Monday, August 4, 2008

Mountain Ride w/o Mountain Bike

I was able to get away on Saturday for a ride that started from Dooleyville and headed out to Sherman Branch. Seeing that my mountain frame was still in the hands of the blacksmith I decided to put a skinny little knob on my work bike and go out with a prayer. The ride over to the trail did not seem to take long at all(42 x 14), the only thing I really felt was heat coming from the sun and exposure of the road. Once there I rolled into that little picnic table in the woods, broke out the 15mm open end and flipped the rear wheel around to the 16 for a better trail gear. Through the single track now, concentrating on not loosing control of this skinny little road machine. On one of the descents of the Roller Coaster Loop my chain came off and left me without any control. As scary as that felt for a split second of acceleration on a little bike without brakes in the sloping woods I was able to keep control and not loose traction, turning to the left and letting the gravity slow me down. Whew. When the zig zags across the road started I hit a rock and flatted the front. Off the side of the trial for a quick sweaty repair. Just as I made the fix the other guy out in the trail came by and we rode together for a bit. He told me about his rigid SS that he decided to leave home that day and opt for the yellow squish he was on. Somewhere in the Lake Loop we separated and I did not see him again until the end. Speaking of which when I got out of there and went to flip my rear wheel back around for the road gear back to Dooleyville the rear went flat. Another tube and a few minutes of messing around with the wheel and I was rolling again for the road transfer back.

No comments: