stubborness only gets you so far

and cirrem served up a healthy dose of humble pie. and somehow in the process of learning this lesson for the umpteenth time i lost 5 teeth. i've known for a long time that the gear i've been trying to push on my fisty is extremely tall. my rationale all the way along has been that i don't want to be spun out in the flats. i've been pushing this gear for a year and a half and two of the worst condition days i've had have been last years transiowa and this years cirrem. lesson learned. when the conditions get too windy or too wet i am simply forcing too much lactic acid into my legs by trying to push that gear. i've known this for some time but i've been too stubborn to change it. not really sure why....felt like i was letting myself off easy by not sticking to my original plan of how i wanted to finish transiowa. whatever. so i'm no longer running 42x16. i've dropped 5 teeth on the chainring and am currently testing out a 37x16 setup. conditions are supposed to be rainy and cold tomorrow so i think i'm gonna try to push it to rochester. should be a stiff tailwind mixed with soft gravels which should give a good idea of how i like the gearing in less than favorable conditions. i've done this ride before and been anywhere from 85-100 miles depending on the exact route and how many turns i miss. scott was there for the 100 miler and we sucked at following directions that day. guessing a 6-7 hour ride ending at the saturn dealership to pick up the vue with a new transmission, which somehow ended up being replaced under an extended warranty that i didn't even know existed. so the ride will most likely end up cold and wet and followed by some pretty interesting looks from the fine folks at the dealership. from there i plan to murder some chipotle. best. restaurant. ever. this will probably be one of my last real long rides for a while as i'll be tapering for ouachita and then racing too much in april to put on big miles which will effectively turn april into one fairly long taper leading into transiowa the first weekend of may.