R & (not so much) R

   I seems that there is always a week in the late spring when my legs just go kinda dead, usually the result of over-training, and it also might coincide with heat and humidity setting in – I am DEFINTELY a cool- to cold-weather rider. In any case, my body just feels sluggish, and there is very little recovery going on in between efforts on hills or, as it seems more frequent these days, when pedaling into the wind.
   It has become an annual event that I take one solid week off of the bike to give myself a chance to fully recharge. However, this doesn’t mean I was sitting around doing absolutely nothing. Thankfully, bicycle sales have picked up again, as I am looking forward to making some room for new bicycle build projects.

   I took a drive into Philadelphia the other day to sell the Scanini Vanderaerden bicycle, and on the way, I stopped in the Chestnut Hill area to pick up a Vitus 992. I had received a phone call from a really nice older gentleman who had been reading my blog and was looking to reduce his collection of bikes. When I arrived, we had a great conversation as he showed me his handful of classic machines, including a couple of brands with which I wasn’t too familiar and his new prized-possession, a Cannondale e-bike.
   The 992 was in really nice condition, though its decals were kinda shot. It didn’t matter much to me, because I didn’t like the particular design that came on that bike, and I intended to put on a new set anyway. The bike came with a passable Shimano Deore triple group, but I’ve had an excellent Mavic group sitting on my shelves that is itching to be installed on a Vitus bicycle!

   I don’t begrudge someone who goes for comfort over performance, but I find it humorous how much extra weight someone will put on their machine with a pump, saddle bags, computers, etc. My wife loves to say, “If Glen didn’t have to drink on long rides, he wouldn’t even put water bottle cages on his bike,” but she isn’t stretching the truth too much!

   I've always thought of Olmo as a very underrated Italian builder, and a recent tall acquaintance hooked me up with this wonderful San Remo model. Yes, it is a 62cm frame, but it is in nice shape and is pretty much ready to roll, except for some new bar tape and brake hoods. Some fresh cables and housing might also be a good idea. The bike came equipped with an attractive Campagnolo Victory groupset and a great pair of Mavic MA40 wheels.

   The other projects that had kept me busy were helping to reorganize some of the things Sue’s family had moved into the garage during the shore house renovation and moving some of my mother-in-law’s belongings to a storage facility closer to her current residence. I always thought of my wife as a bit of a whirlwind when she gets into work of this type, but her sister actually makes Sue (she has told me) feel lazy. I’ll make a comment like, “Wow, that little table is small, but it sure is solid, and it isn’t as easy to move as you’d think.” The next thing I know, Sandy (instead of one of the other manly-type family members) is grabbing the other end or even heaving the object around by herself!
   She is definitely of the school of thought to expedite the process and not worry about injury to yourself or the objects being moved, but that’s okay, considering A: now that we are getting older, how we’ve become more selective about the size/weight of items we move, and B: we’ve sorted through so much of the stuff their mother hoarded that there really are very few things left with significant financial or sentimental value.

   Sue and I have a cycling-related joke we use regularly during such events, “Lift with your back, not with your legs – you don’t want to hurt your legs!”