Sunscreen, short sleeve jersey and bike shorts were the order of the day for biking. The temperature was 76 when I started and 81 when I finished. Blue skies let the sun shine down and provide plenty of warmth. There was a line of clouds on the far north horizon and I suspect they will roll through tonight when a cool front is supposed to move through. The wind was a comfortable 4.6 mph from the west. Usually with a west wind the temperatures move up the scale. Where I grew up by this time of the year we were thinking snow and cold. Around Thanksgiving we could see the first snow flurries. I don’t miss the snow and when I need to be reminded there are plenty of pictures. Evidently I wasn’t the only biker that thought today was an excellent day since I met three other bikers out on the streets.

On Monday I wrote about my chain slipping when I was in the 43 x 12 gear and other combinations around that. After I got back from biking on Monday I removed the chain, waxed it and removed two links. The chain was a little droopy before I removed the two links and now it is not sagging and the rear derailleur is taunt. There were several points on today’s ride that should have caused the problem and did not so I have to think that fixed it. The SRAM PC-10 chain PowerLink master link had to be removed with a chain tool (per the instructions) which I did but it destroyed my ancient Rivoli chain tool that I have had for over 30 years. So I ordered a new Park Tool Company CT-3 to replace it. Amazon.com had a good price on it.

I did not ride yesterday  because the weather forecast said the rain would arrive mid-morning. It did not but when it did arrive after 1:30 we got almost .9″ of rain. Lately Tuesday is the rain day around here. So today’s 29.14 mile route is the second for the week. With the perfect weather my average speed was 15.9 mph, the highest average speed since October 24th. My max speed was 21.5 mph and my average cadence was 82.8 RPM. November miles are now at 263.96 (not far from my usual 300 for November) and year to date I have biked 5247.46 miles.

11-16-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map - SportTracks

11-16-2011 Area Weather End

Link to the Garmin Connect ride data and map.

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