A pleasant surprise

I had a package notice in my mailbox today, and in the package ... a SRAM DD3 hub with the trigger shifter and clickbox!

Now I just need the chainrings I ordered to come in - then I can set up an appointment with a bike shop to install everything and I'm in business.

Of course, there are a few more items on my wishful thinking list that would make things a lot better ...

1. Disc brakes;

2. Better crank arms;

3. Competition wheels;

4. 10 speed cassette, derailleur and shifter;

5. ...

But those are just in the wishful thinking stage right now, and I am MORE than satisfied with where I am now compared to a year ago - I have a handcycle (with some NICE tweaks) and I'm not falling when I go for run/walks!

Not as much rant

Last evening I took the chair out for a spin now that I have the extensions installed and as much tweaking as I can do for positioning ... and turned in 2.8 miles in 19 minutes. That's a damned good time for me - not near what I want to be, but still very respectable.

BUT, it could be better:

1. I could tell that I could have gotten more power into my cranking IF I could have lowered the Bottom Bracket another 2 or 3 inches (you want the centerline to be about the level of your lower sternum for the highest efficiency). That can't happen without more clearance - and that won't happen with the current crank arms.

2. I could feel the flex in the crank arms under maximum load - that is NOT a good thing! I'm really afraid the arms are going to fail - probably during a race when I really need them the most.

Current options:

1. Keep using the current setup until the point of failure and then have to raise money to replace the crank arm system;

2. Start a fund raiser to replace the necessary parts to upgrade to a wider crank arm system now;

3. Try to get a sponsor so I can get the really nice things - such as racing wheels, better cassette (10 speed to go with a SRAM DD-3 hub), better crankset and disc brakes. You have to set high goals ;)