Carbon Fork

Tsk, Tsk. How People Do Throw Their Money Away . . .

This is $2.25. I found about half of it at one intersection on this morning's ride, and the rest near a bus stop on Rt. 28. Given how beat-up all the coins are, they obviously have been lying around more than a day or two. Guess nobody else bothered to pick them up . . . or never even saw them. (Oh, the view you get from a bike.)

The US Mint says these are "mutilated coins." No kidding. (There may be one or two "uncurrent" coins - those that are recognizable and can be machine-counted.) Mutilated currency can be redeemed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; mutilated coins, apparently, have to be sent to the US Mint in Philadelphia. Here is a FAQ on redemption.

Looks like I need to have a minimum of 1 lb per denomination, though, to mail 'em in. Oh, well. Guess we'll see which ones are "machine-countable," next time we dump a load of change into Commerce Bank's Penny Arcade. Perhaps the bank will be kind enough to redeem the rest.

Cool as this morning's find was, it doesn't trump the time I found a $10 DC Metro farecard at a New Jersey Turnpike rest stop. THAT was amazing.

Smooth

Until I went out this morning on my newly gussied-up bike, I hadn't realized the sad shape my shifters and brakes were in. I was used to a bit of a difficult shift -- having to push hard to click the real derailleur into the next position. They worked, and they didn't grind. Seemed OK to me.

Well, they weren't. Wow. What a difference. Now, my gears shift fluidly. The guys at Revolution Cycles installed the new GORE™ RideOn® Sealed Low Friction cables, front and rear. "Completely protected from the elements by continuous liner and GRUB™ Seals. Patented cable coating technology designed for low friction and durability." No kidding. Moving from one cog to the other is now so smooth, it's like a knife through soft butter. Amazing. It's clear that this system was originally developed for mountain bikes, but it works well on a road bike, too -- especially if you end up riding in rain and on soggy streets, like I sometimes do.

I also got new brake cables and housing (they were bad too, it turned out), a new chain complete with a master link for easy removal, and a through clean-and-lube.

My baby's so beautiful now . . .

PS - isn't this just the best bike shop picture EVER? Taken on our trip to Rome in February.