After the Afton debacle last Tuesday, it only seemed prudent to keep on keepin' on so plans were hatched for a Thursday ride. Burns had, uh, "work commitments," so with precip in the forecast I grabbed the rain cape, and set out on the Cross-Check for some west-side fun. Light drizzle to start, nothing major. But by the time I got to Minnetonka, rain became increasingly heavier, mixed with a nice bit of sleet. At one point I felt play in my headset, [reminiscent of last month's headset tech, where someone (The White Castle Mafia denies any involvement) decided it would be a good idea to add another set of bearings below the lower cartridge bearing, making a proper headset adjustment impossible] so I stopped on the side of the road, in the rain, and lowered the fork out of the frame just to be certain. No extra bearings were revealed so I put it all back together and pressed on. The rain became torrential on the edge of Hopkins, and I wheeled under the overhang at the gas station on the corner of 19 & 15, for yet another headset adjust. Good grief, Charlie Brown...
The Cross-Check survived; turns out the lower cartridge bearing had all but disintegrated. Easily remedied.
But I was cooked!
Today, I met up with Kevin and Nick for another spin. All three of us had been out last night at Rollin's Birthday Barbecue Bastard Saint Gay Witch Abortion Party,
Gay Witch Abortion melted our faces. [Bastard Saint also bruised our eardrums, livers, and psyche; sorry, Steve; I didn't get any photos of your set]
The guy with his pockets full of whiskey is Rollin...
followed by Split Lip Rayfield at Lee's Liquor Lounge, and I do believe none of us were feeling 100% if you get my meaning. But, still we rolled out on the Minnetonka LRT trail, to find the Excel Crit going on in downtown Excelsior. After heckling H-wood for a few laps we were getting chilled and decided to keep rolling. The temp must've dropped 10° so jackets and hats came out. I tied a bandana around my neck. And then like some freaky flash-flood it it began snowing huge flakes. We were getting soaked as we drilled it around Tonka Bay before heading back thru Wayzata. The fast pace kept the blood flowing but I was certainly on the rivet. Kevin, meanwhile, stayed calmly seated on his Brooks saddle and just motored the 45 x 17, showing that he'll no doubt be ready for Almanzo.
1 comment:
Hurl, Thanks for delaying your weekend recovery nap long enough to pull me around Tonka Bay. The ride was great and despite my feet being numb for from the time we remounted after coffee to about 45 minutes after I returned home, I had a great time.
Thanks again, Dude.
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