Seizing Up (repost)

I am reposting this blog entry from 5/28 because I've been reflecting on it and have a few things to add (not the least of which is this picture)...

Well you all missed a good one this morning. I know this because I was the only one there. I was hurrying to meet a buddy, when it happened it was just me.

Racing down the Struble at 6am to meet Andy at the country store...full bore, head down, and I caught a 3" branch in my front wheel (was hiding in the brush next to the trail). It must have stuck in the spokes because it stopped the bike instantly, I flew over the bars landed on my back and rolled on the ground for a good minute or two assessing the damage. I was FULL ON and never saw the dang branch, I was on the ground before I knew what had happened (unlike the familiar slow-motion endos where you know what's happening as it's happening - sort of the slow-motion thing). Helmet visor ripped off, seat post twisted 45 degrees, water bottle ejected, knee and shoulder banged up.

I have to say that compared to crashing when you are riding in a group, crashing alone really sucks. Not just for the obvious safety reasons. No, it also sucks because there is just no glory. Nobody to witness the drama. No one to retell your story at the annual beer exchange and bonfire. No. You just have to pull yourself together, limp out of the woods, and apologize to your riding buddy for being late.

I actually felt OK during the ride but now that I've been sitting for a couple of hours things are starting to seize up pretty good.

Like the man said, "not all pain is gain."

Time to reset the crash counter and pay more attention.

Waddling to Safety

Solo night rides are usually a little creepy. Strange sounds in the trees and glowing eyes peering at you from the darkness. Tonight's was all that with plenty of deer, some sort of large animals in the canopy on the Bonus Loop (birds I presume), and June Bugs as big as grapes thumping off my helmet and chest down by the boat landing.

But this ride ended on a particularly humorous note when I stumbled upon an opossum on the Lakeside Connector. Once I satisfied myself that it wasn't a skunk, I closed the distance to about 5' as he tried to waddle down the trail to safety. He must have waddled along - brilliantly illuminated from above by my dual LED headlamps - for half a minute before he finally shuffled off the trail into the safety of the woods.

When riding I've had close encounters with a baby fox, been nearly run over by a herd of deer, hit in the head by an owl, and chased by coon-dogs, but this was my first opossum encounter. God I love this place.

Don't Be a Nancy

OK so we didn't ride this morning as it was soggy and still oscillating between spritzer and occasional downpour. But if you weren't at least up this morning at 6am checking accuweather.com and/or your email for ride status, then you are still a Nancy (except of course for Dave Calvaresi who is a crazy man).

But do not despair. If we don't get out today (opportunistic), then tomorrow morning would be a great opportunity to redeem yourself and add some spice to your Monday with a refreshing sunrise ride. The morning fog is sure to add a sublime element to what is always a spectacular ride and a memorable way to start any day. And you can smile to yourself on your way in to the office when you see all the poor zombies stumbling bleary-eyed into yet another Monday morning buzz-saw wondering where the heck the weekend went.

Don't be a Nancy. Or a zombie. Be the guy who had the kick ass morning under his belt before the rest of the world really even woke up!

Chris

Mixed Results

Six of us ripped up White Clay this morning - from the park office to the half pipe and back in under two hours. And that's with quite a few protracted stops as a couple of us geriatrics were suffering off the back. Jim and Neil (new guys) showed us some new trails, including the tunnel and the Goat Trail. Some pretty nifty bikes in our group as well - a SuperFly, brand new Niner SIR, and a Lynskey Helix with a Hammer Schmidt crankset making it a "dingle-speed." I thought my Rig was a light bike until I heft a couple of these bikes. Now I know I am riding a tank.

After lunch I went out with the family for our weekly training ride (gearing up for next month's Europe trip). We entered the park and with about 25' of pavement to go before we would have hit the glorious (and soft) dirt trail, Sara did her first official endo. There are few things that will make your heart sink as quickly as hearing your 13-year old kid hit the pavement at 15mph. Luckily there was no permanent damage and within 20 minutes we were back home recapping the mishap and immortalizing the gore (see photographic damage assessment).

She doesn't want to hear it now, but this is the classic case of "climb back on that horse" because in less than five weeks we are heading to France for a week of biking. Are cobblestones softer than asphalt?

Chris

"Pain is Temporary, Glory is Forever"

-- unknown

Busted

My Monday evening stress buster.

Better for me than a bottle of wine, and cheaper too.

Bonkers

Other than the bonk and the bike parts littering route 30, it was a spectacular day of riding at Fair Hill. An overnight spritzer kept the dust down on the trails. The clouds parted 5 minutes before we arrived at the Appleton parking lot and we were treated to a mostly sunny morning on fast trails - we logged about 16 miles of single track in 3 hours.

Regarding the bonk...the nauseating mixture of Gatorade, rum, and stale beer sloshing around in my stomach may have been a contributing factor, but really I think it was just a garden-variety-early-season BONK. What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger.

Oh and the bike parts littering route 30 had something to do with Riley's fancy-schmanzy new bike rack. Luckily only cosmetic damage was sustained (minor miracle thanks to light traffic).

Hopefully this will be the last blog post for a while regarding bonking or bike parts littering the highway.

Chris

Las Vegas to the Loire Valley

June is shaping up. A couple of days mountain biking in the Nevada desert on a Ellsworth Epiphany (rented) followed by a week of bike touring in the Loire Valley. The Loire Valley tour will follow a week of "larding-up" in Paris which will likely involve the Vélib' - Paris' very cool public bike rental program with hundreds of automated bike rental stations scattered all around the city.

I am so gonna be bike riding in June.

Monter sur!