Heatstroke of genius!

September 3, 2015

Many humble greetings to each of you my lieges.  I do have news this day, albeit not of the grandiosity befitting one of thine noble lineage.

1. 1.     I feel like my front brake works much better after consulting the late Mr. Sheldon Brown’s website of well-articulated and informative bicycle wisdom.
2. 2.     My front fender gave out (more on this later).
3. 3.     I went on a long bicycle ride with my uncle and we weren’t the only ones.

I usually am not very good at before and after photos because I am too impatient to get started to stop for a photo.  Here was my brake after, red lines indicates approximate former location of yoke cable.  As is obvious in hindsight, the lower the V of the yoke sits the more leverage/mechanical advantage you get. 

My fender broke loose of its moorings like a sleek dinghy in a moderate nor’easter.  It just plum wore out, ta put it plainly Jeb.  Just dun fer.

This bicycle ride was just a few days ago – last Sunday August 30 to be precise.  The conditions were ideal and not at all appropriate for a ride known as the Heatstroke 100.  This was an enjoyable, well-supported, and sensibly routed spree sponsored by the great Great Plains Bicycling Club.  The route consisted of 3 loops that riders could combine in any sequence they chose to ride a variety of distances as they saw fit.    

Some of you may be wondering what a moderately active person such as myself is doing going on long bicycling rides.  Well, my uncle invited me. 

Also riding for long distances gives me an excuse to eat all kinds of foods that I otherwise occasionally chide myself about eating (i.e., lots and lots of cookies).  

We pedaled along for many a mile.  We spent some time on Church Road.

We saw a series of strong graphic designs on old rural buildings.

and a country dog.

I ate lots of delightful snack food at many of the SAG (support and grub) stops.  

The SAG people were upbeat and awesome.  Eventually though, they got tired and wanted to go home.  That was too bad for my uncle and I because we were weighing in as anchors, averaging 10.3 mph for the first 78 miles and the museum locks the gates to the parking lots at 5:30.  We were asked to take the short straight line route back to our starting point, the Strategic Air & Space Museum.  My uncle and I; however, did not even consider granting this request from our selfless benefactors.  We had planned for this contingency.  So I told the SAG men from the Moose’s Tooth that our plan involved me bicycling fast faster for 22 miles in order to reach the museum in time to move our vehicles out before they closed the gates.  The SAG men looked a bit doubtful, but they graciously accepted my counter-offer.  The only caveat was that they were going to take down the signs.  And they gave me a pickle juice that no one else wanted.  Thanks young Hosses.  Thanks!  I screamed over my shoulder as I was frantically pedaling down Highway 6.  Nothing like a mission to make a bicycler like myself feel even more self-important than usual!  By the way, the Moose's Tooth SAG was especially great because they had plenty of space to sit down and they had the Margaritaville satellite radio station playing.  I knew I should be fortify myself for the excitement.  When I reached Highway 31 I stopped for a quick cocktail of sorts. 

Kind of a chocolaty pond scum martini of sorts, if you will!  I will!  Yumm!

The rest of the ride was a bit hilly, but I passed the time by wondering if my bowels would rebel.  They held true, though, and I made it to Dairy Queen for a banana split recovery meal.

Before that, though, I crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Platte River for a second time.  I hadn't seen it before, because it's a bit hard to spot if you're just motoring along.  Here it is from the road, through a break in the trees.

 and here it is from the bridge.

So there you have it, friends.  Let's all recover and do it again some time!