Shakedown run successful

I've done shakedown runs for various reasons. Usually it's after I change some piece of safety or drivetrain equipment. This time, it was to see if my wrist was up to the challenge of riding. It still hurts to rest a lot of weight on my wrist or to apply torque parallel to the plane of my palm. I hung up my Trek 1200. The drop bars are a recipe for disaster right now, requiring both weight on my wrists and the kind of torque that hurts.

The Sorrento has low handlebars and a shallow cockpit. The flat bars would keep the torque off my wrist, but pressing the thumb triggers would require some of that torque. Since the bars are so low, I'd be slouched over and resting on my wrists. Scratch that idea.

The Outlook has a deeper cockpit, a longer top tube, and handlebars that are an inch and a half higher than the seat. This gives me the ability to hunker down if I need to, but allows me to feel very natural in a nearly bolt-upright position. You would figure that the twist-grip shifters on the outlook would further agitate my wrists, but they handle that kind of torque just fine, at least just standing over the bike and playing with the shifters and brakes before trying to ride.

I had some errands to run that would take me all along 87th street, and it was already dark. I threw on the backpack and some lighting and hit the road. I picked up some supper, then rode to a grocery store to pick up something for my wife. They didn't have what she was looking for, so I rode past my apartment the other way to another grocery store. All in all, I rode a bit more than 7 miles. 87th street is relatively flat: About 100 feet of total climb for my entire trip, and a maximum deviation of 28 feet total. After 8pm or so, 87th street isn't that much of a death trap, and it was an enjoyable ride. The Outlook happily rocketed to 30 MPH (my top speed for the night) upon request. My wrist didn't give me any problems.

I'm not going to log any hard miles for a while. If I get hurt, I'd like to be in walking distance to somewhere, and that isn't guaranteed on my full route. I'll be riding to the Express bus tomorrow.

Random Tunage:
Peter Gabriel - In You Eyes
Information Society - What's on your mind