
Ninth day in a row on this bike. Needs lube.
Ninth day in a row on this bike. Needs lube.
Today is the 6th day in the row I’ve gone for a ride. Was a time when I rode almost every day a lot. Recently it has been more challenging due to all kinds of life things – sometimes even including the motivation to go ride. The world is invariably better when I ride and ride often. It’s interesting to me that often it’s the hardest to do the things that we know are inherently good for us.
Out for a nooner.
Years ago I stopped riding with headphones, music etc. Every ride has a soundtrack of it’s own, be it natural, urban or other. Sounds – or sometimes the lack there-of – for me, are very much a part of the ride.
Also being Earth Day and all, I picked up a piece of trash from the massive dumping spot off the side of the road that people have been using for years. SMH. Don’t ask.
Picked up this beaut of a plastic bottle. Small hole in the bottom could be patched. I could probably find new caps on the internet if I scoured hard enough. It also occurs to me I could cut/modify it to be some kind of bin/basket on bicycle, or an otherwise handy bin to keep stuff in. We shall see…
Storm brewing and I was perilously low on coffee beans. Had to make a run.
So, hit play on the track and look at the pictures.
I got an email today from a friend I hadn’t heard from in quite some time. The pandemic has been rough on her. Already battling with anxiety, the stress and constant barrage of suffering online led her to drop off the internet entirely and shutter all her social media accounts. She lost a family member and then there was the ensuing familial strife that sometimes follows these events. She had a falling out with a dear and trusted friend. She was in a dark place. Having had an injury some years back, she hadn’t been on a bike in many years, but one day she got back on. She completely struggled at first due to lack of fitness, but gradually built up to longer and longer loops. Reflecting on it she said, “It was the only thing that cut through my despair.” I went out this afternoon and rode my bike like I have so many times, but this time it was different knowing what a bike ride had done for her, and the crystallization of what it has so often done for me. Her email subject line read, “I think my bike saved my life…” – I hope it keeps doing that for her – I have faith that it will, and I know – because it saved mine some years ago and still does almost every day. I don’t have to tell this to you guys though, you already know this. Perhaps though, maybe someone you know could use some saving. Or maybe it’s you – and that’s ok too.
Sunday morning Dirt Church solo ride. Early morning a small black bear jumped out and ran in front of me on the trail for about 100 metres before jumping in the bushes. I thought it was a cub, and waited for others or Mama to pass, but after I stopped, made a ridiculous amount of noise talking to them, no one else materialized, so maybe he was actually a young bachelor bear returning from a rough night and wasn’t sure which way home was. Well, we’ve all been there. It was a tough day for handlebar accessories. First my @quadlockcycle mount stripped (probably due to my OCD over tightening) then, on a particularly bumpy and rocky downhill section, the silencing arm of my Incredibell Trail Bell that was Death Star customized, seems to have flown off. I didn’t notice at first as I had the Beastie Boys’ ‘Check Your Head’ bumping in the Air Pods. After going back and searching for like 15 minutes, I couldn’t find it and gave up. It was a long downhill. So much carnage in one ride.
Got out with Titus for a long gravel stint. I think too much sitting and mashing on the Karate Monkey – my knees didn’t much like it. Was nice to go straight into the pool post-ride.
Last day of vacation ride. Been a good stint. Got out early and caught a family of deer having a splash. I see deer quite often on rides, but this was the first time I’d ever seen them in the water.
Went out for an MTB ride in Penniac at the Hadley trail system. We were on the clock and Andrew flatted so was a short ride, but good to get out none-the-less. Nice light in the Corrective Action Bicycle Club clubhouse for pre-ride coffee.
Got up to go ride with Titus, had planned on riding the Cross Check, but during pre-ride check I noticed a broken chain-link. I couldn’t get it fixed and was running out of time to meet up, so rode the Karate Monkey instead. Once I met up with Titus, he flatted twice in a 1/2 hour and used all his spare tubes, so we sat at a cafe and drank coffee till his Team Car picked him up. Then I took the long way home. Changes in plans are just that, changes in plans.
On the way home stopped by the LBS to get a new chain, also picked up a fancy bear bell with an ‘on/off’ switch. What a time to be alive.