FINALLY a Little Cooler - Some Bike Adjustments

6/7/2014 Weight 248.6, 61.4 pounds lost since July 2011
Tonight, a 35 minute ride

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Finally, here on Saturday night, as I was riding through the dark El Paso streets I felt something that has been missing for a while. A touch of cool air here and there, instead of the relentless heat. I did not feel like I was riding my bike through a volcanic eruption! Also, there was a slight breeze to help temper things instead of the hot, hard winds we have been seeing.

Drivers steered very clear of me tonight. People waited at stop signs for me to go by, they did not back out of driveways in front of me, and cars approaching from the rear swerved waaaaay out to avoid me. I think this is the result of my lighting. Both front and rear are very bright, and I think drivers don't realize that it's a bicycle approaching them - they think it's a motorcycle or a car with the other headlight burned out. It's very pleasant. Most of the time I feel safer riding at night than n the daytime because not only do my lights make me more visible to motorists, it makes it easier for me to see them.

Here is a picture, copied from one of my other blogs, of my headlights:

The ride was easy and I felt pretty strong. After the ride, I adjusted the front derailer because the chain was rubbing up against the cage (because of a poor job adjusting gears by a bike shop recently), plus I raised the seat about 1/3 of an inch because I'm starting to experience a tiny amount of knee pain. The rules (generally speaking) are, if you have back pain then the seat is too high; if you have knee pain the seat is too low. I know this from bitter experience lol!! Perhaps I'll post a narrative about back pain soon . . . .