Big Bikes

Nightride 12.6.06

Big ride last night, BIG ride.
It was me, Uri, and John Lewis braving the sub-forty temperatures out in Cutler Park, A.K.A. "Naked Man", so called due to the one time sighting of a man running through the woods sans clothing. I've heard of a naked man running out in The Middlesex Fells, reports describe him as an otherwise serious runner-type-guy wearing nothing but a pair of expensive running shoes.
This was the first ride of the year where we were actually riding over ice, you'd ride into a mud puddle and it would let out a resounding CRUNCH! Unfortunately Uri once again lost a shoe in one of these areas, it isn't fun and games until someone loses a shoe damnit. It was cold out, damn cold, but once we got in the woods it wasn't so bad, I may have even broken a sweat. A highlight was coming up to the tunnel under the train tracks in the middle of Cutler to see a commuter train's light cutting through the night, next time I'll try to be quicker with the camera.

We did not brave the never-ending mud bog to pointless dead end section, opting to do a few laps of the "totally sick" BMX track and make our way over directly to Millenium Park instead. As we left Millenium and took off full bore toward Wells Ave. a recently installed downed tree almost took all of us out. Earlier in the ride John had mentioned something about a bump in his tire, just after the log incident we heard an enormous and bizarre THOOMP! (not to be confused with a "Thomp!")like noise.
It sounded like a tubeless tire blowing off the rim...but John wasn't running tubeless. His tube had almost entirely hemmhoraged out of the tire. Somehow, against all laws of physics and probability he managed to deflate it and stuff it back inside the bead before it went "KA-BLAMMO!". Truly amazing.

While John dealt with his situation Uri expressed his angst, here he lies under a fallen tree limb holding a small twig, I believe it's meant to represent a soul in torment.

If you are close enough to read this you are coming on the next IBC wednesday nightride.