Another night in the dark

It rained Tuesday, so the ride got pushed back to last night. Doogie and I went out @ 5:45, rode up the street and then it happened. Doogie put down his MASSIVE power while crossing over Rosewood and just sheared the chain right off his cross bike. That's right folks, he's 130 pounds of pure, concentrated wattage.
We assessed the situation and turned around to head for the ManHole(tm). I popped the broken link out of the chain, slammed in a Wipperman link and we were back on the road. Total time lost...@ 12 minutes.
Once we got going, the pace was a bit quicker than usual. Up through campus and downtown, the northside (insert gang sign here...stack them if you wish) and down to the river. The dirt road was a bit wet from all of the rain and Doog chose to follow me through the preferred line. Now he knows what it's like to follow wheels during Paris-Roubaix. When you're on the front, you eat a small amount of your own mud. Anywhere behind that and you are eating your mud and the mud of the guy you are following.
The Greenway was pretty empty last night. Of course, New Years Day was three weeks ago, so a lot of folk's resolutions have gone the way of the Dodo. We did a good, hard effort for the entire length, across the canal bridge and down to the powerplant. Riding heavy wheels with heavy tires on wet pea gravel is good for the soul.
Once out of the park, it was up through the Vista and into a couple of garages. The first one was uneventful. The climb of number 2 was the same. The descent was quiet until a kamikaze pigeon dive-bombed Doogie. I swear, I think I saw a little silk headband with a rising sun on the bird and heard "Bonzai...!"
We made it back through USC and the 'hood and parted company.
I felt pretty good on the bike last night and ended up with 90 good minutes in the dark. I felt like I was hitting a plateau on Sunday, but didn't have that feeling last night. Of course, it was ass-biting cold Sunday morning, which isn't necessarily conducive to good feelings on the bike.

The H.O. left for Darlington this morning to discuss their NASCAR sponsorship deal, so a ride tonight is still up in the air. I'll be getting some GOOD tickets for the Darlington races out of this meeting. Cultivates my redneck side...

Peace!