I can't believe it's September already. I want more summer

And I say that despite the brutal heat we endured on Saturday during the Civil War Century. My account of that ride is in this "hilly century" thread:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=54125

And a discussion of my unhappiness with my new wheels, which debuted at that ride, is here:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=54252

One thing I did not already mention was a mechanical problem that I had. There was a terrible rattling sound, which I thought was caused by the new wheels, and I also had a lot of trouble shifting. I thought that the derailleur needed an adjustment. There was a mechanic at one of the rest stops, so I brought the bike to him. He took the wheel off and determined that a spacer was missing from the cassette. He didn't have the right spacer to fix it, but was able to use a bracket spacer instead for a very good repair. I will need to have my LBS fix things with the correct spacer, but I was able to finish the ride without further shifting problems, and the rattling noise was gone.

The mechanic at the rest stop was Joe, from Joe's Bike Shop in Baltimore. He did a great job, and saved my ride.

As for the cause of the missing spacer, I think that was due to some miscommunication at my LBS that caused a delay in getting my bike back to me with the new wheels. It was definitely not the type of thing they typically do, and I'm confident they will take care of it.

Onward.