Well, that didn’t go as planned. In all honesty, I don’t know if I ever had a plan other than to try and ride my bike on Friday
Where, which bike and distance were factored in, changed, and then changed again. However, I did not factor in weight and fate.
It was a beautiful morning in the high 60s with a breeze coming from the northeast. I could have dealt without the wind, but it was otherwise perfect conditions.
I decided on Mr. Burgudy again and was hoping for something a bit longer than Wednesday’s Better Than The Trainer Ride™ however, I ended up with a Better Than The Trainer Ride?™ when—after 7 miles and finally turning into a tailwind—I heard the telltale big boy sound of a spoke on my rear wheel snapping, again. GOSH-DARN-SON-OF-A-BUCK!!!
And with that, I turned around and backtracked home with a wobbly wheel and new plans.
I ended up with a nugget hair over 14 miles, a nice little workout, and a new big boy approved Velocity rear-wheel ordered from the shop before my sweaty ass was even out of my way too-tight kit.
I knew I was pushing my luck with that wheel, and as soon as it snapped, I had the instantaneous memory of Chris at the shop saying to me two weeks ago, “Do you want me to go ahead and order you a wheel from Velocity?” I said no. Sigh.
Later in the day, I braved the 4th of July weekend crowd at Meijer to buy necessities (beer, Truly, ground turkey, and veggies) and I was treated to the best that the midwest U.S.A.-loving public had to offer. 1
I would pay for my snickers and giggles at the jingoistic public and at the man blasting strange opera meets calypso music in the parking lot; a few minutes later, when driving home the song History by The Verve2 came on the hi-fi.
“In every man, in every hand
In every kiss, you understand
That living is for other men
I hope you too will understand”
Oh well, despite the broken spoke and the random tears brought forth from The Verve it was great summer day and I’m looking forward to getting the weekend started.
Later.
- Two particular faves included: A man wearing a wife-beater, sweat pants, a COVID mask, and an American flag bandana on his head. He sort of looked like Rex from the movie Napoleon Dynamite. The other was an older woman driving a Mart Cart wearing a t-shirt that said: “LIVING THE DREAM” in a font back-filled by the American flag.
- I remember seeing The Verve on a Lollapalooza second stage back when they were promoting the Storm in Heaven album. I also remember that Wifey bought me A Northern Soul for Christmas one year back in the 90s. Good times, good times…