Money + Obsession = Stuff

So last night I said that I would probably make some more purchases after I finished my posting. Well I didn't. But I did just now :) I pretty much settled on a gearing. It's a bit low but I figure it would be a good place to start (and maybe help with my horrid pedal stroke) and if I decide I want something a bit higher later, it's only a matter of finding a cog with fewer teeth. As always, I wont share the pricing until the item is at least on it's way. I can say I got a decent deal on the crankset. I'm not as sure about the cog and lockring but I don't believe there is as much of a price gap as there might be with other parts.

Now that I have a visual of what my bike looks like, I really wish I had a stem. It seems that the one part that most people don't even realize is a part is what's keeping this from really looking like a bike. The handlebars are part of what makes a bicycle a bicycle and the humble stem is apparently overlooked. What I'm really looking forward to, however, is taping the bars. I just replaced the tape on my current speed demon and I can see why all those fancy magazines tout it as being an "upgrade" because it really did make a difference. I pimped my ride, yo.

It's certain that my headset will be installed by this weekend and I see no reason to put off buying a stem any longer than that. With glorious payday fast approaching, it is in the plan to purchase said stem on this coming saturday. I think I should probably mention that, although I started on my Super Advanced Pedal Retention System weeks ago I haven't done anything else since. Knowing myself as well as I think I do, it probably wont be done until after I get my crankset installed. I understand that it really doesn't matter whether I have a crank arm to attach a pedal to or not because I'm going to have to keep the pedal detached as I sew on the straps, but I feel I will be much more motivated to complete that task once I reach a point where pedals might actually have a purpose.

After going over the list of things I still need to do I seem almost impressed with myself. It's very short. This is my 11th post and I'm starting to wonder if I'll make it to 20. I like nice even numbers so unless I stop at 15, I'l figure out a way to make it to 20 even if the last few are just pictoral updates. I still expect to post again this weekend so be on the lookout.