What do you call a ride that is only a third of the time it took to get there? Usually a mountain bike ride, but in this case it was last night's Bastard Ride. For every foot I went forward, I slidsideways two. While Craig (and a sweet new SS Tricross!) CD, Doez, and Jeff Z charged ahead, I turned tail and headed back not too far into the ride. I thought they'd be gone for an epic dash to discover the North Pole but it wasn't long before they were back in the lot and drinking Craig's beers. After that it was off to the HC for beers and some kind of strange fried fish. Here are a few photos to give you a taste of what it's like when crazy turns stupid.
Here's Craig (above) getting ready to take his new ride out into the cold and snowy night.
Hard man Jeff Z put in the most miles in truly tough riding conditions. He rode from home and then back again. This is what he looked like up ahead of me all night. Okay for about 30 or 40 minutes before I chickened out and headed back to the car like Mr. Grumpy.
Every wonder what goes on inside the HUP United van on a cold and snowy night? Strange things folks, strange things. This looks like the traditional one-legged kilt dance the Hupsters always perform before their rides. It's quite rare to actually see this. Consider yourself lucky. I guess.
Last nights ride reminded me of the old Ski Bombadiers of from 1960s..(big old yellow snowmobiles with 1 ski up front).... front wheel just acted like a rudder... To turn apply more power to back wheel, eventually once the front wheel pushs enough loose snow to bite in,,,, the bike turns...
ReplyDeleteBeer tasted good..
I thought I was the only one with the crap handling issue. The Surly, through a combination of horrible Chinese geometry (I think the Cross Check was actually morphed from some kind of pre-WWI rickshaw device into its cross bike form) and deep chunky snow, was like driving a shopping cart with the front wheel spinning around every time it hit a hunk of snow or a hidden rut. The good part was that the prospect of falling wasn't so bad as the ground was covered with a big fluffy blanket. The better part was the beer tasted great (thanks Craig) .
ReplyDeleteI feel better now reading what I missed or didn't miss! I had no chance of getting there by 6:30 with the way traffic was moving on 131 last night...
ReplyDeleteI see Bats has joined the single speed nation. Nice bike, Bats. Maybe we could have a singles ride one night.
ReplyDeleteSomething’s wrong with this picture, while you guys were enjoying a few beers and a basket of Asian carp fish sticks; I was fending off that abominable snowman creature during my ride home.
ReplyDeleteNext week I’m going to ride my bike through the front door of the Honey Creek Inn or the hell with being green, saving the ozone, and reducing my carbon footprint, I’m driving my dam car.
JZ