Badger?

Well, I am guessing that taking that much time away from the bike takes that much away from your fitness - more than I thought.

I have been dying to get out on the bike - I mean that literally. My work has got me tied up about 55 hours a week or more for the last month. Dont get me wrong - I am happy to be working, especially in this employment climate but if one does not take the time to throw some effort in the direction of "brain breathing" you will go nuts.

So with that comes the weekly call for valiant soldiers of the bike to harness up their stead and head on out for the Saturday battle. Neils call to valor is in the form of pre-riding the CX course out near fletcher. I am game...at least my mind is. My body was giving me red flags of warning. So 8 am I am up for the morning brew and a bagel. The kids are milling around downstairs with legos and other cool stuff. I am frustrated in my attempts to even find my cycling gear - has it been that long that I dont know where my riding gear is? yup - it has been.

okay - between sips of Dunn Bros and cream cheese bagels - i gather what is needed for cool temps. One step outside and I realize that winter is upon us and I am not ready. hmmmm. which bike? dry ground so I am thinking blue thunder - nope ... two flats...man, has it been that long that I didnt remember the flats? Okay, bianchi....nope I left that at the shop. Single speed rat bike - not a chance when the others are riding road bikes - plus i still have nightmares from Cheq 40. What else? my wifes Bridgestone MB3 - 3 inches too small but a nice bike - all set with gears...gears? so a quick call to neil that I am running behind and a switch of pedals and minor adjustments. Now...my helmet - where is that thing? geez - i should have just crawled back into bed with my wife at this point...nope - I am biking dang-it. retro helmet - retro bike with a wide saddle - that hurt by way after 30 miles.....and to the shop I roll with the road slicks and ipod.

I am 10 mins late and Hemi and American flyer are poised for a cruise out of town - hemi...great. the man that gets stronger in the winter and destroys us in the summer. a few more adjustments and off we go. I was fine out to fletcher but i was noticing that small frame geometry makes a negative impact for a tall guy. I wasnt really spent - i was happy that my lungs and heart fitness was still good - I had to mechanical advantage on this small bike. I really had no advantage when my chain broke heading out there....with one mighty call to JayT - he was at the road side in 5 mins with a chain tool - he is my new hero. and in a flash he fixed my bike and vanished into the cold horizon with his trusty buick. He gets the Pit Stop award - heck the most team oriented guy in our group and he held that title today with pride and he wasnt even on the bike.

I fell off the back most of the ride - i had the ipod so I was fine - small pedal stroke - no speed - i felt bad for the guys. I split off at territorial and headed up the west side of elm creek - by the time i got home the temp dropped it seemed and I started to bonk. once inside I found the Blue Moon (3) and two hotdogs - a bag of carrots and a snickers bar. I was satisfied and buzzed. warm shower and a nap - then a day at the mall with the family. I say a good day - at least I got out.

oh - badger? we came across what looked like a badger in the road - it was reduced to the height of about 1/4 inches and neil looks back and says with curiosity...."badger?". it seemed really fun at the time.
andy