For reasons I don't understand I have had a rattling cough and been very weak on my rides. It is slowly improving but I've had this damn cough for 4 months. The weakness is recent and I think that the reasons were taking one of those damn vitamin combination that were supposed to increase your hematocrit. Not only didn't it do that, in my latest lab tests it is a little lower so that I am slightly below low normal. The doctor says this is normal for people my age but I would just as soon it weren't.

The manual 11 Speed DuraAce shifting really sucks. It shifts perfectly but it makes noise all over the place and I can't get it to run quietly. I suppose that I will have to turn it over to a shop whose work I trust. This might be attributed to using a 105 cogset 11-32 but I don't think so. It came in a Shimano box but there are counterfeits all over the place and this one makes noise in only part of the cogs which suggests improper spacing.

Other than chain noise from the DuraAce I have to say it is FAR better than the Campy I have been running. While the DuraAce is noisy the damn Campy would need adjustment every couple of weeks to keep from jumping between gears and usually in the most inconvenient place - like the steepest part of a climb when you were giving it everything you had. Then a quarter of a turn of the adjustment in the correct direction, which was always difficult to tell, would give you clean and quiet shifting for another two weeks.

The Madone simply rides nearly perfect. The invisible bumps you hit at speed are pretty much absorbed so you can descend at breath-taking speeds without worrying about any loss of control. Though I do find that although I am still faster than other people on descents, I do not go anywhere near the speeds I used to go.

Now, the Madone rides very well on the flats and it goes fine over even heavy climbs but not as well as the Emonda. And the Di2 of he Emonda gives me perfect shifting all the time. There are no wires to stretch or pull though the lock-screws a little way. Of course you do have to charge the battery every couple of weeks but yo have to maintain your manual groups as well.

Pretty soon I will be putting DuraAce Di2 on the Colnago. After this next pay period I should have my account back to zero and will be able to put the $150 into the setup. Though I am considering installing the bar-end control unit instead of the under bar unit. That would be another $150 for the unit and the different wire combo for it. Last ride on the Emonda I discovered that it wasn't my getting used to the Di2 shifter but my short term memory problem where I get confused at which lever to use. You can't really do this with manual Campy for perhaps that is why I used Campy for so long. I now have no problem in finding the "front" and "rear" switches/levers so it isn't that which is the problem.

I put on a lot of weight during this lockdown so the Madone was a God-send but the rides I've been taking have been slowly working that off. I burned 3,000 Calories on the ride yesterday though on most older bike that would be 50% higher.

I really like the Garmin 530 but I can't say as much for the other models. What is interesting is that there is a Chinese copy that sells for 1/5th the price and I think that I will get one of those and pass on a report. I know what electronics should cost and Garmin is entirely overpriced for what it is.

Though it is really nice having the speedo in the rear wheel and cadence as well. This improves aerodynamics. I have a heart rate monitor but the display is too small for my eyesight so I don't bother with it. I had perfect eyesight until 65 but that crash also put a scar on the back of one of my retinas so it screws up the sight in one of my eyes which of course messes up the other as well. I can get along fine with bifocals but can't wear those on the bike without buying $400 Oakleys that can have the correction built into the lenses. And Oakley is no longer making glasses that properly cover your face on rapid descents. So I can do as well with $10 Chinese sunglasses.

Suggestion: when you finally have to get your cataracts repaired GET THE EXPENSIVE lenses that your eyes can change the focal length on. This negates the need for glasses unless you have other problems like I have. One set of good glasses cost more than those plastic lenses. They are not perfect but work almost like your original eyesight for most things other than very close work.