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when i think back, it wasn’t so bad…. rolling for about 50 minutes dripping sweat into a puddle beneath my bike. yelling my conversations because i have my ear buds on. what is there not to like? warmness? feeling your toes? non-frozen facial hair? oh…and tires full of air?

it was a nice warm day today, at least compared to yesterday. yesterday was 3!!! this morning it was 15. i was going to ride in yesterday but i took too long to get ready, so i bailed. this morning, i was ready. i even had time to fix a flat that i had before the ride. it turned out that fixing that flat was just a warm up for the ride. i got a flat about half way through the ride, or about 7 or 8 miles. son of a…. it happened on the rear wheel…next to the cemetery. not that the cemetery had anything to do with it, not that i believe in ghost or super natural events…. but i just thought i would mention it, because it was interesting. so there i am; 15 degrees above zero, next to the highway and cemetery, trying to remove my rear wheel of my internally hubbed bike. it a very challenging task to do in the comfort of you living room, but given the conditions on this morning, my friends; this was impossible…. and yet it was ten times easier than trying to put it back on.

my hands were ok initially, or for the first minute or so. then something very cryogenic came over me while holding a cold metal wrench in one hand a wheel axle in the other. i was very cold and yet i was only 10% complete. i got the wheel off and tried to keep all the hub parts from getting lost by putting them in my backpack. then i turned out that i only had one tire “iron” so i had to use the cold metal cone wrench i had. did you know that warm rubber stretches much better than cool rubber? did you also know that cold rubber stretches much better than super cold rubber? i got the stupid tire off and examined the tube. looks like my ‘slime” green teflon tire liner rubbed another hole through the tube. i will never buy those pieces again. they have rough edges and really damage the tube. choose another brand!

just before i was removing my wheel from the bike, someone passed by and ask if i was ok. he saw the daunting task i had before me, and changed his question to, “do you need a ride”. he said he could take me into town, and that it would be no problem. i smiled and without even thinking… i said no thank you, i should be ok. the guy said, “are you sure?”. then i said, “yes…thank you so much though”. then off he went, and there i stayed…. nearly frozen.

i got the wheel back together, and started mounting the wheel and shifter stuff back on, when i realized that i don’t need to shift, as long as i have the chain connected.  this was something i have been worried about since i made the bike, but now i realized that as long as the bike runs i’ll be ok.   so i did the impossible. i changed a flat in the bitter cold weather, on my bike with an internally geared hub!!!  another small accomplishment was that i rode another 7 miles of road in granny gear!!!

got to work super late super cold and super hungry….. but very gallant.

i made it home with out incident… it was 9pm, and 15 degrees.

on saturday i woke up about 7 or 8 and decided i was going to go on a bike ride. the sun was out and it was going to be near 50 degrees. before anything i had to check my email… then i had to check the status of some bike parts i ordered. then i had to look for pictures of bike that looked similar to the new one i was going to refurb. oh crap 10:30! time to start gathering all my bike stuff. it can not be 11:30 already…i’m not even dressed yet. mmmm.. the wife is making something yummy over there in the kitchen. ok, i’m dressed. alright… the kids want to play me a game of foos ball. 12:30! now i really have to hurry. find some food and drinks to take with me. put wheel on bike, put panniers on, check tires. oops, almost forgot to fill my water bottle. wow, looks like yummy stuff is done… don’t feel like having it when i get back; i want it now! 1:00 holy shit! i got to get out of here. finally got everything together… and i’m off. i get all the way out to the highway, before i realize that i forgot my bike lock. i need my lock because when i get out to the trail i plan on running. so i have to go all the way back up to my house at the top of the hill. i head out once more. you know… i forgot to tighten my loose break pads before i left. i pull over dig through my panniers for the allen wrench and tighten it up.

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finally!!! i’m riding my bike wooohoo! nothing real eventful happens from here on out [just so you aren’t waiting for my story to climax].

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the trail was not in the best of conditions. i parked my bike at the trail head, and ran a few miles of it.

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the trail was a bit muddy, too muddy to ride. by the time i got to the trail the sun had gone away and the cold began. as i was leaving i saw some deer…. can you see them in the picture?

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this really hurt.   i went out for a ride on tuesday, and this is what happened.  i was having a pretty mellow time, doing the trail fairly slowly.  my m/o this time was to do every section.   i did do every section….. until i had the fall.  it was one of those slow motion tip over type falls.  i turned around right after this happened,  because i was kind of worried that i was loosing some blood, and i didn’t have a bandaid or anything.

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this is a 2.2 thousand dollar trike.  this is not,ex-cyclism, this is vegas!

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have you ever seen such docile lions?

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does this look familiar? :end

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I don’t think i would like working for this focke & company

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Looks like some kind of mexican bike store…. :)

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What the fcuk?