What a day for a bike ride!

I don't have any pictures from the ride, but it was just gorgeous here. Warm, sunny, and dry. The leaves are just coming into color. Perfect...perfect. Even more perfect my Mountain Bike, affectionately named the pumpkin for its color. I bought this bike back in 2000 when I first moved to Vermont. It was only about $700...mail order from Performance. It has been a good bike and survived many of my foolhardy mistakes and resulting crashes.

I recently have been unable to get the shifting indexed properly. Admittedly, I am not the best wrench in the world, but I can do the basic adjustments. I found a local place called RollsRite. The owner was in the middle of moving to a new location, but said he could squeeze me in. I dropped off the bike to an empty shop and returned to pick it up to one stocked with bikes.

I honestly believe my bike works better than the first day I rode it almost 7 years ago to the day. John Mudge (proprietor and mechanic) explained the maintenance he performed on my bike...too exhaustive to mention here, but let me give you a quote "your rear dérailleur was bent about 1 degree and there were a couple of brake cables that were frayed a little and kinked so I replaced them". It brought a little tear to my eye (OK, I exaggerate), but this guy was freakin' awesome and obviously understands the art and science of working on a bicycle!

It was seriously like being on a new bike if not for the dings and scratches I have given the Pumpkin over the years. :-)