Multi-mediums
Date: Sept 24
Mileage: 24
Ride type: Road(ish)
Bike: Surly Crosscheck
Temp: 70 and blue sky!
September mileage: 229
Year to date: 1492
not sure the title is exactly grammatically correct, but it's intended to symbolize the variety of my ride today. (i have a sneaking suspicion it's "multimedia", but i didn't really want to confuse it with the electronic type).
i tinkered around in the a.m. doing some bike-related stuff- fixing a flat on the CrossCheck, reinstalling some bike hooks in the garage, and uninstalling the SPD cleats from the old Nike Yubas (i think that's the name, and someone else on the web did too) and moving them to the new Lake Sandals. after all this, i felt rather compelled to put the $$ where the mouth is and get a ride in. b/c i had fixed up the CrossCheck, i realized that would be the weapon of choice for the day. i got less than 25yds down the street to realize that i hadn't properly seated the freshly-fixed wheels- kuthump, kuthump...a quick fix and off i went.
i had no illusions of training- note the strain of repeated reps and bulging quads. i instead went for a ride, in true Rivbike style without cycling shorts but rather with a pair of nylon Gramicci shorts and a tshirt. i did break one Rivbike law- and it's one i'll break often- in that i wore some old Shimano mtbike shoes with cleats for the Time-pedaled Surly. the surly crosscheck is still set up from my increasingly-distant cyclocross days, in that it's quite stripped-down, its only acoutrement being a cheap computer and mud-shedding Time ATACs. otherwise, no bottleholder, no bag, no doo-dads, no nothin'. i run with 30C Panaracer tandem tires on the road, they being left over from what came on the Litespeed Blueridge oh so long ago. perhaps next year i'm going to suit up something new for road purposes b/c the tandemtires are cracking.
i spent the first good part of the ride going through the park amidst the flood damage. really there wasn't too much of it. i did have to traverse a slimy short section, the kind that can call for a quick fall on road tires. later i goofed through a local neighborhood, Cherokee Triangle, and later took a peek at rhe grounds of Louisville's prestigious Collegiate School. my how the rich flutter in different, rarified air. i'm trying to imagine how any of those kids function in a greater society; i guess they don't. they just go from blue-blood k12 to blue-blood undergrad to blue-blood positions. or not. being a public school teacher, my views are too leftist regarding education to respect some of what is handed to those kiddies. the proverbial silver spoon has, does, and will always exist, but not in the mouth of (most of) my family members. it just irks me b/c those types are in control of this country right now. LOW TAXES!! SUV TAX-BREAKS!!! BY THE BOOT STRAPS (even though daddy set me up)!!! EDUCATION DOESN'T PAY; CONNECTIONS DO!!! GRRRR!
anyway, i then turned myself towards the river front, if nothing better than to avoid hills. this led me to a short stint on River Rd. at a good 18mph clip. the ride, and aforementioned 'medium' changed again with a stint goofing on the old RiverRoadCountryClub land, which is now in the City's possession awaiting the next possibilities. it's fascinating- maybe i said this previously- to see a golf course from just last year turn wild within just 1 year. if it weren't mowed/bushhogged, it would be forest or meadow in now time. i had previously visited this area at a crosscountry race not too long ago. the latest shows the influence of the 'cross crew out doing their training there, i think, once a week, with their little tire paths cutting through the grasses and up onto what used to be greens and tee boxes. i stayed on the cart paths for a bit and couldn't resist a few turns on the paths. they seem to be using the contours well for some run-ups and sand crossings. it was all a little soggy, but it certainly piqued my interest in doing some "real" crossing there in the days/months to come. i might just have to put on the 'cross tires on the Surly and get into it, albeit not with the decidedly more-fit 'cross crew.
the next segue took me along the Cox's park multi-path where i ended up crossing some water that perhaps a half a foot deep in one spot. another medium, water hazard crossing. that put me into Indian Hills, which is a fav spot in the area. i took a different, more scenic route up the river escarpment, one with a very challenging hill- nothing long but quite steep at the top. the route home proved somewhat uneventful travelling through Seneca- oh, i had to detour through the grass b/c of a downed tree in Cherokee.
the whole ride was a bit less than 2 hours. it proved perfect for the Crosscheck, and perfect for my present taste in riding. Riding, that is, instead of training. i pass the lycra crowd these days, and hope they stop to smell flowers, look at clouds, take detours, explore unknown neighborhoods or streets or roads or paths, and generally use their bike as something more than a training machine. i know some do, and that i'm misleadingly arrogant about being one who does when they don't. but unfortunately i've read too much Rivbike and other blogs to have too much respect for that clique. they tend strongly to be the ones riding 3 and 4 abreast and pissing motorists off. and they tend to be ones who contribute nothing in the dialogue of street use and bike facilities. often, they're the ones driving the SUVs in their non-bike time, melding in with the soccers moms who are on the cellphone, yelling a the kids, and menacing cyclists in their spare time. what am i saying? i drive a truck. so shut the hell up!!
great day on wheels though. great day!
Mileage: 24
Ride type: Road(ish)
Bike: Surly Crosscheck
Temp: 70 and blue sky!
September mileage: 229
Year to date: 1492
not sure the title is exactly grammatically correct, but it's intended to symbolize the variety of my ride today. (i have a sneaking suspicion it's "multimedia", but i didn't really want to confuse it with the electronic type).
i tinkered around in the a.m. doing some bike-related stuff- fixing a flat on the CrossCheck, reinstalling some bike hooks in the garage, and uninstalling the SPD cleats from the old Nike Yubas (i think that's the name, and someone else on the web did too) and moving them to the new Lake Sandals. after all this, i felt rather compelled to put the $$ where the mouth is and get a ride in. b/c i had fixed up the CrossCheck, i realized that would be the weapon of choice for the day. i got less than 25yds down the street to realize that i hadn't properly seated the freshly-fixed wheels- kuthump, kuthump...a quick fix and off i went.
i had no illusions of training- note the strain of repeated reps and bulging quads. i instead went for a ride, in true Rivbike style without cycling shorts but rather with a pair of nylon Gramicci shorts and a tshirt. i did break one Rivbike law- and it's one i'll break often- in that i wore some old Shimano mtbike shoes with cleats for the Time-pedaled Surly. the surly crosscheck is still set up from my increasingly-distant cyclocross days, in that it's quite stripped-down, its only acoutrement being a cheap computer and mud-shedding Time ATACs. otherwise, no bottleholder, no bag, no doo-dads, no nothin'. i run with 30C Panaracer tandem tires on the road, they being left over from what came on the Litespeed Blueridge oh so long ago. perhaps next year i'm going to suit up something new for road purposes b/c the tandemtires are cracking.
i spent the first good part of the ride going through the park amidst the flood damage. really there wasn't too much of it. i did have to traverse a slimy short section, the kind that can call for a quick fall on road tires. later i goofed through a local neighborhood, Cherokee Triangle, and later took a peek at rhe grounds of Louisville's prestigious Collegiate School. my how the rich flutter in different, rarified air. i'm trying to imagine how any of those kids function in a greater society; i guess they don't. they just go from blue-blood k12 to blue-blood undergrad to blue-blood positions. or not. being a public school teacher, my views are too leftist regarding education to respect some of what is handed to those kiddies. the proverbial silver spoon has, does, and will always exist, but not in the mouth of (most of) my family members. it just irks me b/c those types are in control of this country right now. LOW TAXES!! SUV TAX-BREAKS!!! BY THE BOOT STRAPS (even though daddy set me up)!!! EDUCATION DOESN'T PAY; CONNECTIONS DO!!! GRRRR!
anyway, i then turned myself towards the river front, if nothing better than to avoid hills. this led me to a short stint on River Rd. at a good 18mph clip. the ride, and aforementioned 'medium' changed again with a stint goofing on the old RiverRoadCountryClub land, which is now in the City's possession awaiting the next possibilities. it's fascinating- maybe i said this previously- to see a golf course from just last year turn wild within just 1 year. if it weren't mowed/bushhogged, it would be forest or meadow in now time. i had previously visited this area at a crosscountry race not too long ago. the latest shows the influence of the 'cross crew out doing their training there, i think, once a week, with their little tire paths cutting through the grasses and up onto what used to be greens and tee boxes. i stayed on the cart paths for a bit and couldn't resist a few turns on the paths. they seem to be using the contours well for some run-ups and sand crossings. it was all a little soggy, but it certainly piqued my interest in doing some "real" crossing there in the days/months to come. i might just have to put on the 'cross tires on the Surly and get into it, albeit not with the decidedly more-fit 'cross crew.
the next segue took me along the Cox's park multi-path where i ended up crossing some water that perhaps a half a foot deep in one spot. another medium, water hazard crossing. that put me into Indian Hills, which is a fav spot in the area. i took a different, more scenic route up the river escarpment, one with a very challenging hill- nothing long but quite steep at the top. the route home proved somewhat uneventful travelling through Seneca- oh, i had to detour through the grass b/c of a downed tree in Cherokee.
the whole ride was a bit less than 2 hours. it proved perfect for the Crosscheck, and perfect for my present taste in riding. Riding, that is, instead of training. i pass the lycra crowd these days, and hope they stop to smell flowers, look at clouds, take detours, explore unknown neighborhoods or streets or roads or paths, and generally use their bike as something more than a training machine. i know some do, and that i'm misleadingly arrogant about being one who does when they don't. but unfortunately i've read too much Rivbike and other blogs to have too much respect for that clique. they tend strongly to be the ones riding 3 and 4 abreast and pissing motorists off. and they tend to be ones who contribute nothing in the dialogue of street use and bike facilities. often, they're the ones driving the SUVs in their non-bike time, melding in with the soccers moms who are on the cellphone, yelling a the kids, and menacing cyclists in their spare time. what am i saying? i drive a truck. so shut the hell up!!
great day on wheels though. great day!
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