Saturday, September 26, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
another ride
Alright, it's time to start writing more. It's getting cold, and I spend enough time dicking around on the computer as is, so I might as well produce something worth reading when I'm ten years older than I am now.
Last Sunday I made the trip to Ohiopyle again, this time with a friend. We rode the full 80-85 miles this time rather than camping out near Connellsville, so it ends up being the longest I've ever been on a bike. It was a pretty intense test of endurance at times, mostly because we tend to ride at a fast pace (there was a pretty nasty headwind the entire time, so we drafted each other at 20 minute intervals or so). We also got drunk the whole way there. Here's a rough timeline:
1. Packed up, last minute maintenance on the bikes, new pedals for Shaver's fixie (his new clipless shoes were causing some numbness). Bought two big Stellas at D's in Regent Square, started heading towards McKeesport and the trailhead.
2. Dairy Queen in West Mifflin. Blizzards and burgers. Onwards across the McKeesport-Duquesne bridge.
3. We reached the trailhead, and five miles in I got a pretty rough flat. There had been a sizable hole in my rear tire that I had booted, but the tube finally pushed its way out. Patched the tube, put a new boot inside, pumped up and rode on. Drank Stella Artois while waiting for the glue to dry.
4. Slightly buzzed and about five miles outside of West Newton (roughly the halfway point). Shaver's rear tire literally explodes. We determine the tube was mounted incorrectly. The force of the impact was so much that threads were hanging out of the hole in the tire. With no tire boots left, I got out my knife to cut a square section out of my leather wallet and mounted a new tube underneath it. It held quite well until we got to the bike shop in West Newton.
5. Lunch at the old coke silos. PB&J and apples. Hip flask of vodka. Also time to smoke a little bit. Onward towards Connellsville and past my previous campsite.
6. Connellsville. Feeling a little bit beat, we decided it was an excellent idea to drink four pitchers of beer at a townie bar. It was. Getting dark on the last 17 mile stretch. Moving fast now.
7. Quick break at a road intersecting the trail. Trail cop pulls up and says he shouldn't let us ride in the dark. We convince him we're good and start the ascension to Ohiopyle, headlights on. It's nearly pitch black outside except for the moonlight. It's a pretty steep hill for several miles but we really don't notice. I have a mild hallucination and skid to a stop in the road after thinking I'm about to run into a giant pile of rocks. Despite this, we're having a lot of fun crushing the trail in the dark with no other cyclists out. The noise of crickets is deafening.
8. Ohiopyle. Time to sit around the campfire, delirious, and eat some bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches.
Not a bad deal. We basically ate, drank, and bullshitted (bullshat?) the rest of the weekend, though we were able to get on the river for a short hour with our friend Carl, the river guide.
What else have I been doing? I'm currently sanding down an old mixte frame to paint it white and make a dedicated snow bike out of it. I've got a real 700c fork on my main ride now, and the studded tires most likely won't fit--not to mention I'd rather salt up a bike I don't care about too much this winter. I also saw a pretty wonderful bluegrass show a couple of weekends ago at one of my new favorite bars, Howlers. It caused me, directly, to stomp on the ground and yell a lot. I'm also still working on playing my banjo.
Looking forward to wearing scarves...
Last Sunday I made the trip to Ohiopyle again, this time with a friend. We rode the full 80-85 miles this time rather than camping out near Connellsville, so it ends up being the longest I've ever been on a bike. It was a pretty intense test of endurance at times, mostly because we tend to ride at a fast pace (there was a pretty nasty headwind the entire time, so we drafted each other at 20 minute intervals or so). We also got drunk the whole way there. Here's a rough timeline:
1. Packed up, last minute maintenance on the bikes, new pedals for Shaver's fixie (his new clipless shoes were causing some numbness). Bought two big Stellas at D's in Regent Square, started heading towards McKeesport and the trailhead.
2. Dairy Queen in West Mifflin. Blizzards and burgers. Onwards across the McKeesport-Duquesne bridge.
3. We reached the trailhead, and five miles in I got a pretty rough flat. There had been a sizable hole in my rear tire that I had booted, but the tube finally pushed its way out. Patched the tube, put a new boot inside, pumped up and rode on. Drank Stella Artois while waiting for the glue to dry.
4. Slightly buzzed and about five miles outside of West Newton (roughly the halfway point). Shaver's rear tire literally explodes. We determine the tube was mounted incorrectly. The force of the impact was so much that threads were hanging out of the hole in the tire. With no tire boots left, I got out my knife to cut a square section out of my leather wallet and mounted a new tube underneath it. It held quite well until we got to the bike shop in West Newton.
5. Lunch at the old coke silos. PB&J and apples. Hip flask of vodka. Also time to smoke a little bit. Onward towards Connellsville and past my previous campsite.
6. Connellsville. Feeling a little bit beat, we decided it was an excellent idea to drink four pitchers of beer at a townie bar. It was. Getting dark on the last 17 mile stretch. Moving fast now.
7. Quick break at a road intersecting the trail. Trail cop pulls up and says he shouldn't let us ride in the dark. We convince him we're good and start the ascension to Ohiopyle, headlights on. It's nearly pitch black outside except for the moonlight. It's a pretty steep hill for several miles but we really don't notice. I have a mild hallucination and skid to a stop in the road after thinking I'm about to run into a giant pile of rocks. Despite this, we're having a lot of fun crushing the trail in the dark with no other cyclists out. The noise of crickets is deafening.
8. Ohiopyle. Time to sit around the campfire, delirious, and eat some bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches.
Not a bad deal. We basically ate, drank, and bullshitted (bullshat?) the rest of the weekend, though we were able to get on the river for a short hour with our friend Carl, the river guide.
What else have I been doing? I'm currently sanding down an old mixte frame to paint it white and make a dedicated snow bike out of it. I've got a real 700c fork on my main ride now, and the studded tires most likely won't fit--not to mention I'd rather salt up a bike I don't care about too much this winter. I also saw a pretty wonderful bluegrass show a couple of weekends ago at one of my new favorite bars, Howlers. It caused me, directly, to stomp on the ground and yell a lot. I'm also still working on playing my banjo.
Looking forward to wearing scarves...