This is about wheels, which I have, and color wheels, which I do not have

I got my bike out of the bike shop yesterday. They called Monday to tell me it was ready, I finally picked it up yesterday. It went in for a new spoke, after I snapped an old one last week. I also added on an overdue tune up and a badly needed new chain. To celebrate the work, and the happy reunion, I wore my bicycle cufflinks yesterday:

I also picked up a new stem. It seems my bike might be too small, and that’s causing some hand problems. Nothing lasting, just a nerve compression that makes riding less enjoyable than it should be. And my ongoing foot issue (which does largely feel fine and might actually be improving with time and stretching exercises, but we’ll see in the next month or two) might actually be exacerbating my problems issue. This is all very specific stuff in that odd way of things: technical if you don’t ride, basic if you are a cyclist.

Anyway, one solution is too change to an angled stem. My old one was a flat, 0-degree, number. It made for an aggressive posture. Now we go to the other extreme. This is a Salsa aftermarket stem, set on a full 25-degree angle:

The angle stem raises up the headset, giving the cockpit a different orientation and puts the handlebars in such a place that I am not falling over to grab hold. This might help with the hand discomfort I’ve been experiencing of late. It isn’t as aesthetically pleasing in any way, but cheaper than a new bicycle, and feels a lot different, even on the first ride:

I wonder what it will feel like on the eighth or ninth ride.

But, hey, it isn’t all bikes around here. Or even cufflinks about bikes. (Those were a gift from my mother, by the way.) Sometimes it is just about the tie. But, really, it is about the shirt. And this is a new one! I got it online and on sale. And what do you know, yesterday’s bike jersey matches today’s tie:

I can’t keep this color continuity up for forever, of course. Or can I? I wonder.

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