinking night had fallen.
My legs are tired from the miles I’ve logged over the past four days (100 on Saturday, 60 on Sunday, 25 yesterday, and whatever the mileage was this morning.) Still, all said and done, it was a pleasant ride. I pulled the vintage pedals and cages – nice as they look with this bike, the cages aren’t long enough and my vintage cleated cycling shoes are causing me a great deal of discomfort in the toe box. I swapped the pedals out for my SpeedPlays and wore my Shimano shoes, baggy shorts, and a polo shirt – complemented by my Peugeot cycling cap, no less. The difference in comfort was amazing! I’ll continue to ride in racing kit on the Freschi and the other road bikes, but I’m officially making the switch in clothing for touring.