Part I, Friday
With B-Man off of school on Friday I did not expect to be doing any riding until Saturday. It turns out that Wifey decided to take a much-needed vacation day and gave me the go-ahead to go out and get some trail time in. I did not say no.
A lap around MMCC in chilly mid-30s temps and crunchy leaves was in order. A good time was had by all… by “all” I of course mean me and the woodland critters, everyone else was at school or work like normal contributing members of society.
Part II, Saturday
Last Wednesday I talked about suffering on the bike and how I was sort of in the mood for it. Well, Saturday I got what I wished for. Not in distance, but in what Ma Nature would throw at me along the way.
I knew that with the cool temps and all the off and on rain showers we have had lately the dirt roads were going to be a slog, and I was right. They were slow going and I was working my ass off just to keep the bike upright in some sections. I also knew that along with the cold 40˚temps and stiff 15+ mph breeze there was a good chance I would get rained on. But since the planned ride wasn’t going to be all that long I figured I could beat the rain coming down from the north/west. It turns out the roads were worse than I thought, which made me even slower than usual, and about 15 miles in I looked over my shoulder and saw THIS bearing down on me…
Bricks were shit.
Not much I could do but put my head down, power through the energy sucking mud and do my best to outrun the storm.
Not long after I took the above shot, the winds kicked up big time and the rain started to fall. I pulled over, put my phone and camera in a Zip-Loc, tucked them away in my jacket pocket and moved on as quickly as I could.
Just a mile or so down the road the wind was now easily gusting over 20 or 25 miles per hour and sheets of rain were coming down. It was sort of brilliant. By the time I made it to the pavement of Baseline Road it started hailing. All I could do was laugh at this point, as small chunks of ice pelted off my helmeted noggin.
I still had fun and it was sort or mentally refreshing to have to push harder through a ride that normally would have been something about one step above a session on the trainer. The ride was also the first ride this fall/winter that I returned home soaked to the bone, with numb cheeks and eager to get in a HOT shower.
Sunday afternoon I went down to gander my The Jake The Snake and assess the damages. Along with a drivetrain that now sounds like a rock tumbler I noticed that my rear tire was completely flat. It seems I must have made it home just in time. While I had all the gear to change out a flat, doing so in a cold pouring rain is NOT high on my list of “must dos.”
Below is short video I shot early in the ride. Give you a good idea of that “vomit hitting pavement” sound that only bike tires on muddy dirt roads can deliver. I slowed the video down 50%, but it still gives you an idea. [may not appear on some mobile devices].
There is not to much planned this week other than trying to squeeze a few more fall miles in, finally getting the new lowers on the El Mariachi’s Reba and maybe going to Terry’s to talk to a man about a bike.