Bike problems

Nothing much happening in the Tour. One wonders why they went to the Pyrennees if only to have 30 plus miles tacked at the end so everyone can regroup? Lance also disclosed some of the internal tension in Team Astana. And for some odd reason Bruyneel does not want to talk to Sporza, the Flemish television channel.

There was a revealing moment during the flight to Limoges. Lance was sitting next to Bruyneel -showing the power structure of the team- when a Sporza camera showed up. Lance tried to get Bruyneel's attention -he was looking out the window- saying, "Hey Johan, Sporza.." Bruyneel said something like "Not now," and then Lance said, motioning to Johan: "It's him, not me."

On Saturday I did a third "fit test" and was only partially successful. Although everything was going well, I once again hit the panic button at around 21 minutes. This time I was able to restart quickly and I ran another 1.5 miles at 9.1 mph to make up for the break. I felt pretty good. I get the impression these "tests" aren't just tests, but they add to my conditioning. How else can you explain that I seem to do better each consecutive time?

Today I rode my bike one last time -it has to go to shipping tomorrow- but it wasn't a great success. First my disk hub came apart, and once I fixed that, my derailleur started skipping. I suspect the freewheel is in poor shape but I can't find my freewheel removal tool. Go figure! I also think my Ergomo bottom bracket is a bit stickier now and the power numbers are no longer very good. They always seem too high. Not sure what to do about that. There isn't really much I can do without spending a fortune, so I will just go with what I have.

Let's hope I don't suffer too much on the bike.