Ride: Bike shop ride

After more than a decade, I decided to have some work done on the Specialized.  Since I moved here I've had the idea I would like to change my rear cassette to something more suitable for hills.  My unhappiness with the gear ratio goes back to the first Muddy Waters with this bike and the ride up Garvin Road.  Searching for a lower gear I dropped the chain and had to stop and fix it, on a steep hill.  While that hasn't happened since, a better gear ratio was still desired.  And, the thing that got me to the shop was having to apologise to people at a bus stop for the noise my brakes made.  Time for new rubber.

It turned out I could not improve my cassette much.  I had an 11-27 and was hoping for an 11-32.  According to Shimano the best I could have with my existing 3 front rings was an 11-28.  Better than nothing.  So I said to go ahead.  New Ultegra chain.  New middle ring on the front since the one I had was making shifting difficult because of how much it was worn.  New brake pads.  Labour.  $399.  But it feels like a brand new bike so I think I was money well spent.