No...no I did not...

Nope...just no...

I didn't ride last night...for myriad reasons.  Motivation was not one of them. 
It rained most of the day, and the wind began howling at just about my scheduled departure time.  I don't know about you fine folks, but I've been wet and/or cold, and battled more than my fair share of wind over the Winter and early Spring. 
AND my bike is clean...
Sorry. Not going out in that.  At this point, if I miss a day, it''s just that...a missed day.

Instead, I went down to Service Course to finish up Il Prof's back-up Ti bike.  Yes, his back-up bike is Ti...
Upon pre-bartape final inspection, I felt a rough spot on the bars.  Closer inspection with a pick revealed this...

Yes, that IS a hole in the bars. Granted, his sweat is borderline weapons-grade, but it drives home a larger point, for all of us.  Change your tape regularly, especially here, in the hot and humid South. 
Where do you think the sweat on your arms runs?  Yeah, down onto your hands, tape, and bars.  Then it all all dries. 
You can sit there and say... "My bars don't look like that!".  You can SAY it, but that doesn't make it true. 
Mine were crusty the last time I changed my tape. 
And when changing tape, inspect your bars closely.  It's not just this particular person, or this particular bar. 
This is a quite common event.
A broken bar on a ride WILL lead to other stuff breaking...like collarbones, helmets, femurs, etc.

 There's one constant over the last 12 Monuments.  Can you figure out what it is?

I think I like this Terpstra guy.  A cap, retro Oakleys, AND Chuck Taylor Converse on the podium?  Dude is okay with me...

Seems the organizers of Brabantse Pijl are either jokers, or assholes. 

I may spin around a little this afternoon.  Blue sky is calling...