But weather is the worst thing for a bike from what I can tell. A neighbor of mine, who I think of as the hillbilly with everything (he has all the cool toys in those paid-for spreads in men's magazines but 25 years old and bought at auction), has a bike in his yard being reclaimed by the elements. And now that I actually own this bike, I worried about putting it on the rack and having the bike ride through the rain all the way to work, sit in the rain all day.
I could put the bike in the back seat, but then why did I buy this rack???
Jennifer said the main thing was the chain, and that makes sense. So I took her advice and taped a couple trash bags in place. They didn't keep all the water out, but they did do the job. They also dragged the ass half of the bike to the far back of the rack by the time I got to work.
The weather cleared and the Trek group made its usual Monday run. I can still feel myself getting stronger, but I still struggle to keep up with the front group. Julie did great, what with having air in her tires and all.
Great group, very supportive. When I mentioned starting out at 87th and Lackman a couple times for a hill ride, and a lovely rider mentioned she leads the Panzon's ride, a map of which can be seen here. She was egging me on to try it, but when she mentioned some of these stretches, I realized, 'She doesn't realize I just rode as hard as I could on this so-called recovery ride.' I could probably finish this circuit, but if I leave at 6:30 in the evening, I'll finish this sucker in the dark. At midnight. I'm not exaggerating.
Gives me something to work for past the MS ride. Maybe by next summer I'll be able to at least bring up the rear on such a ride. Or maybe not, my brother, who works his ass off training and has been on a bike pretty much since birth, finished the Wednesday hill ride with the Trek group in the second pack...
But anyway, a good workout, lots of fun, and great conversation, beer and heirloom tomatoes at Julie's after.
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