5th ride of 2019 - Thursday, 3/14/2019
2019 mileage: 1132.2
The AQ (Adventure Quotient) of today's ride was higher than I would have liked -- but it all came out OK in the end.
Today is a day besieged by rain, and I was afraid I was going to have to return to LA Fitness and ride the stationary bike. But I was able to catch a window this morning when I could work in a ride, even though the temperature was still well short of today's projected unseasonable high in the mid-sixties.
Accordingly I set off at 10 a.m., hoping to do 2 round trips to Marsh Park for the first time since early October. However, not quite a half mile into the ride, going down a hill, the chain picked up too much slack and tied itself into the unworkable knot pictured below.
I spent about 10 minutes trying to get it worked out. It was not immediately clear to me what needed to be done, but I figured I could get it, and gamely dug in and got my hands dirty on the chain. But after it looked as though my unsuccessful efforts would continue, I decided to walk it back home and work on it in the garage, contacting a friend for assistance if need be.
I got most of the way back, and was just approaching our complex, when a guardian angel appeared. This was Michelle's work colleague and our good friend Andy Zimmer (shown below). A few years ago, in a spate of silliness, Andy and I decided to adopt rap names for ourselves—he was Papa Z, and I, Doktor B. Today he was wearing a coat and tie, on his way from school to pick up some items from Meijer, as he explained to me. Andy asked me if I needed help, and at first I stupidly tried to wave him off and say, "No, I'm good." I figured I was almost home, and I didn't want to bother him, as he was clearly not dressed for mechanical work.
At first Andy couldn't get it either. But after a couple of minutes, he had me hold down an arm that was part of the chain mechanism, producing enough slack in the chain that he was able to disentangle it. With a grateful heart, I was soon on my way.
Given this delay and theft of my energy and spirit, I decided to settle for a single round trip to the park. When I stopped for the problem, I paused MapMyRide, and thought I would be able to start it back up again. But the delay caused it to reset, so in order to get in a ride of over 10 miles, I added a lap within our complex when I got home, and thus rode 10.3 miles in a relatively good time of 1:03.
I was also reminded of the weather by a scene right by our garage. When they plow our complex, one of the places they pile the snow is right beside our driveway. Michelle and I call this Mt. Borton, as it reaches 4-5 feet in the depth of the winter. But, as this picture shows, this week's warmer temperature and rain have nearly banished Mt. Borton until next winter.
The AQ (Adventure Quotient) of today's ride was higher than I would have liked -- but it all came out OK in the end.
Today is a day besieged by rain, and I was afraid I was going to have to return to LA Fitness and ride the stationary bike. But I was able to catch a window this morning when I could work in a ride, even though the temperature was still well short of today's projected unseasonable high in the mid-sixties.
Accordingly I set off at 10 a.m., hoping to do 2 round trips to Marsh Park for the first time since early October. However, not quite a half mile into the ride, going down a hill, the chain picked up too much slack and tied itself into the unworkable knot pictured below.
I spent about 10 minutes trying to get it worked out. It was not immediately clear to me what needed to be done, but I figured I could get it, and gamely dug in and got my hands dirty on the chain. But after it looked as though my unsuccessful efforts would continue, I decided to walk it back home and work on it in the garage, contacting a friend for assistance if need be.
I got most of the way back, and was just approaching our complex, when a guardian angel appeared. This was Michelle's work colleague and our good friend Andy Zimmer (shown below). A few years ago, in a spate of silliness, Andy and I decided to adopt rap names for ourselves—he was Papa Z, and I, Doktor B. Today he was wearing a coat and tie, on his way from school to pick up some items from Meijer, as he explained to me. Andy asked me if I needed help, and at first I stupidly tried to wave him off and say, "No, I'm good." I figured I was almost home, and I didn't want to bother him, as he was clearly not dressed for mechanical work.
At first Andy couldn't get it either. But after a couple of minutes, he had me hold down an arm that was part of the chain mechanism, producing enough slack in the chain that he was able to disentangle it. With a grateful heart, I was soon on my way.
Given this delay and theft of my energy and spirit, I decided to settle for a single round trip to the park. When I stopped for the problem, I paused MapMyRide, and thought I would be able to start it back up again. But the delay caused it to reset, so in order to get in a ride of over 10 miles, I added a lap within our complex when I got home, and thus rode 10.3 miles in a relatively good time of 1:03.
I was also reminded of the weather by a scene right by our garage. When they plow our complex, one of the places they pile the snow is right beside our driveway. Michelle and I call this Mt. Borton, as it reaches 4-5 feet in the depth of the winter. But, as this picture shows, this week's warmer temperature and rain have nearly banished Mt. Borton until next winter.
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