Nothing epic here either, but I'll play. This incident sticks in my memory as one of those incidents that you laugh about for the rest of your life.
Probably 30 years ago, young, spry 38 or 39 year old, working in Gallup, Four Corners NM, outskirts of the Navajo Reservation. Took long lunch break, early April, for ride. Spring winds had Sprung up. Winter layoff; fat, tired, and weak. Took the hotrodded 1991 Specialized Stumpjumper Team with "road" wheelset (1 of 3: road, commuting, dirt): 559X 0.9" Specialized Turbos, 48/38/26 triple (Topline?) and 12-19 7 speed cassette, (22 mm tires on 19 mm OW rims = 24" diameter X 48/12 = 96" high). Rode east on Rte 66 with howling spring westerly behind me, big ring and small cogs, 27-28 mph, thought, "Not bad, not bad, I'm in good shape!" 12-13 miles to where 66 disappeared into eastbound I-14. Turned around to go back. NM spring westerlies are beasts! Tailwind became headwind. Started in 38, used up cassette, admitted defeat and got into the 26. Plugged away, ran out of water, plugged away until I got back to office. Exhausted, red eye from dust and wind, cramps in quads and calves, and also abdominals. Cramped standing up, bent over, cramped bending over. Had local-access TV show that evening (Gallup, NM; small time doesn't begin to describe it, but I was PR Director for the area HC system). Went on air at ~6 pm with cramps and red eyes. Never learned about the Nielsen ratings. On Sun, Mar 17, 2024 at 9:29 AM Jay <jason.bike...@gmail.com> wrote: > Some of my most memorable rides involved bad weather. I recall many > moments from a ride close to 20 years ago, where halfway into a 60k ride it > started snowing, a lot. I rode home 30km in what accumulated to 5cm of > snow, on 35mm tires. I used a small backpack with a water bladder and the > hose froze and I was out of water/food. I stayed upright. I smiled most of > the time (when I wasn't displaying fear when cornering), and realized that > such rides can bring one a lot of joy. On the flip side, I probably had > 20-30 rides last year in perfect weather...can't recall one detail. > > I would love to read your ride reports where defied the weather. I have > one below, from this morning's ride. > > *"Winter's Revenge"* > *Distance*: 40km > *Elevation*: 400m > *Temperature*: -2C to +1C > *Disclaimers*: no photos (use your visualization skills!); lot's of talk > about non-riv bike > > I woke up at 6am and checked the latest weather report on my phone while > lying in bed: snow/rain showers starting at 8am, wind gusts up to 50km. > The radar showed a blue/green blob heading towards me. > > On Friday I had taken the afternoon off to ride, it was 15C with very > little wind. Had a great ride on Leo (Roadini; aka Goldilocks). Didn't > ride yesterday (Saturday). Rest of the week looks pretty bad (and I'm > working, so limited time to ride). I had to ride this morning... > > Went downstairs and checked out the current conditions: it was still dark, > moderate wind, dry roads. I made tea and did my morning loosening up > (stretching) routine as I contemplated which bike to take, scouring the > multiple weather sites. Leo, with her rim brakes, double drive train, and > 43mm smooth tires, or the Fargo with her 2.2" tires, mech discs, 1x. I'm a > bit "soft" when it comes to my bikes so I opted for the Fargo (just > couldn't put Leo through what might be some crappy weather). Neither bike > has fenders (but they're on my future acquisition list). > > I rolled out in the dark, just as the sky was brightening. It rained last > night but as the wind was picking up and I was riding right into it, I took > some shortcuts on tree-lined gravel paths sheltered from the wind. After > 30 minutes the wind was a steady 20-30km/h and I can see dark clouds in the > distance. They were not all too distant though, as within a few more km it > started snowing. As it was just below 0C the snow switched between soft > flakes to hard pellets, but wasn't all that bad at that moment. > > I wanted to keep riding as I felt a lot of confidence on the Fargo, with > her wide tires and disc brakes. I only had one small water bottle, so I > decided that I was going to ride a bit longer and another bottle would be > nice, and maybe a snack, so I chose my route and rode further west, away > from home (into the wind and weather system that was now upon me, but with > a halfway point in mind in a town with shops). > > After a small roadside break, the wind started gusting to 50km and the > snow pellets were coming down strong, and sideways; thankfully the snow was > melting, leaving the roads very wet, but not slippery (at this point I was > glad Leo was at home, clean and out of trouble). Next few km were uphill, > into the wind, with the snow at its strongest point. I pulled up my neck > gaiter to cover my cheeks from the sharp pellets. I rang my bell a few > times and laughed out loud; a very clear moment I'll recall for some time. > > At the halfway point I turned right into town and caught some tailwind, > and a bit of sun. I filled my water bottle and bought a Snickers at a gas > station. Still snowing but not as bad. The wind also died down a bit; of > course, I'm now riding home, down hill and down wind. Last 20km home were > on soaked roads, riding through puddles at times, but as it was still > early, very little traffic and the sun ahead of me, peaking through the > clouds here and there. > > When I got home the chain was dripping in black gunk. A quick wipe with a > shop rag and I brought the Fargo down to the basement for cleaning. I've > never had a bike so easy to clean: huge clearances mean wiping down the > frame is a breeze. One chain ring is easier to clean than two. I look > over to Leo, happy again that she stayed home. > > I'm thankful I have the Fargo as it's not just my trail bike (I don't > like/own flat bar mountain bikes, so this bike's main role is no > non-technical trails in town), but is also my all-weather bike (to a > certain point, but studded tires and fenders may be installed next > winter). If I didn't have the Fargo I probably would have still went for > the ride on Leo, but when the weather turned I would have been thinking too > much (rim brakes, cornering on slick-ish tires, and the clean up > afterwards, of this beautiful bike), and may have turned around early. I'm > fortunate to own a few bikes. > > That's it! I realize this was far from epic, but I got a lot out of the > ride (mentally) and wanted to share. I look forward to reading your tales, > epic or otherwise ;-) > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/8d4b2153-5c9f-42b2-b1b4-adb0d5d0b0ccn%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/8d4b2153-5c9f-42b2-b1b4-adb0d5d0b0ccn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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