As Martin and I were sitting at Panera Bread, we decided that the weather really should not be too cold for Cons. So we rode over to his house to show off the fixie that Martin had constructed using a circa 1980's Schwinn steel frame, parts found in his workshop, and 21 cm tubular clincher tires that Cons had given to him (it is the ultimate hipster bike - lots of gawkers).
We arrived at Cons house to discover that he was still asleep, but Melissa was more than happy to wake him. . Cons came down the stairs in bathrobe literally wiping the sleep out of his eyes. However, despite being rudely awoken to find two knuckleheads in biking kits in his front hallway, he was a gracious host. So of course, we repaid his hospitality by aggressively twisting his arm and making him join our ride
The three of us put a twist on our usual Panera to Panera ride by attacking the mild inclines of the Three Sisters on St. Mary's Road and heading north to Atkinson Road. Obviously, this ride was not even in the same area code in regard to hill training as that of the Tucson crew, but at least we got a little climbing in and got to feel a bit of burn in our legs. Martin was remarkably fast on the hills on his fixie, but once he lost momentum on a hill he was vulnerable to being attacked (admittedly, it only happened on one hill, but after getting schooled by Martin when trying to race up the other hills, it was fun to be able to challenge him at least once)
We stopped at Panera Bread in Lake Bluff and were joined by the group from the EBC 9:00 am ride.
We came home via the Skokie Valley Bikeway. The ride ended up being about 55 miles.
It turned out to be a fun ride on an unusually sunny day. Cons actually seemed appreciative that we had dragged him out of his bed and made him join us
It was a good ride, and Cons was a good sport, being waken up and all.
ReplyDeleteIt would be really cool if the frame were a Varsity, but it is a ~1988 Raleigh Criterium, made in Nottingham with Reynolds 531C tubes.
This seems a very good route for us to simulate parts of the sub-5 ride; I agree with Randy that we might want to alter our routine slightly to incorporate the rollers between now and the event.
ReplyDeleteInstead of being annoyed at the warm and snowless winter, I was glad to be out riding - albeit getting passed uphill.
I think getting passed by faster riders builds one's character. Based on my observation about how much our group has been improving, I have great hopes for my character in the seasons to come.