Today's Ride
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And mine.
Yesterday was the most frustrating ride I've had in a long time.
My planned route was a flat loop of about 20 km around packed gravel tracks, but it'd been raining for about 18 hours straight, the rivers had overflowed and there was a stiffish wind blowing. In dry and firm conditions it's a fast ride, but I knew this would be a bit tougher.
I waited for the rain to ease off a bit before I left the house, but I had barely got 300 meters before my wheels sunk deep into the ooze. I wasn't making any headway at all. That first section was unrideable so I dragged the Pace up to a flattish bit and tried again. Another couple of hundred meters and the same thing again - stuck deep, the bike stood up by itself in the mud and there was a bunch of crap trapped between the rims and the brakes and so again I dismounted and dragged the bike to firmer ground.
Then the squall hit. Strong forty miles an hour winds, limbs off the trees, horizontal rain and visibility down to bugger all. Despite wearing a good layer of clothing I was completely soaked to the skin. I waited for it to pass, disconnected the brakes to give me more clearance and tried again. This time I made it perhaps 50 meters before I realised how futile it was and gave up.
By the time I'd got back to the house I'd covered maybe a kilometer and I was cold, wet, and tired. I'm used to riding in the rain, but these Monsoon conditions were something else.
My planned route was a flat loop of about 20 km around packed gravel tracks, but it'd been raining for about 18 hours straight, the rivers had overflowed and there was a stiffish wind blowing. In dry and firm conditions it's a fast ride, but I knew this would be a bit tougher.
I waited for the rain to ease off a bit before I left the house, but I had barely got 300 meters before my wheels sunk deep into the ooze. I wasn't making any headway at all. That first section was unrideable so I dragged the Pace up to a flattish bit and tried again. Another couple of hundred meters and the same thing again - stuck deep, the bike stood up by itself in the mud and there was a bunch of crap trapped between the rims and the brakes and so again I dismounted and dragged the bike to firmer ground.
Then the squall hit. Strong forty miles an hour winds, limbs off the trees, horizontal rain and visibility down to bugger all. Despite wearing a good layer of clothing I was completely soaked to the skin. I waited for it to pass, disconnected the brakes to give me more clearance and tried again. This time I made it perhaps 50 meters before I realised how futile it was and gave up.
By the time I'd got back to the house I'd covered maybe a kilometer and I was cold, wet, and tired. I'm used to riding in the rain, but these Monsoon conditions were something else.
FairfaxPat
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
Today-Monday-Up 800' or so to the West of town today. With a long zoom, Mt. Diablo, 25 miles away on the other side of the bay, came in great on today's shot. Even though we have had a number of recent storms, the ground just soaks it up, leaving great traction with no mud yet. Sunny and about 56 F. today...
Today-Monday-Up 800' or so to the West of town today. With a long zoom, Mt. Diablo, 25 miles away on the other side of the bay, came in great on today's shot. Even though we have had a number of recent storms, the ground just soaks it up, leaving great traction with no mud yet. Sunny and about 56 F. today...
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FairfaxPat
Senior Retro Guru
