Another Ride on the Pashley

Today was ride two with the Pashley, and all went well. This one was a bit longer ride (about 15 miles round trip), and she did great. I had to run to Lowe's to get some spray paint, and I figured, rather than wasting a drive, it would be a good opportunity before the day got too warm to go for a longer ride to test things out. I decided to take the St Vrain trail out to Lowes, and then rode the highway back home, just see if there were any differences from cement to pavement. After the second ride, I can say that all seems to feel pretty good, except for the grips. I think the pattern from these grips may be permanently engraved in my palms now, so I believe that new grips will be in the future. I tried riding with less weight on my hands, but it didn't really seem to matter. I've looked at Brooks grips,
but I just think they are so expensive, but who knows? Maybe if I keep my eyes open I'll find a deal somewhere. Or, perhaps I just need to look and see what's out there. I have also considered cork grips, but they seem to be quite a pain to have to deal with. Some have talked about having to use adhesive on the handlebars to get them to stay and then needing to coat them with some kind of polymer of some sort, so I'm not sure I want to go that route either. Then there are the Portland Design Dapper Dan grips, which could be a possibility, but again, I just don't know. Part of it is the look... I want something that looks right on the bicycle, but I don't know what exactly that might be.

The other issue that came up, and actually had before, but I thought it was just me being weird, is that the bike doesn't seem to like shifting into, or remaining in second gear. I was coming up the dreaded long hill on the highway and it kept slipping back and forth from easier to harder peddling. I'm not sure if this is a simple adjustment the bike shop can deal with, or if it's a typical problem for the Sturmey Archer hub. I did take a quick look on Google to see if there are reported problems (admittedly, I didn't make this an all day adventure), but didn't seem to find anything. I'm not horribly concerned, as I think it can be resolved, but thought it was interesting that it just didn't like second gear.

Other than those two things, all seems to be going well. I still need to grease up under the Brooks saddle, so perhaps I'll work on that a bit later. The Brooks saddle is a bit hard, but I'm told it will break in, so I'm giving it a chance. I'm not in pain or anything, so I can definitely wait it out to see how it goes. Especially for a saddle they say can "last a lifetime." We shall see. I also need to get the registration card off in the mail so that I'm all taken care of if anything were to happen to any of the parts. I have to say though, I am really enjoying this bike so far, and not feeling every little bump in the road is a joy. If I can get the grip situation resolved, all will be right with the world.

Now, if I can just get my sunblock before summer is over, I should be all good!