Well I had to open my big mouth yesterday didn’t I? Jeepers, I had to go on and on about not having to ride in the rain, yada yada yada…
So, of course, my statements awoke Mr. Murphy from his rare slumber and, voila! I got to ride to work this morning in the cold, dark AND the rain!
Well, it wasn’t that cold (only 6°, which is actually rather warm with the gear I have on now), and it wasn’t that bad for rain (drizzling mainly). But, still, I just had to tempt fate! 
Ok, I’m not that superstitious, and with the rain threatening all week it was just a matter of time. However, I’m just thankful that the weather was warmer this morning than it has been. And the drizzling wasn’t too bad. I really didn’t get that wet even, most of the moisture came from the tires spitting it back up from the road/trail.
The ride was actually really good. In fact, I managed a record time of 55.5minutes this morning, along with a record average speed of 15.1km/h! Physically, I felt stronger this morning than I think I’ve felt ever! Strange, I know, and I’m not sure what the difference make might have been (must be that new yoghurt Corrie bought!) Anyways, I was climbing hills in gears bigger than I usually do. My first indication was as I was climbing the final hill out of Juniper, I was trying to figure out what gear I was in (it’s dark, I can’t see the indicators any more!), I guessed I was in about 3rd. I guessed this because that’s what I’m normally in on that hill, and I felt like I was spinning along about the same as I always do. However, as it felt a bit faster than normal for the same effort, I checked (putting my hand in front of my light causes a quick reflection back to the handlebars which allows me to see the gear indicator). I was in 5th! What??? Many of the other hills were the same way. Summit Drive I was in 3rd (normally 1st), the beginning of Howe Road I was in 5th (normally 4th) and through the trailer park I was in 7th and sitting and spinning (normally I’m in 7th but standing and cranking it out).
However, while physically I felt good, technically and mechanically I wasn’t too impressed. The first dip at Rose Hill I was a bit out of control. Well, actually, I’m always out of control going through that dip (come on, 50km/h on bumpy, narrow single-track… Who would be in control?). However, this morning, I bounced side to side and had a bit more “fun” than I’m used to, or comfortable with having! As such, as I reached the top, I noticed my chain had bounced right off and it was in the middle ring! OK, I haven’t had it do that yet once, so maybe I should slow it down a bit this morning… I came through the 2nd to last valley, shifted down, and then started the climb up the toughest hill going this direction when it quickly became apparent to me that all my furious spinning and pedaling wasn’t getting me anywhere! Sure enough, the chain had jumped off the granny gear when I shifted down (in the dark, I can’t see this and when I’m going down the hill I can’t tell the difference between the chain being on the granny gear or off entirely). At the top of the hill, I had a heck of a time getting the chain back on (again, it was dark and I was going basically off of feel and sound). Once it was on, I continued on, making it up the next hill and then shifting it up to the middle ring (or so I thought) to continue along to Frolek’s gate. As I did, the chain was very noisy, and I got extremely frustrated (I had JUST oiled it AGAIN this morning before leaving) and I yelled at it… Yes, I yelled at my chain, so sue me… Anyways, the yelling didn’t make a difference, but as I stopped at the gate I looked down and noticed that the chain was sitting on the BIG ring, not the middle ring! So the noise was just the chain screaming because I had managed to put it in the criss-cross combination of big up front, big at the back… Oops! That means I also made the last climb in the middle ring, which is normally a granny gear climb? Wow!
As for technical issues, I didn’t make the dip/corner section of single-track again, nor did I make the climb up and over the west bank at Peterson’s Creek. The chain is already making more noise, meaning that I will most likely need to oil it again tomorrow morning. I probably should’ve cleaned it first before oiling it, as that maybe is why the oil isn’t sticking around very long. Also, with the rain and wet, the brakes howled pretty good a few times, but that’s to be expected and not an adjustment issue. What is annoying, though, is the front brake dragging… I’m sure the magnet is losing it’s power and not pulling the pad back entirely when it is released, meaning that the pad just sits against the rotor. Annoying, but what am I going to do? I can’t easily replace the magnet/piston can I? And why bother, might as well just save up for new brakes!
Oh, and I also learned about the battery life on my light. I have used it Monday, Tuesday (morning and evening), Wednesday and now this morning. It was blue (meaning it was around 75% battery remaining). However, as I got up onto Summit Dr, it turned orange (50% I think) and then by the time I hit Howe Road, it was red already! Apparently blinking red means 10% or less, and it wasn’t blinking yet. However, I turned it off just in case I need some more light for the ride home and I will charge it tonight. So that’s good to know the limits of the battery, I would say after 3 rides I need to charge it so I don’t get stuck in the dark! 
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