Big Bikes

It Had To Be Done

Today was supposed to be my big ride day. Had plans to meet up with a couple folks but the weather was close to worst case scenario. 40° and raining. Motivation was lacking, plans were delayed and delayed again. I procrastinated proactively, cleaning the house frantically, while listening to Billy Holiday...and Judas Priest. What can I say, I'm a real Renaissance man (did I even spell "Renaissance" right?). Eventually I bit the big-fat-bullet-of-suckiness and got on the trainer (realizing I would have to clean the sand and salt off my road bike beforehand almost derailed this plan as well) with this really entertaining DVD that came with my trainer with Robbie Ventura doing a Crit workout. I think I almost made it an hour, then I was ready to find out firsthand if sticking my head in the ceiling fan would result in decapitation or just minor, yet multiple annoying bruises.


Buggin' out. Drinking coffee, flipping channels, watching Guy Ritchie movies, or movies that look and feel like Guy Ritchie movies, all futile. I noticed the rain had let up, it wasn't absolutely pissing anyway. I decided I had to get outside and see what happened. I had no idea what the condition of The woods were. If the snow had cleared. If they were a massive bog. I didn't care. I've got the new bike, the new kit. I had to do it. If I came home water-logged and hypothermic so be it.

I am still nursing a weird shoulder injury, maybe something with my rotator cuff. Did it body surfing in St. Maarten. You know you're hurt when you vomit on yourself involuntarily. As opposed to when you vomit on yourself voluntarily. Somehow it doesn't hurt when I ride, when I yank on my bars. You know when it hurts? When I'm putting a jacket on. I've had to learn to put my right arm in the sleeve first then do the awkward swivel thing with my good left arm. Amazing how hard it is to unlearn something like that. And no push ups (Sorry Solo, the video might be a while).

The fact that I wound up going out solo allowed me to stop and take photos of myself
posing on a rock in my new kit. Which would have been weird if I were with other people. Because a lone guy standing on a rock in his underpants with his bike taking self-portraits is considered perfectly normal. Especially in Woburn.

As a card carrying NEMBA memb-ah, I will not ride The Fells until opening day, which is April 15th. I'll be there April 18th at the opening day ceremonies, working for The Shop. You should be there too, it's going to be wicked fun. We're going to ride bikes. I opted to go "Old School" and hit up some spots I haven't been to in quite a while. Horn Pond Mt. in Woburn and Whipple Hill in Lexington. These are not destination riding areas. They are part of a series of wooded areas which can be linked together if you don't mind riding on the road a bit. Whipple has a some super-technical, just plain awesome trails. I always feel like I'm in Maine when I'm riding around up there.

The 34 X 17 was a little steep, definitely got my mashing in. And I got my spinning in on the road sections as well. Riding a Single Speed is pretty good training for racing... a Single Speed.

It wasn't the "workout" I was planning on, it was a hell of a lot more fun.

Black is back, all in, we're gonna win
Check it out, yeah y'all c'mon, here we go again

-Public Enemy

In Other News: Threw up a little post over HERE. Basically a rehash of the Otis post.