Meatmachine.info

I’m lucky enough to have a stable of bikes from which to pick and choose, and presently I’m deeply into my Atala. After spending the last few months hanging wheelless in the basement, then being built up as a a fully-fendered single-speed that got little use in a relatively dry winter, and finally having the shims mating 25.4 bars to a 26.0 stem fail, it just ended up sitting in the back of the bike shop, not getting enough love.

All that’s changed now.

I didn’t plan to stay up all night overhauling the bike, but these kinds of things just happen. The original Campy headset had been indexing for a little while, and finally got replaced with an inexpensive but not crummy Tange. The new rear wheel (a prototype 5-speed Paul hub laced to a deep DT RR1.2 rim) brings back the anachronistic pleasure of having a true 10-speed (2x5) bike, and a new Technomic 120mm stem helps with the fact that this frame is one or two sizes too small for me. Fresh blue cork tape is just pretty and makes me happy. The original Campy downtube shifters and derailleurs went back on, and the Atala was reborn, again.

So I went for a ride yesterday up to Paradise. Climbing Honey Run road is a always a good metric for fitness. After rolling around on my 26lb+ Soma with 700x35c tires day after day, the 20lb Atala just climbs so easily. This bike makes me feel fast, or at least it makes me feel like I could be much faster if I was in better shape.

By the time I got home on Sunday, I had probably ridden about 65 miles. I’d like to get back into the rhythm of at least 75 miles on the weekends, and an hour in the early morning or evening spent spinning through the park. Come Spring break, I want to be ready to tour.

While slow and easy-going touring appeals to me, so does the idea of an absurdly fast and miserable multi-state race. Call it a rando-cat, call it an asshole’s penance, call it a terrible idea. I just want to ride my bike as fast as I can all day long, fall asleep on the side of the road, and wake the next day asking for more.