On Monday, it was 70 degrees so Elliot and I rode the Trumbull Rail Trail in short sleeves and shorts.
Truly a wonderful day to be out. I happened to take my water bottle out for Elliot and left in on a park bench where we stopped at Old Mine Park but forgot to put it back on my bike. Realized that I left it up there, so on the way home, stopped by the park and there it was! Of course that led to a lesson of trying to make the 10 year old understand Sentimental Value and why we had to make an unscheduled stop.
Elliot loves to ride!
Can't wait to get him on the Tandem!
Tuesday, it poured and I didn't ride to work and Tuesday night it snowed
And again, I didn't ride to work because the roads weren't plowed. Guess the town put away the snow plows thinking that winter was over. I can hear Mother Nature's whip crack and feel the humiliation on the Town's Highway Department. Just saying.
Mother Nature's whip cracks again, only this time it's across my ass as I am leaving the house on my only bike commute this week and it's 25 degrees out!
I had grandiose plans to try and do a 40 mile commute but that fell short in the morning as I dawdled getting ready for a colder ride than I expected. The give-a-shit meter was nearing the red zone but I shrugged it off because if I didn't ride today, I probably wouldn't hit my 100 mile weekly goal. I suited up for a 25 degree commute and based on the time I had left to ride and start my work day, I did my 15 mile, climbing route over Castle Hill.
That is the water bottle I went back for on Monday, my Single Speed A-Palooza bottle. Even though I don't have a single speed mountain bike anymore, I am taking a year off, this bottle has enormous Sentimental Value to me.
I haven't been on the Surly since the Foolish Classic and I made a few changes in the bag departments. I put my enormous, Cannondale trunk bag on the back to hold my rain jacket and my blinky, and yet I am not sure I like it. What I really want is a Banjo Brother's Trunk Bag because it's waterproof, has an extra pocket, a blinky mount, and an external strap for a jacket!
The other thing I added was my Topeak handlebar bag. The reason for it is I wanted something that would hold a Cue Sheet after the ill fated Foolish Classic where I had to actually use the Cue Sheet and my Rube Goldberg version wasn't cutting the mustard. My Topeak bag is perfect for that, except for a few things. Given the positioning of my Garmin, I can't see enough of it for my usual data fix while riding. Thinking about the next Rando and not being able to see the turn by turn would drive me nuts. Granted, I do want to ride more events using the Cue Sheets, I still want the Garmin to back me up.
The other thing driving me nuts with this set up is there is no place for lights. In order to have a light I need a front rack. If I am going to have a front rack then I might as well get a proper rando bag. The only other option I am exploring right now is looking for an old school Cannondale Handlebar bag where the mount is a thick piece of wire that goes over the stem and under the bars so the top of the bag is not above the bars. Finding one in blue will be next to impossible. In the meantime, I am ditching the bag, going back to my original set up and will just use my top tube bag.
What my commuter looks like at the office, it also serves as a drying rack
The ride home was still chilly, 45 degrees is not warm.
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