Saturday, July 21, 2007
not exactly my Kent Denali, since I've replaced the pedals & toe clips, seat, brake levers, brake pads, freewheel, water bottle cage, and rear spokes, as well as adding better bar wrap, a pump, cycle computer, and seat bag for tools and spare tubes...
One of the things I haven't liked about the Kent bicycle I bought last summer was the lack of height adjustment on the bar stem... at most I was able to change to height of the handlebars by 5 mm or so. Since I tend to ride in an upright position - not terribly aerodynamic, but I'm slow, so that's not quite as important - I've always found it to be a little bit uncomfortable, though I've gotten used to it as I've ridden the bike more. After trying several methods of raising the bars, I finally settled on a Delta Stem Riser, which I installed on Thursday.
A short test ride Thursday afternoon showed that I was on the right track - my riding position was much more comfortable, though I need to get used to my center of gravity being higher again - but some tweaking was still necessary. So today after class I made some adjustments and then headed down to the Corning Preserve to see whether or not that had done the trick.
Another chilly evening, so most of the path was fairly quiet, though the waterfront park was busy as usual with summer picnics. All in all, a nice ride along the river and through Schuyler Flatts Cultural Park. And at the end, as I was loading my bike back on the car, I watched the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge rotate to allow a large tour boat through. The bridge is a swing bridge, which rotates to open two channels that larger boats can use to pass through the rail line. Apparently, initial plans were developed almost 10 years to rehabilitate the bridge with an attached pedestrian walkway connecting the Albany and Rensselaer, but so far nothing has come of the idea.
photo courtesy of Wikipedia
JMH
