Finally. The Wait is Over.

I made a decision on the front rack. Time is running out and I've got to start training.

I went with the low-rider rack and changed out my front brake in the process.

I had asked Steve, my boss, what I should do in terms of my front rack dilemma. He is a mechanical engineer, by study, by trade, even by thought process. Watching him think is akin to Ron Howard's filming of the Da Vinci code: you can see him solve the puzzles in his mind.

What should I do? I asked, expecting him to give me some sort of response that only a talented engineer like him would offer.

"Uh," he said. "Change the rack, stick with your brakes."

Huh?

"You should stick with what you're used to."

What I'm used to is riding without 50 pounds of gear on the bike. Steve's answer was a little to shoot from the hip--even for my style. I like to wing it and research it at the same time. So I thought about: the lower the load, the more stable the ride, the less I will feel the extra weight when riding the bike. Makes sense.

Changing out just the front brake didn't bother me. Mechanical Disc brakes offer somewhat modulated breaking (although not quite as well tuned as their Hydraulic counterpart), whereas V-brakes are definitively abrupt. I reasoned that a) I've used v-brakes before and b) I'm accustomed to only using the front brake when I actually want to stop the bike. Thus, I can ride the disc brake in the rear to slow the bike down and use the front brake actually stop the darn thing.

It took some time--and some help from mechanics Nate and Ryan--to get the thing installed. I needed an adapter to accomadate the different pull ratios. I rode into work on my day off, did the conversion, and rode home. The bike did feel somewhat more nimble in the front without the extra weight of the disc brake. Ahh, but this feeling would not last . . .

Coming up next: Riding fully loaded. The Adventures in training continue!!