quick updates

Some status updates:

• The Salsa is at the shop. I'm supposed to call about it Thursday. Please, please, PLEASE let it be ready Thursday. Though I won't know for sure until I take the maiden voyage, I think I will christen her Rosie. As in "the Riveter". Or Rrrrosita! (Read with as obnoxious a rolling "r" as possible.)

  UPDATE: Rrrrrosie is rrrready. I picked her up this afternoon, and am looking forward to getting everything adjusted to where I want it. Of course, the ride tonight looks like it's going to be rained out now, so I won't be able to see how she rides until at least tomorrow. It figures. :)

• The SystemSix is about halfway paid. I'll be able to get it out of bike limbo sometime in August, I think. I also think that her name will be Nikita. Little goddess of speed and victory, baby. :) Provided that her engine improves, that is.

• And speaking of her engine, I've been using the GPS with the EBB, and the numbers from the last couple rides have been encouraging. Monday was an easy tempo ride, and tonight was technically a hammerfest...but I was a bit sick still from a wicked hangover (for future reference, my happy hour wine limit is 2 glasses, not 4...unless of course I want to spend the next 3 hours feeling like I just stepped off the Tilt-o-Whirl). So I went my own pace, just concentrating on cadence and letting the group pass me on by. 'Sides, I couldn't keep up with them on EBBie without maybe injuring myself anyway. Still, my speed average for the easy Friday was 15.5 mph, and it was 17.3 tonight. The distribution shows that tonight was spent mostly in the 18-20 mph range, with a high of 28. I imagine that was when I was still trying to keep up with the group, for the 100 yards or so until they put the hammer down. Still, I'm hitting these numbers on the EBB, which I don't generally try very hard on. (Because it pains me. As I believe I've whined about in some detail, so no need to go into that again.) Point is, I was pleasantly surprised, since I feel so slow and cumbersome on that thing. Get me on a bike that fits, and I think I can push those numbers up by at least 1-2 mph across the board almost immediately. We'll see.

• Regarding weight loss, I'm staying constant. It's been so hot, and I haven't been hydrating well. If I can get a couple good days with the water intake, I think I might be able to drop a pound on Friday. I'd really love to make it out of the 180s by the end of the month. That would be sweet.