Back in the saddle
Most of the day the skies threatened rain, but it only drizzled and sleeted a couple times. By 3:00pm it was on. It was the nasty sub-forty degree rain that makes being a messenger suck, and just my luck I was getting slammed with work. I was running like mad so I could meet The Pie in time to beat some of the mass exodus from the big city. I was on my last job and moving fast to make a far away elevator when I experienced what we call “The Sidi Slide”. I tried to grab a marble pillar near the elevator to cut a hard corner into the elevator, but my hands were too frozen and numb to get a grip on it. I was looking in the face of the guy who made it into the elevator before me when my right foot came out from underneath me like I was on ice. BAM! I was on the marble with my hip and elbow taking the brunt of the fall. It was just my luck that it was 4:50pm when it happened, so the elevator lobby was full of witnesses. I heard the gasps of concern as I sprung back up and jumped into the elevator leaving my pride behind me on the floor. The gentleman made some comment about “lucky I was wearing a helmet” or something of that nature. Fortunately I was only going up to the second floor so I didn’t have to enjoy any more of his witticisms. Sidi’s on a rainy day…what was I thinking?
While I was in Ohio I did drag my ass out to the railroad tracks for a ride on Friday (after pussing out Thursday). I went out for a leisurely ride and just enjoyed the scenery. Of course Thursday when I bailed it was a wonderful day with a rare Ohio sun in the sky. When I got around to riding Friday it was around thirty degrees and foggy as shit outside. I ended up walking a few times just to get some feeling back in my hands and feet as I was way underdressed for a long ride in freezing temps. The huge puddles were still there, but they weren’t frozen this time so I had to ride through them (and soak my feet).
I also got a little La Ruta style training in.
Right before my ride ended I found this little guy hanging out in the woods. Obviously he didn’t let me get too close. I guess too many people were after his headgear this time of year.
I ended up leaving Ohio with a decent cold that almost kept me from going to the mountains yesterday. I joined up with a bunch of nimrods for a 43 mile sampler of the ORAMM course. It definitely met my standards for a hard ride as I probably wished for a quick death at least three times on the nine mile climb up Curtis Creek Road. I’m sure I’ll pay for riding so hard with a cold, but it was well worth it.
