Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The Great Big Wait

   Three projects are now very close to completion, and then it will be a matter of clearing bicycles out of the basement in order to recover the funds I’ve put into the projects and hopefully make some money on the sales. I don't have a whole lot to write about this week - I'm just keeping an eye out for the mailman with expected delivery of a few parts from overseas.
   I received the washer/mounting plate that was sent by friendly forum connection Kevin, and the part works perfectly. The Mavic rear derailleur is now in the correct position, and the mechanism shifts very smoothly. All that’s left is for the saddle to arrive and the Vitus will be ready to roll!


   I was extremely happy to finally be able to nab a pair of carbon wheels for the Cervélo Soloist bicycle. Fortunately I happened to be browsing eBay just as a few sets from one particular seller were listed with a reasonable “Buy It Now” price.


   The Pinarello Treviso is a bit of a wildcard as to when it will be completed, since Bruce told me his painting schedule is a bit full this month, but I’ve been working on this bicycle since late February, so I can’t say at this point that I'm really in a hurry! I’ve had all of the components and decals ready for the assembly process for a couple of months now, so I am excited to see the frame with some color. I had originally thought a dark green would look classy, but after looking at old Pinarello catalogs online, I noticed that green wasn’t among the traditional Treviso color choices. I decided to change things up and talked to Bruce about a color similar to that pictured below.


   I probably won’t be posting on my regular day next week because my father and I are heading out for a mini adventure. This trip is bound to be more enjoyable without the complication of a tow dolly, but we have a much simpler plan in mind this time around anyway.
   We’ll be travelling out the panhandle of Virginia to ride the scenic Virginia Creeper Trail, which stretches 35 miles from Abingdon to Whitetop. Constructed on the right-of-way of the former Virginia-Carolina Railway, the trail twists and turns through the mountains, crossing Laurel Creek countless times over spectacular bridges and trestles.
   Luckily Dad has a childhood friend who lives part way in Charlottesville, so that with an overnight stay we can break up the seven hours of driving to get out there. We then plan to do the motel thing on the return drive, somewhere in the vicinity of Leesburg, VA. We plan to finish the 35 mile segment of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath that we missed (due to tow dolly issues, of course) from White’s Ferry, MD, into Washington, D.C.
   If you tuned into this blog recently and hadn’t heard about our 335 mile ride from (nearly) Washington to Pittsburgh on the C&O Canal Towpath and Greater Allegheny Passage, which we completed in three separate yearly trips, you can link to the stories here:

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