Well, if you missed Bond's Halloweener ride, you missed a good 110km loop through the country, North of Blythewood. The weather was borderline for the rollout, but got better as the ride progressed. A low, hanging fog followed us for the first hour or so, but cleared off. It never rained and the winds were light, but the humidity kept the roads nice and wet. This fact, coupled with the rural nature of the ride, made for a messy bike and kit. On the upside, the new Tide Stain Booster bombs work really well on cycling clothes! It was a really fun ride with a good group a guys. I really need to go out there to ride more often, for several reasons, with the biggest being that it will make me stronger on the bike.
We never really went all that hard, yet still averaged 33.5kmh for the 110km. It was just steady, for 3:15.
I got home, hit the mix1 (which if you don't know about, you should!) and spent a solid hour wiping road schmaltz and red clay mud off the bike. I also had to give the Ridley a fresh dose of handlebar tape, as the old tape was sullied by a rather large bird with an affinity for some sort of black berries, while attached to the roof rack on the ride home.
This morning, it was the same sort of day, with the added bonus of a light to moderate drizzle. I flatly refused to pull the Ridley out of the Manhole(tm), as it was fresh and clean, so I swapped road pedals and skinnies onto the Salsa, kitted up in my new TBR stuff, slapped on the
Mad Alchemy and headed out.
To say the ride was thin this morning would be generous...it was Kate Moss! Mrs. FK turned around before even making it to the meeting spot, so four of us rolled. That 4 became 3 about 2km later when TVH turned and headed home. FK and I turned off about an hour later and headed home, while Il Prof decided to stay out in the soup. More power to him!
I wasn't miserable or cold, just not quite in the mindset to wallow around in 55 degrees and drizzle for three hours. I ended up with 2 hours, just shy of 60km, and a realization. I really like riding the cross bike on the road during the winter. It fits just like the Ridley, yet isn't as twitchy, isn't as harsh and I don't mind getting it filthy. Everyone should have a cross bike...it's like a Swiss Army knife with wheels!
I have a couple of reviews to post up next week...DZNuts, Mad Alchemy, MagicShine light...stay tuned!
2 comments:
u forgot to pop Kempy for lurking in back all day and being a wussy. at least he didn't fly off the back I guess. Like he did last week when I was putting out a massive 203W AVP. I have a WKO+ file and a witness if needed to prove the sad, sad display of cycling.
He put his nose in the breeze 1x, right after catching back on...when we were waiting for him and rolling at 14mph. He rode on the front for @ 5 minutes and we never saw him again...
He came out though, so he gets points in my book. All of others talked about it, but stayed in bed!
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