See that thing that looks like a single serve pizza in the middle of my wheel? It’s a 27 cog and mine is part of a Shimano 10 speed 12 X 27 cassette which replaced the 12 X 25 I’ve ridden for years. While Laura Tingle finds it so hard having enormous hair, I love having an enormous cog.

Western CT where I ride is hilly, but I didn’t get one because I was “paper-boying” up the hills here with a 25 cog. I got it because I run better after spinning up those hills with a 27 versus dancing on the peddles with a more manly gear. The jump between gears isn’t as great as I thought it would be, as this gear chart shows.

I’m swallowing my pride and packing up this super granny cassette for Ironman Wisconsin. Last time I raced there, a spectator dressed up as the devil taunted riders struggling up Stagecoach Rd with bacon stuck on the end of a pitchfork. This year I plan to be smiling when I pass him.