Extremes

Saturday met our little group with big blue skies, no wind, and warm temps.
Well, it warmed up once we were rolling.Of course, 45 and sun beats any weather North of the State line this time of year.
We rode short, as Statler had to get back to see a family member of to the airport. 2 hours was plenty.
My plan was to stay in the small ring all day, but that got shot in the ass once we hit Shop for the run back in. I can't spin the 39 at 120rpm.
60km fell quickly, and I was home in time to do some work on my own bikes.
And cut the White hubs out of their hoops. There is little that breaks the heart more than cutting CX-Ray spokes. It's akin to tearing up money.
I did put a nice polish on the hubs though...

They'll be going into some new hoops shortly. 3x/32hole laced into 23mm wide rims. The decision is spokes. Do I throw the $, and go CX-Rays again, or just do boring old round DB? That's (literally) the $164 question.
The alarm chirped Sunday, and the big sun from Saturday had given way to rain. Secure in the knowledge that no one would show up for The Heathen Ride, I turned it off, and rolled over.
Once awake...about 2 hours later, and free of the cobwebs of 10-1/2 hours of sleep, I jumped on the CX bike. The rain had stopped, and it was quite pleasant.

Sure, it was wet, but who cares? It wasn't raining. And the line of demarcation for the front was just a bit further up the road. Just after Amazon, the road went dry, and the temps went up a solid 5-7 degrees. The sun was fighting the good fight too.
Around the long way, and back into the Powerstation...

Here's where the ride changed. The rains came back, and were quite cold. Time to ride harder.
It rained all the way back to Service Course. I was damp.
Upside? The rain, and wet roads, washed off all of the accumulated detritus on both the Salsa, and me. Always look at the positive.
Another 2 hours in the books. I felt better for it...

STORIES AND LINKS : 

From the GFY Files : Lady enters bike race. Lady crashes. Lady sues promoter. Yeah, you read that correctly. She crashed at a DOWNHILL race. I guessed she expected the course to be groomed?

From the "If you aren't reading Dan Wuori's column, you should" Files : Cycling, Robin Williams, and how they both affect most of us. 
I know that w/o a bicycle, things would be far different around here...

From the "Cry me a River" Files : Tinkoff says Russian sanctions and the collapse of the Ruble could end his team.
I guess we could file this under GFY as well. I wonder if the team guys quietly whisper amongst themselves that Tinkoff is like the drunk Uncle at the family reunion?

From the "Who do I need to kill?" Files : It gives me a woody...
And if you like cool automobile/motocycle/lifestyle stuff, visit Silodrome often. There's always something drool-worthy over there.  Like this....SR500. Who wants to motorpace?

And the plan is for a New Years Day 98k Ride. 0900 at The Colonial Center. Everyone is welcome. Everyone will stay together. Pace will be Winter plus a little. Bring a couple of bucks for the store stop in Swansea. Show up with a smile. Ride with a smile. Go home with a good start to 2015, and a bigger smile.

And with that, I bid you adieu. I must go get cracked and stretched.