The plan was to have dinner with my dad, so I figured I would ride my bike, leaving while the boys were still napping. I took the indirect route, along Freeport Road, across the river to New Kensington, then up and over Logan’s Ferry to Murraysville.
I’m really not a fan of Freeport Road. I can tolerate it, certainly, and it is the gateway to many, many good rides, but gosh, why would you want to just ride Freeport. The scenery changes rather abruptly once you cross the river and leave New Kensington proper. Oscar Swan gives the Logan’s Ferry climb three stars, and it certainly deserves it. Long (for these parts), with a few switchbacks for good measure. No part of it is really steep, but the grade is constant, and its length catches up with you. Though the road to the summit is relatively narrow, I was passed by only a single motorcycle. Once over the summit, and the road switches to typically Pittsburgh ridge rollers–up and down, up and down, with no single stretch longer than a half of a mile. The road winds through farmland and into the suburbia of Murraysville.
I rode the Bianchi, and some part of the drivetrain is not happy. Any pressure on the pedals results in click-click-click. Humm. I thought it might be the wobbly carbon cranks, but the likely culprit is either the rear mech or the cassette (which, coincidently, doesn’t click when I coast. This is marginally scary.). A new rear wheel will likely be on the horizon. I am tempted to find an old Shimano Ultegra hub and build it myself, but the added trickery of dishing a wheel built around a cassette hub will drive me to buy something pre-built.
Posted on 1 September 2007