1st real ride on my geared bike

With the new Sram Force drivetrain. I went out yesterday to do hill repeats but that was quickly smashed as my derailer wouldn't shift past the 15t cog. 6.2 miles, cursing, wishing I had my D/A back on. I pissed around with the adjustments (after Gregg had set it up after I effed it up) and still couldn't get it in the last 2 cogs. So last night I messed around with it when I got home from work and I had an epiphany. The cable was too tight. D'oh. Worked great after about 10 minutes of adjusting it. So out I went today. Still problems. Then another epiphany. I wasn't pushing the paddles in far enough to upshift. Well. They work great and the bike feels lighter. But that's probably due to riding the fixie all last week. I'll weigh it just for shits and grins, tho. Guess I'll move my hill repeat intervals to next week so I get used to the shifters now that it's wednesday. I'm feeling like I could do that crit in Middletown on the 26th. If my kit ever comes. Can you race for a team and not wear it's kit?