Then his right Achilles tendon flared up.
Result: no Natchez Trace 600; no NCBC 600; no New Jersey 600.
That had been his plan: three 600's ... on three consecutive weekends.
To ease back into action, he inquired about doing Bahama Beach permanent-populaire.
So ... Saturday morning, Bob and I were joined by Ricochet Robert and IvaHawk,
For a pleasant spin around the BB course.
Bob was fresh off three of four weeks of short, easy rides (or no rides at all).
Ricochet and I were one week removed from completing the NCBC 600 brevet.
IvahHawk ... too many triathlons and duathlons and what-not to keep straight:
So he was re-starting his P-series,
While his former work colleague, JayJay, was snaring her R-39 riding south of Raleigh.
My favorite part of the ride:
When I asked Bob, late in the ride, if he knew where he was,
He responded, "No, but I like the road."
My second favorite part of the ride:
On Ellis Chapel Rd, Bob noted that the terrain seemed reminiscent of certain parts
Of a typical Matt Settle brevet.
Obviously, Bob was referring to the easy parts of Matt's brevets.
My least favorite part of the ride:
The "knee complaints" that manifested the weekend before during the NCBC 600,
Made their re-appearance during the latter half of the ride.
I foresee many miles of staying in the middle chain ring,
And spinning / nearly soft-pedaling the climbs.
It may take some effort on my part to stay in an easy gear.
After the "knee complaints" returned, I intended to stay in a 39/15 or easier combination.
However, at one point late in the ride, I looked down to check what gear I was in:
39/13.
Now I ask you: What is the difference between 39/13 and 50/17?
The 39/13 is actually a "bigger" / harder gear.
Aargh!
Bob had plenty of gusto on display the last 9 miles or so of the ride.
So too did Ricochet.
I understand that each intends to do Tony's upcoming mountain 600 brevet.
I am confident that each will have an excellent adventure.
IvaHawk never seemed to be under duress at any point during the ride.
And I appreciated him staying with me as I putzed in the finish on Ghoston, Peed and MVC.
Excellent ride with excellent people.
What more could one ask for?
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Jun-09:
commute to --> Bahama Beach 103-km Perm-Pop --> commute back; 74.0 m.; 4h55 in-motion; 15.0 mph; BB rando elapsed time: 5h00.
Q-1 tot: _22 rides; 1,610.3 m.; 108 h, 42 m; 14.8 mph.
A-M tot: _20 rides; 1,701.6 m.; 115 h, 24 m; 14.7 mph.
Jun tot: __2 rides; __451.4 m.; _29 h, 22 m; 15.4 mph.
YTD tot: _42 rides; 3,763.3 m.; 253 h, 39 m; 14.8 mph.
Nothing about wrestling with that front tire at the start? Or me losing an almost new taillight? Glad you remembered the pleasant parts of the ride. It is a great route and thanks for hosting it.
ReplyDeleteI completely forgot about your taillight. Sounded like a very poor design on the part of Trek / Bontrager. THAT has a familiar ring to it.
DeleteAs for the wrestling with the front tyre(s) and wheel ... other than to note your gracious, expert and strong-handed and strong-willed assistance, I think that wrestling match falls into the category of things better off forgotten.
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I will note that I did get about 7925 miles out of the tyre that saw the trash heap after we got it off the rim. Would have kept riding it for another who-knows-how-many miles if the valve on the tube (with at least 4275 miles on it) had not failed.