New Stuff & Next Sunday's Torturefests

Yay for voting day. I showed up at the polls at 5:40am, was 4th in line for my precinct... when I left at 6:15a (so many judges!) there were at least 100 people in line. I'm glad I woke up on time!

Hopefully, my cyclocross mech problems are solved... to the tune of almost $100.

Dura-Ace/XTR 9 Speed Chain, $40.
Wire bead Ritchey Speedmax tires, $18 (x2) plus $14 shipping.

This is the first time I've used a Shimano chain. Here's hoping it's what I've been looking for.

I spoke to the team's SRAM rep at our Team meeting last night and he said they'd like to look at the chains to see why/how they failed. I wonder if they'd let me guinea pig some experimental stuff... I'd be all for it.

Next week's race will not be pretty. I'm climbing 103 floors of stairs in the Sears Tower at 8:10am, then brunch... Cross race at 3pm. I haven't trained for the stair climb like I have in the past, and I'm +15lb from where I should be. The cross race is so close to home, I just gotta do it.

I think I'll take next Monday off.