Signs

Sometimes, the Gods look down from the mountain, and send you enough signs that indicate you should have just stayed home.
Saturday was one of those days.
Yeah...it stopped raining, but it was still quite unpleasant. 40. Damp. Windy. Cloudy.
I decided to go out anyway.
Felt like crap. Forged ahead in the hopes that the bad stuff would get pushed out. The only thing that got pushed out was the tube through a destroyed Clement LAS.
On the 12th St. bridge, I hit a wheel weight from a tractor-trailer tire. Front tire hit it, and flipped it up. Rear tire hit it flush. The large hunk of steel-encased lead laced the tire all the way to the bead.
RIP rear LAS. You were a good tire...

No booting it. Called The Boss for pickup. She couldn't figure out where I was until I told her to turn left at the Krispy Kreme. Figures...
I rode for a grand total of 30 minutes. The Boss told me to switch bikes and go back out.
No thanks. It's a sign to stay home...

And this sort of brings me to a larger point, and ties into the whole Columbia "WalkBike" thing.
I was riding on the shoulder Saturday morning, just as I was a few weeks ago when I ran over the meth pipe.
Riding on the shoulder, and in bike lanes, is fine and well...if they're clean. All of the detritus from the road gets pushed to the sides, where drivers expect us to ride. Well, the two "cut tire rides" cost me $150 (at retail) because I chose to ride on the shoulder.
Part of proper, and safe, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure is making sure that surfaces provided are free of obstacles, and the danger they present.
The powers that be claim they want to provide safe roads on which to ride, but the bike lanes are always full of garbage, and the SCDOT ground the "drunk bumps" into the road, thus eliminating use of the white line/shoulder, forcing us into the lane.
Sounds like lip service to me...
Columbia, and our Mayor-who-sits-on-High, has to have committees and meeting after meeting to make the City friendly to non-vehicle transport, but a $35 Million baseball stadium gets pushed through w/o so much as a "Hey...how are ya?"

Anywho...Sunday met The Heathens with cool temps, but a BIG sun. It was quite pleasant. One of those ride days that if one complained about the weather, and being on the bike, one should just sell their shit.
A modified trip out to Swansea, up around the Ricky extension, and back in on Fish Hatchery. Speaking of, FH has become a pave section. Hey, LexCo, there are only so many times you can throw a shovelful of asphalt into a hole.
Know why we ride out in the lane? Go drive down Fish Hatchery Rd.
Back thru the airport, WeCola, and USC.
We said the ride would be shorter than last week's 117km, and it was. I got home with 108. ;)
It was a borderline perfect day to ride. If you missed it, you missed it.

And along the same vein, this is an open note to those living in the NE. That sound you hear is people in the Southeast laughing AT you...

...not WITH you. And please, don't get any ideas about moving South. We have enough of you already...

Taylor Phinney's little sister is gonna be PISSED. That skinsuit is going to be all kinds of stretched out when she gets it back...

Staying with things Pearl Izumi, the 2015 road shoe looks sessy. Too bad no one in town will bring in anything other than what their bike suppliers provide.

Hoogerheide was yesterday. Last stop before Worlds...



Women



If the video won't load due to Country restrictions, download the Hola app onto your chosen device. It gets around these sort of things what shocking ease. Thank me later...

Okay...get on with your Monday. I need to go to Whole Foods...