This was the ride we originally discussed for last week, but postponed so our out-of-town friend (Joe) could be here and come along. During the week, Joe mentioned that he wouldn't be able to come after all. One foot is giving him trouble, possibly from trying to squeeze it into a glass slipper with Look cleats. The slipper says "SIDI" on the side, but don't let that fool you. Those things are torture devices. On Thursday night's local hill drill, Joe had put his Shimano M324s on the Seven Axiom.
Joe has a Rivendell Hillborne on order and may have pedals like this on it. He wore Shimano MTB shoes, but did not clip in, maybe dipping his toe into the free-pedal philosophy pond? Could comfortable shoes actually be in his future? I can send him links to Teva, Keen, and Vitruvian, you know? Anyway, his foot was still sore after the Thursday ride, and then he announces, "I forgot to put an insole in that shoe! D-oh, Homer!
As it turned out, Ray called at 5 mins before departure Thursday night to ask that we wait for him. Why call Ray? We know to expect you with no wasted time :) He called again today to ssay that he didn't feel up to a long ride. Hope things mend for you soon buddy. That left Frank, Max and I, and surprise show up, Tim. Tim rides with us during the week a couple of times each season, and is always welcome. He just hadn't said anything about it. For the first 13 miles, we also had Phil (used to own a bike shop in Montgomery) on his fixie. Phil wore his vintage Saeco jersey, and that fit the vintage Cannondale he was rocking.
We left at 6:30 in some humidity, and with welcome cloud cover. The air was calm for the first 20 miles or so, then we had a headwind the rest of the outbound passage. By 8:30 (maybe earlier) we were at Tuskegee for breakfast, just as we stopped there about a month ago. After eating, and dashing across the street for a bottle refill, we continued on to Auburn. Some bigger hills involved as we pedaled through the Tuskegee national Forest. We tallied a total of 4,124' for the day according to my Garmin btw. When Hwys 80 and 29 diverged, I was unsure of which to take, but went with 29. Frank agreed and it was the right choice. We found our way to downtown Auburn and Toomer's Drug Store, our intended lunch venue. No "Fat Girls" BBq style set up here. Very pleasant college students provided excellent service for sandwiches and ice cream. Max ordered up a chocolate shake, we all lemonade, fresh squeezed. Grace was our server and she made our sandwiches up and snapped a picture of us at the table.
The tall drinks are lemonades. No red anywhere on the shelves. Just orange and blue. What's up with that?
After lunch, and a fruitless stop at a bike shop on College Ave for some hi octane goop Tim wanted, we were on the road again. Tim mentioned he was feeling tired just before lunch, and so we altered our return route a little to cut out some hilly parts, and to avoid some heavier traffic, which was getting closer to Frank on a couple of occasions than safety would mandate. Once we turned to the west, a tailwind provided some much appreciated help, but north or south it was somewhat in our face, and definitely when were going east. Max was on his longest ride ever, and looked very relaxed all the way through. Tim labored up the hills, but made it all the way back to the cars. Frank, as usual, motored along in fine fashion. He looked good too in black leather belted gray hemp tweed shorts. He needs a morning jacket instead of that Under Armor sausage casing top though to complete the ensemble.
When we got to the cars, the Garmin showed 97.6 mi. NO way that was the end for us! Max and I headed down CR 37 for 1/2 the difference and then we turned around and made the parking lot with an honest century. Tim was already packed and gone when we got in, but Frank was here and thoughtfully suggested a Klondike bar! Great idea. They sell them at the store where we parked.
The Saluki was great, although my new bar tape job was not. I need to un wrap and re wrap it. Selle Anatomica leather tape. I wrapped it going the wrong way, and I didn't do a good job with the ends. Fenders, racks, bags, bike lock, rain gear, camera, food, etc. The bike did not feel heavy and handled just fine on Grand Bois Oursons (I run them at 60 psi) and kept up reasonably well with the other bikes. We averaged 15.3 for 100.11 miles. A NOS pair of Kucharik wool shorts with genuine chamois for the padding was outstanding. The jersey is too big, and maybe it will shrink in the dryer (shh! Don't tell 'em at RBW)
Our Prattville week night rides are done for the season, but riding continues. Next week the H's hit the road for Waynesboro VA and the Tour de Valley. If you're riding in it, introduce yourself and say "hi" if you see me! later in the week, as we vacation in Washington DC, I plan to ride with my cousin Alan, who I have not seen since we were like 6 or 7 yrs old. Turns out he likes bikes too. :)
Tailwinds!
Joe has a Rivendell Hillborne on order and may have pedals like this on it. He wore Shimano MTB shoes, but did not clip in, maybe dipping his toe into the free-pedal philosophy pond? Could comfortable shoes actually be in his future? I can send him links to Teva, Keen, and Vitruvian, you know? Anyway, his foot was still sore after the Thursday ride, and then he announces, "I forgot to put an insole in that shoe! D-oh, Homer!
As it turned out, Ray called at 5 mins before departure Thursday night to ask that we wait for him. Why call Ray? We know to expect you with no wasted time :) He called again today to ssay that he didn't feel up to a long ride. Hope things mend for you soon buddy. That left Frank, Max and I, and surprise show up, Tim. Tim rides with us during the week a couple of times each season, and is always welcome. He just hadn't said anything about it. For the first 13 miles, we also had Phil (used to own a bike shop in Montgomery) on his fixie. Phil wore his vintage Saeco jersey, and that fit the vintage Cannondale he was rocking.
We left at 6:30 in some humidity, and with welcome cloud cover. The air was calm for the first 20 miles or so, then we had a headwind the rest of the outbound passage. By 8:30 (maybe earlier) we were at Tuskegee for breakfast, just as we stopped there about a month ago. After eating, and dashing across the street for a bottle refill, we continued on to Auburn. Some bigger hills involved as we pedaled through the Tuskegee national Forest. We tallied a total of 4,124' for the day according to my Garmin btw. When Hwys 80 and 29 diverged, I was unsure of which to take, but went with 29. Frank agreed and it was the right choice. We found our way to downtown Auburn and Toomer's Drug Store, our intended lunch venue. No "Fat Girls" BBq style set up here. Very pleasant college students provided excellent service for sandwiches and ice cream. Max ordered up a chocolate shake, we all lemonade, fresh squeezed. Grace was our server and she made our sandwiches up and snapped a picture of us at the table.
The tall drinks are lemonades. No red anywhere on the shelves. Just orange and blue. What's up with that?
After lunch, and a fruitless stop at a bike shop on College Ave for some hi octane goop Tim wanted, we were on the road again. Tim mentioned he was feeling tired just before lunch, and so we altered our return route a little to cut out some hilly parts, and to avoid some heavier traffic, which was getting closer to Frank on a couple of occasions than safety would mandate. Once we turned to the west, a tailwind provided some much appreciated help, but north or south it was somewhat in our face, and definitely when were going east. Max was on his longest ride ever, and looked very relaxed all the way through. Tim labored up the hills, but made it all the way back to the cars. Frank, as usual, motored along in fine fashion. He looked good too in black leather belted gray hemp tweed shorts. He needs a morning jacket instead of that Under Armor sausage casing top though to complete the ensemble.
When we got to the cars, the Garmin showed 97.6 mi. NO way that was the end for us! Max and I headed down CR 37 for 1/2 the difference and then we turned around and made the parking lot with an honest century. Tim was already packed and gone when we got in, but Frank was here and thoughtfully suggested a Klondike bar! Great idea. They sell them at the store where we parked.
The Saluki was great, although my new bar tape job was not. I need to un wrap and re wrap it. Selle Anatomica leather tape. I wrapped it going the wrong way, and I didn't do a good job with the ends. Fenders, racks, bags, bike lock, rain gear, camera, food, etc. The bike did not feel heavy and handled just fine on Grand Bois Oursons (I run them at 60 psi) and kept up reasonably well with the other bikes. We averaged 15.3 for 100.11 miles. A NOS pair of Kucharik wool shorts with genuine chamois for the padding was outstanding. The jersey is too big, and maybe it will shrink in the dryer (shh! Don't tell 'em at RBW)
Our Prattville week night rides are done for the season, but riding continues. Next week the H's hit the road for Waynesboro VA and the Tour de Valley. If you're riding in it, introduce yourself and say "hi" if you see me! later in the week, as we vacation in Washington DC, I plan to ride with my cousin Alan, who I have not seen since we were like 6 or 7 yrs old. Turns out he likes bikes too. :)
Tailwinds!
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