This is a shameless attempt to save the the most advanced civilization in
history from imminent self destruction by eliminating carbon emission,
dependence on foreign sources of fuel,obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
Cycling accomplishes all those things at once and helps us develop a better
understanding of ourselves, each other and our relationship to the cosmos.

Oh, horse puckey!
I like to ride bikes, have been doing it all my life.
The rest of that crap is just a fringe benefit,
and the blogosphere gives me a chance to share my interior
monologue with virtual rather than imaginary friends.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Sometimes you have too much fun.

I was going to the Monday night club ride yesterday but the strangest thing happened.    It all seemed to start last Sunday when we had a beautiful day for the club's annual anniversary ride.  
A whole bunch of us aging spandex hamsters showed up to ride bikes around and ruin our jerseys from the inside out with pizza.  I finished the day by completing a metric century on the way home.  The next couple of days I rode in all kinds of wet weather before dragging myself
kicking and screaming to a corporate "wellness fair."  It really wasn't really as boring as I thought it was.  A bunch of other "healthy" type businesses sent paid employees to peddle their gel packs, artisanal coffee infused candy, and bank accounts (five financial services companies at a Health Fair, go figure).
In the meantime, I was the only volunteer.  The rest 
were not privileged to have an attitude.
I  covered that.
      On Friday I went out to the Yankee Springs forest to spend the weekend riding in the Fall Fondo Saturday.  It's a rehash of the immensely popular Barry Roubaix  Gravel Grind which draws racing fanatics from all over in the nasty weather of early spring. The race has become so popular there are permanent road signs set up in the forest.  It's a good thing because getting lost in Barry County Michigan can feel like a frightening career.
        250 people got together for a more casual ramble through the woods.   Gale force winds forced me to buy a cool looking wool jersey to get through the day.  I'm glad I got it and am checking out the Portland Cyclewear website as I write.  Oh boy! More bike stuff to buy.
There were several vintage bikers around and we had a convivial time talking about old gear and the smugness we gain from riding steel right past all the broken plastic imitations on the roadside.
      After sleeping like the dead Saturday night,  I explored a couple of hours in the Yankee Springs trail system.  The Hunq handled the single tracks just fine despite what I thought was a screwed up derailer.  I realized later that it was merely a loose screw in the shift lever causing me to shift erratically and fret.  I was just looking at the wrong end of the cable.  So it did make for a lot of bike stuff and mileage over strange territory.  By the time I got away from work Monday and was thinking about the  club ride, a Martini made more sense.

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