random early-morning bicycle thoughts

Some random bike thoughts:

1. An accusation has been made against our military that they are always preparing for the last war rather than foreseeing the problems that will arise in the next one. There's only a nickel's worth of truth in this: the military does work hard to anticipate the problems of the new, but human nature, and political reality, mean that the issues of the past will get too much attention. I've got a "solving the problem of last time" thing, myself, as well. The most recent manifestation has to do with bike shoes. Several months ago, I got caught in the rain, and it took a few days for my shoes to dry. Since then, even though I've never been caught in the rain since (nor had I before), I visit bike vendor websites and look at bike shoes for a second pair. Yeah, it would be a good idea, but I have more important stuff to spend money on.
   
2. As I've said in this blog, I don't love the Selle An-Atomica saddle I'm using: it was too expensive, the company won't allow discount sales, it required a lot of modification before I could rely on it. But it works now; I don't usually notice it when I'm riding (which is exactly what you want in a bike saddle). Further, the leather has been treated to be weather-resistant. Still, I've cast an eye on the Brooks B17 Imperial. It's NOT weather-resistant, I don't know how it will feel when I sit on it, and I don't need a new saddle. Nonetheless, I've been looking at that web page as if it were porn. Sigh.
   
3. I won't have time for a group ride this Saturday; I have a hot date at the Princeton Museum and then Conte's Pizza with the excellent wife. Instead, I'm planning a ride on the city bike to Princeton Quaker Meeting, to see if riding will be a sensible way of getting there (I might go a bit more frequently if I didn't feel like I was getting cheated out of a ride by going - and the Quakes are among the few religious bodies that won't get all twitchy when an atheist shows up). I'll probably have to add a few miles to make the trip worthwhile. I'll plan to do a group ride Sunday. The excellent wife is working a second job both days; I should probably feel guilty that she's working & I'm not, but I don't.