Two Wheels - Six Strings

Random news and thoughts about various two-wheeled projects and music, especially my band, Skull Full Of Blues.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

The last Sunday Morning Ride of 2009

Rich, Brian and I all met at Kaladi Bros., at 9:00 this morning, for some preride coffee. We figured that, if we waited until 9:30 or 10:00 to take off, the temperature would climb a bit and make for a more comfortable ride. And, it did...it climbed from about 20 F to 25 F. Oh, well, at least it was sunny.

Once we got rolling, it was not too bad. The sun was actually warm on our backs, and there was no wind to speak of. We rolled north, through Washington Park, and on to the Cherry Creek Trail. On the trail, we headed toward Confluence Park.

Once we got to Confluence, the three big cups of coffee I had drunk at Kaladi's were beginning to work on me, so I suggested a pit stop at the public toilet (Porta-Potty). I was surprised to see a beer tap inside.

At least, I figured it was a beer tap. I couldn't think of any other "foaming alcohol". My advice: Skip the beer in that joint. It tastes a bit off.

I came out of the toilet, threw away my beer mug, and noticed that both Rich and Brian were very intently staring at their bikes. I stared at mine for a bit, just to fit in, then took this picture of them.

At that point, a street urchin came by and offered us chiclets. Instead, I had her snap this picture. After chasing her down and retrieving the camera, I returned to my bike and we soldiered on.

At some point, Rich apparently accosted an Imperial Stormtrooper and stole bits of his armor from which to fashion mudguards.

Bringing up the rear, as usual, I snapped this picture of my two intrepid companions.

Rich...

aaaaannnnddd...

Brian!

Eventually, we wended our way back to Kaladi Bros. The ride was about 20 miles long, over mostly packed snow, with little ice. None of us were rolling on studs (although a couple of think we are "rolling studs"), and never had any trouble on the ride.

Our weather has been pretty consistently cold and overcast, since the snow fell, so we never had that "half-thaw/refreeze" cycle which can make riding pretty trecherous. I figure that we are getting that, today, and I'll be glad to have the studded tires at 5:30, tomorrow morning, for the commute to work.

I tried another panda portrait, but that old guy jumped in between me and the camera, again! I'm gonna have to do something about that guy, one of these days. (Looks like the old codger might have had a few extra helpings of Christmas Dinner...)

I got home and parked the XO-2 out in the sun, to thaw a bit before coming inside. I ended up sitting in my lawn chair for a while, after changing clothes, and enjoying the sunshine. Twenty nine degrees F, and I was comfortable in the sun, with no jacket. That part of Winter in Colorado is okay, in my book.

I got a bit more thawing on the bike than I had anticipated, though!

x

5 Comments:

At 5:32 PM , Blogger Rat Trap Press said...

You guys look downright comfortable riding in that stuff. The ice I came across the other day was thawing and was really slippery. I didn't want to risk riding on it.

It's funny but I've got an aging dude that keeps jumping in front of my camera as well. I hate that.

 
At 10:47 AM , Blogger frankenbiker said...

Wow! shrinky-dink Bridgestone,nice.I have already brought in my yard art bikes.The road salt really kills them here in Ohio.I rode into town on the old rail trail near my house yesterday to do a little work at the machine shop.The path was not plowed and slick as eel snot underneath!Glad I stuck to the path instead of the roads they where just as bad.The black ross 26"fixed you built for me is now my drop bar, befendered,studded tire snow beast and she's still going strong everyday.

 
At 11:57 AM , Blogger Apertome said...

Looks like a really fun ride! You cracked me up with your comment about an old guy jumping in front of the camera.

 
At 3:43 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your compatriots bikes are very colorful but your's seems to be very bland. You need some color in your bike.

I would suggest a pink zefal pump, some yellow grips and you should also get some of those green tires. those were the bomb back in the day

 
At 7:23 PM , Blogger Jon said...

At least I had the yellow jacket. That's how I roll, more sartorial than equipment blingy.

 

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