We planned an ambitious route today heading out to pick up Farnsley Knob (0.40 miles, avg. gradient – 15.7%!). Its been a year or so since I climbed it and I was ready to pay a visit. Coming out of N’albany was a little zany and after a few passes of the close nature I drifted into the shitty, unfinished shoulder on 111 as we made for Budd Road. No sooner than “gee, I’ll be lucky to not get a flat” ran through my head I heard the mighty escape of air and went flat on the rear tire. After getting to a nice shaded spot I pulled the rear tire off to find a blown out sidewall and 3/8″ hole in the tube…this baby was flat. Now we were only 3 miles into 25 so I had a decision to make. I said “hey man, you got a buck?” he says “I got a 20″, “That’ll do, lemme have it…you’ll get it back!”

We pumped the tire up and cautiously took off. On the plus side it was one of my finest and I even managed to get the tire back in without looking and feeling like a rank amateur. I’m glad to say it held just fine although it made for nervous descents. Speaking of descending we came down Blunk Knob for the first time and despite thinking it would be the other way its a pretty shitty drop down. The pavement sucks, the turns are real tight with no banking, and no guardrails or anything in case you misjudge. Just too sketchy in the end to enjoy coming down. I’m leaving it on the climb preferred list only. That Farnsley Knob though? That’s a doozy…

Here is the final damage on the way to the scrap bin:

I have mis-matched tires now…oh – the horror!

I have amassed 5000 miles since I started riding a year and a half ago and 4000 this year alone. I have always tried to ride smartly and follow the cardinal rules of being seen and acting predictably. I was dressed in a bright yellow jacket and traveling properly in the road.

Wednesdays are my travel day. Nearly every Wednesday for the last four years I have spent in Chicago. I let myself be talked out of this week because of the weather. The immortal words of Dante from “Clerks” rang through my head more than once – “I’m not even supposed to be here!”

I had skipped riding on Tuesday due to rain and not being able to get my rollers adjusted properly to use them in time. This left me weary and frustrated and I was determined to ride Wednesday. The temps were fine and I was suitably dressed but the wind was oppressive – 15-20 mph and swirling. I decided to use my reasonably short Edwardsville route which goes out IN 62 – Corydon Pike. As I made my way over to 62 I thought about turning back as I could feel the wind trying to push me over in a way I have never experienced. I kept going knowing that once I got to the Edwardsville climb the wind would be more or less negated. I started out the rather flat opening section in to a serious headwind trying like hell and getting about 13-14 mph. I saw a fast moving small pickup truck coming in hot on my right side. He was coming down a hill on a side street looking to turn left at a STOP SIGN. He failed to stop and turned right in front of me. I saw what was happening and started to bail out to the right, I didn’t make it and slammed into the front quarter panel of the truck. I was already leaning away from the truck and so I went straight down and away from the vehicle. I hit my forehead in my eyebrow and my right shin probably on the downtube. I was able to jump right up with adrenaline and the driver got right out to help me. It should be said that he began apologizing immediately, asking if I was OK and clearly angry with himself for his carelessness. He said right up front that he should have seen me and he couldn’t believe he didn’t. There was no anti-cyclist screed and any attempt to blame me for not being on a sidewalk or something. I told him I understood and accepted his offer to sit on the tailgate while we waited for the cops.

At this point the jitters started to set in. As most of us do I have no shortage of things to live for. Not only was my front wheel smashed but so to was any illusion I might have that I was not vulnerable. In fact as I sat there that is what I thought of the most – being out on a bike really leaves you exposed. I thought a lot about having to tell my wife, my mom, and my dad. I imagined impassioned plea’s to quit riding on the road, do something safer. Then reality kicked into my head – I can not stop riding on the road. I love it. I have never loved another activity as much. When I watched the Hincapie movie and they asked him how he wanted to be remembered I knew what he would say before he said it. It went: 1. – a great father, 2. – an excellent husband, and 3. – a pretty good cyclist. I am paraphrasing his words but that is the gist of it and how I feel about myself as well.

In the end he gave me a ride back to work. The bike has been fixed, the helmet will be replaced, the insurance company is giving me some extra money for no apparent reason (OK, I know why they are) which will go toward some fantastic wool clothing, and I am back to riding. The man who hit me even went so far as to call and check on me later that day…a nice touch I think.

I have always tried to keep a healthy fear in my mind of the dangers of road riding. This has of course added to that fear. It is not hard to see that a few seconds could have made a huge difference either way. I feel very lucky to have come out of this relatively unscathed. I doubt but hope someone will read this that thinks that cyclists are a menace and always at fault and maybe change their mind some…

Meanwhile, keep your eyes peeled while driving around in your car or on your bike.

I set out for lunch today not feeling so hot. I rode hard yesterday for lunch coming in at an 18.5 average then commuted home and back this morning. I had the right clothes on but I was cold. And route-weary…I tried to piece something together before I left to no avail. I thought I’d run the “Marty route” and be done with it. It’s 21 miles, rather flat with some good speed areas and rollers. 4 miles into my mopey riding I thought…buck up! I was just today counting up my miles for the year to figure I had pulled past 3500 with two months to go. There is only one way to build the miles…ride ‘em.

With that I decided to change course at St Joe Road and go left instead of right. I knew there was a hill there and I was right. It led to Dug Knob which carries a 9% average over 0.65 miles and includes an 18% switchback zone. I find it always hardest to climb a hill the first time because you just don’t know what’s coming. This one kept giving and giving. I chased it with a beautiful run across Skyline leading to a drop down Moser Knob and back to work.

A great posting popped in on the Rapha blog today titled “Killing Me Softly” about a Continental ride in Nashville.

I really like this paragraph:

Assuming your bike fits, position is less about the ergonomic fit, but the rider’s fit or engagement in the world around them. The way pedaling and effort lead consciously, or unconsciously, to meditation. Without the noise of lists, missed calls, an ever growing inbox and responsibility—under self imposed but manageable duress, up the side of a mountain, legs firing, breath labored but in control, eyes focused ahead and around all at once, sense and perception heightened—things begin to sharpen. Life in these moments are simple, pure and clear; where you fit for that moment or those few hours becomes lucid.

It says so many things I think while riding alone through back country roads.

I’ve been thinking about bike racing a lot these last few days. I am going to give it a go in the spring and have very nerdily acquired this classic tome:

“Bicycle Road Racing – Complete Program for Training and Competition” by Edward Borysewicz

Here is a picture taken last week post ride when the conditions were Belgian at best, wet and full of road-grime:

Ride safe, ride lots…

I kitted up and sat out Monday afternoon relishing the weather and the just rebuilt back wheel smoothness courtesy of OYLC when “disaster” struck. I heard a loud pop and lost all chain tension as it went skittering off the chain ring and cogs. I pulled over and started working on the rethreading the chain. I noticed the rear derailleur pulley set was very floppy and had no spring. That seemed a bit off but I wasn’t for sure…worry began to set in. Just then a friend from work who lives in the area stopped and and asked if I needed help. My choices were – go to Clarksville Schwinn or go back to work and drive home to deal with it later. Seeking the least friction at home I decided just to pack it in for the day…plus I wasn’t really for sure it was broken yet.

I sent a pleading after hours email to OYLC begging for immediate attention in the AM so I could ride at lunch because I was really starting to yearn for a ride. They graciously replied so I set out first thing to have it looked at. Drew confirmed a broken spring but didn’t really have anything to fix it. In a textbook example of serving your loyal customers he made some calls and directed me to another shop that had some vintage Suntour parts and could make the fix on the comparative cheap. I shot over to see Skiles at The Black Spring Bike Shop & Coffee House. I ran into another bike acquaintance and chatted for a bit while my bike was repaired for a very reasonable price. I needed it after just rebuilding the back wheel and working on a limited budget.

A few hours later it was finally lunchtime and time to get out on the bike. Weather was warm but otherwise perfect. My friend from the office who is on the mend from shoulder surgery joined me and we decided to head out for “Buck’s Ride” into the Floyd’s Knobs and the formidable Moser Knob Road. I wanted to repeat my time trial and compare the times. I started out with a good run up to the main hill. As I began the assent I notice the bike felt springy…not think too much I charged onward and upward. Finally I looked down and back and saw the source of the bounce…flat tire. Blech. I jumped off and felt the tire, it wasn’t completely flat. I pumped it back up thinking maybe I just lost some pressure in transit. As I was closing the presta valve the locking mechanism just flat broke off. The tire seemed to be holding air so I took off, yeah right. I walked the rest of the way up and found a shady spot to make the tube change.

I recently put a Conti 27 x 1.25 (32mm) Ultra Gator Skin on the back wheel. Besides being a great riding tire it was a dream to change on the side of the road. It pryed off easy enough and the bead reset without much wrestling and pushing. It didn’t take long at all to get back on the road. Pumping that high volume with a frame pump was an experience but hey…whatcha gonna do.

The rest went down without much incident. I am ready to get back to event free riding for a couple of days. The rest of the week proved just that. I had a nice ride with Tim again on Thursday and a solo fast ride on Friday. 22 miles at 18.5 pace. Rain set in around 16 miles and I can’t say I really even minded it.

Right before I went to get dressed for riding the USPS showed with a new eBay purchase – some vintage wool in bright orange. Eschewing any sort of washing or whatever I just put that baby right on. Fit was good although a little long.

The LBC put on a Time Trial as a part of their Mad Dog Stage Race. I badly wanted to make it out to compare my climbing with a group who I know has serious fitness. Alas, the babysitting angle did not allow for me to join. Sunday night they posted the times and that left me thinking I could still time myself and compare. The winners finished in about 7:30, mid-range was 9:00, and the later finishers 11-12:00. Moser Knob is a regular climb for me and part of a ride I refer to as “Buck’s Ride” (my friend Tim D’s Uncle Buck lives up there). Here is the route:

It was about a 6 miles to the start of the TT. I tried taking it relatively easy but still put enough out for a decent warm up. The hill itself is a little less than a mile and there was a half mile lead up. Its tempting to really throw down in the lead up but the initial pitch up is big one. I rode up in what I felt was representative of my normal climb. I “finished” at 8:57 which would have had me solidly in the middle of the pack. I am pretty pleased with this time, it helps me set a baseline and have something to compare against.

The rest of the ride was scenic and pretty normal. I finished over 17mph which is about right. Today will be my last day to ride for a bit as I am headed out traveling and selling. Looks like a Blunk Knob climb may be the order of the day.

Louisville was given an unlikely respite in late August this year. The temperature plunged to low and mid 70s, humidity disappeared, and a cool breeze filled the air. Perfect opportunity to really build some miles. I had to sit off to the side both weekend days past. The schedules my wife and work are great for not having to pay for daycare…less great to squeeze any amount of time in for oneself. So as I did things like cut the grass I thought longingly of hitting the road for 50-60 miles. The nice exception was a visit by good friend Tex to theoretically watch the conclusion of the Tour of Ireland on TV. We saw some of the race as we fought to pay attention over the general melee unfolding in my basement. At least we got to drink some beers…

Monday at lunch I set out for one of the harder rides I have in my arsenal. Six to seven good, reasonably well trafficked roads lead up to the Spickert Knob climb. It has a pretty long ramp up before it hits you with the steep grade for about a half mile. If you fail to take into account the lead-in you are duly screwed on the main climb. From there I thread my way across the top ridge line overlooking all of Louisville and the Indiana boroughs. This leads to some fine riding across the back of the Knobs with low traffic and mostly flat roads. However, after I crossed Paoli Pike it brings you through Old Hill Road. This is a stretch of rollers that will make you wonder why you put this at the tail end of the ride. That was good for 23 and I hit the showers.

Since the weather was so nice I left my car at work and scooted home. I keep an extra shirt etc. at work for such occasions. The PM/AM flip is an interesting way to knock out a commute. Sure I left my car on the street all night but who really cares. I have honed my route home down to its shortest length at 12.85. I made decent time and proceeded directly to dinner making upon arrival. I found out the next morning that there was a colossal wreck on my driving route home that would have caused me much havoc and lateness. Score one for bicycle commuting…I had no idea.

This morning I set out at about 5:07 and meandered toward work. It was cool and damp as I set out and fortunately I remembered to bring a towel to mop the seat and bars prior to departure. I tried to take a picture of downtown Louisville from across the river but I needed a tripod so I abandoned it. There is a stretch of road from Clarksville to New Albany that goes along the river from the Lewis and Clark landing site to Emery crossing. It has the weirdest feeling I ever encounter on a bike. It is pitch black and almost feels swampy. In fact it reminds my of the spooky swamp parts of “Wild Things” and “Adaptation”. I was glad to clear it, roll down that fresh blacktop on Spring Street and hit the office with a cool hour under my belt. It is kinda wild to have ridden 14 miles, showered, shaved, and be at your desk at 6:30 am.

Although this constant riding and showering was tiring me a set an ambitious route for lunch today. I headed North along Budd Road heading towards the casino more or less. It is a mostly blissful, scenic, low traffic deal with one huge exception – 1.5 ugly miles of Indiana 111. There is a lot of haul-assing, and bike-clipping going on. So much that today I said screw it and just rode in the ample but bumpy shoulder. I saw an amazingly hot girl fetching her mail on Gap Hollow Road in the vicinity of the surely interesting “Gap Hollow Coon Hunting Club”. She looked like she belonged in a magazine shoot, she shot me a smirk – likely a reaction to my ridiculously tight get-up…and so it goes. I also got stung by a bee at high speed for the second time in about a month. That makes for a moderate freak out on the bike, its like it was flying around with its stinger out.

So that did it – 22 more miles in the book, one more shower.

I started the week with the fourth ride of The River City Cycling Society dubbed the Paris-Redux or the hell of the ‘Ville. Both very tongue in cheek appropriations of the Classic Paris-Roubaix road race held in Northern France each Easter. The race’s claim to fame outside of its longevity are several stretches of cobblestones or “pave” to the French. Over the years as more roads have become paved the race organizers have come to build the race around the cobbled sections by stitching the course together in a way to include as many sections as possible. Tim sought to recreate this by surveying the locations of many brick lined alleyways of Louisville. It turns out there are quite a few in the Highlands, Downtown and Crescent Hill. When Sunday arrived it did not disappoint…well not Tim at least. The weather toyed around heading into the 1:00 start time but when that time came it was raining pretty good. I made my way to the start point and managed to get all the way wet by the time I arrived. Comments on the RCCS site indicated a pretty good turnout but the weather whittled it down to 7 hearty souls total. We set out and encountered our first mechanical pretty quickly. The bricks shook a rear wheel loose pretty quick. A survey of kits flushed out the 15mm wrench needed to put it back on line. We paraded through some swampy back alleys, lost a water bottle (retrieved it-thank you) and headed toward the river downtown to find one true section of honest to goodness cobblestones to ride across. Inbound I blew my rear tire. Interestingly enough after racking up almost 2000 miles I had never had an on the road flat. No problem, I was prepared with an extra tube, a pump, and the requisite skills to change the tire. At this point we were getting rained on pretty heavy and glasses became pretty hard to use and complicated the issues for sure. As I put the back tire on Tim asked me if I had swept the tire for the puncture. I had not as I figured it was likely a pinch-flat. That was quite a mistake and one I do not intend to repeat. About 200 feet after re-starting I was flat again. This time I found the shard of glass responsible. Tim loaned me a tube, I danced the dance again, and off we went. This left me a little gun shy the rest of the ride about tires but I had no further problems. As we arrived at Rowan street to ride the real cobbles a gentleman in our party overlooked a puddle covering a gaping hole and took an absolute header into the ground. It provided the most convincing helmet commercial I have ever seen. He was able to get up and change his own busted tire. He rode on for a bit but bailed towards home – understandably shaken up. From there we made our way into Crescent Hill, into Cherokee Park and back to the Highlands. We had an odd flat coming through the park as Dave had to make a change as we waited to come out of the park. The second to last alleyway was real nice brick riding. We then said goodbye at the Mid City Mall as we were over on time, and wet to the core. I had a pleasant ride back home chatting with Todd as we went home.

Monday’s weather was no improvement and so I thought I would ride the rollers for a good 15-20 miles and stay inside. I absolutely did not have it. I could not will myself past 6 miles or so before quitting. It was disheartening and still enough to leave me completely soaked with sweat and highly irritated.

Tuesday found me out for a ride with my new work riding partner on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. I had sneaked a ride over to the sister plant in the morning and was sitting only about 18-19 miles away from completing my 2000th mile since I started riding last July. We set out toward Utica Pike which gives lots of options on total ride length. As we came across the river and made the turn at Jeff Boat to head out on the open road we were really getting into stride when we crossed the flood wall and were greeted by the tell-tale hiss of a blown tire. It was Tim’s this time, not mine. At this point I was becoming quite the expert on tire changes. We got going again but some rain had moved in on us along with a stout headwind after we made the turnaround point. Then the hail started…it was quite a stinger on my bare hands and Tim’s bare legs. It gave up reasonably quickly as we made our way through the wind and back to the office. Close to the end I crossed the goal of the day and crested 2000 miles. I am quite pleased and I guess proud of myself for sticking with this for so long. I love it like no “exercise program” I have ever attempted. It is obviously so much more than that.

I rode Thursday and late Friday as well, but more of those rides to come.

March has been a great month for riding around on the bike. I’ve had a great group ride, 2 lunchtime epics, and a host of regular lunch rides. I have been able to get out on 14 of the 24 days so far. The weather has ranged from bundled up in wool to shorts and a t-shirt. I have all but abandoned my gloves for the year as I have decided I much prefer riding with bare hands. There is something about the visceral feel of the hands on the grips that I find very appealing.

One upgrade I made this month was to switch to clipless pedals. I limped into this position slowly moving towards it by first buying shoes on ebay and then a few weeks later finally buying the pedals. I went with Crank Brothers Candy C pedals. My research indicated they should be a good one to learn on. I have found them easy to clip into and they have enough base to use without proper shoes or if clipping in is not going so hot. I don’t know if it is the pedals or just a continued increase in fitness/form but my average times have really climbed in March. I finished at around 17 MPH average yesterday which is up from around 15-15.5. It is a palpable change and it pleases me in my pursuit of 1 hour lunchtime rides. My weight has also continued to fall. When I got around to weighing myself last weekend I found myself down around 175 – the lowest weight I can recall in my adult life. I am very fortunate to have a metabolism that can be activated with exercise. I am simply in love with riding a bike. It’s interesting to watch friends and family reacting to by desire to ride as much as possible. I also started riding over to our sister plant at work instead of driving when I can. It pads my mileage and makes for a nice break. I will probably curtail it as the weather heats up as it can put a stink on you pretty quick.

There is an emerging group of frustrated folks who are dedicated to using bicycles as much as possible to get around town. Louisville is a nice city but can present many challenges and obstructions to those who wish to do as above. It is especially hard on those living on the outside of the 264 interstate ring around the city. They are promoting cycling using a great slogan “We are not blocking traffic, We are traffic”. I really like that. I had two good examples of how it can all work a few weeks ago. The first was at this intersection of Randolph and Indiana 62:

View Larger Map

This is a tricky light that doesn’t like to change for bike riders. I need to go straight to head towards the river. I position myself to the right of the turn left/go straight lane and usually have to wait for a car. It is not advisable to go anyway because people haul ass and the right side approach is blind. My position can block people how simply want to turn right and it can be the cause of impatient stares and sometimes honking. As I waited a car engaged the light changing mechanism to my left and a lady calmly waited for it to turn so I could clear the intersection and she could go on, it cost her 20 seconds.

Thirty minutes later I was returning to work and got behing a truck coming up 4th street in New Albany. As we crossed the last street before Culbertson it became clear the he needed to back into a loading dock. I stopped and waited, not trying to squeak by in the small space in front of his truck, just as I would of had to do if in a car. He noticed my simple gesture, and gave me the ubiquitous head-nod. With that I went on my way. It cost me 20 seconds.

I really don’t think it should take that much for us to all co-exist. Maybe a little peace, love, and understanding? Probably just a little patience…

I have been looking for time to write this entry for a couple of days. I took advantage of a trip right before lunch time to our sister plant to extend my mileage a bit. Once again I pieced together a few pieces of the route I plotted to get to Rich-O’s on Grant Line Road to get to a spot I previously had difficulty reaching. Back in the Summer I had climbed Moser Knob Road and found a beautiful stretch of road behind the Knobs. The problem with the route is that you have to go out Green Valley Road through a nasty stretch of over-trafficked road that I do not care for.

Looking at the map I saw I could head out Klerner Lane, cross Grant Line Road at IUS, and then bypass the bad traffic on Green Valley. That part worked well but now I was left with the real challenge – Moser Knob Road – 9.2% Grade – Duc notes “Consistently Steep”. When I rode it in the summer I stopped and got off the bike three times. On Thursday I was able to get all the way up with no stops. It felt great. When I set I did not have a true plan in mind just a general direction I wanted to travel and a few ideas/options about how to do it. After the hill conquest I set onto Campion Road which I was so impressed with the time before. Here is a photo before I set out:

I told many people after the first ride how stunning Campion Road was and how pleased I was to have ended up upon it. A creek runs along the reasonably deserted, curving, and just beautiful stretch.
I was to soon be disappointed…the wind was so oppressive as I traveled across the road that I could barely keep the bike at 12 mph. While this ride was not about speed per se I had an idea that I might run long so I didn’t want to dawdle. The wind was to be a persistent guest in my run across these knobs.

Time was slipping away from me as I approached St. Mary’s road and couldn’t honestly recall where I was exactly. I knew I was still pursuing the proper direction but I thought I should have come upon Spickert Knob Road by now. I followed instinct and was rewarded in a few more minutes when I came out where expected. I crossed Paoli Pike onto Old Hill Road and met another big hill that I neglected to think of when mentally planning. The hill is chased with two rolling miles of up and down that left me tired but happy.

I turned back toward N’Albany on Old Vincennes Road and was met with a blast of wind that nearly stopped me in my tracks but even worse made feel wobbly and as if I was about to be blown over. I switched back under I-265 and then it was a downhill assault into town. I choose the most direct route I could think of as I was now reaching the tolerable time limits of lunch time randoneuring.

What a great day on the bike! It was my greatest lunch time ride of all. Chock full of the best stuff – big climbs, screaming descents, cold but nice weather, sunshine, and a little bit of being lost in the country. Hard to replicate, hard to repeat – all very much worth it

March has been pretty cold so far…but things are looking up. I am writing this from Terminal 3 at O’Hare International at my new favorite eatery in this otherwise God-forsaken municipal bus station/airport.

I’ve had two excellent rides so far this month on Monday and Tuesday. Monday was around 30 degrees but sunny and well worth tolerating the bitter cold. Tuesday warmed up a bit and was maybe 35 or so. I had a (not so) hidden agenda on Monday where after weeks of waiting, eBay watching, and cajoling I had decided that the time was right to move to clipless pedals. I had a sweet eBay score a few weeks ago where I picked up a nice pair of Specialized shoes on the dirt cheap (12.50 American dollars, brand new with tags). I have ached recently for new routes out of New Albany and so I used parts of the RCCS Brew2 ride to stitch together pieces into something new. It conveniently met up half way at Clarksville Schwinn where I loaded my back pocket with a set of Crank Brothers Candy C pedals. I choose these for the relatively wide platform that allows pedaling clipped in or not. The reviews indicated that they are also reasonably easy to get in and out of. I made the stop and picked them up, then proceeded to weave my way through the older part of Clarksville (which my work friend tells me they call “the OC (Original Clarksville)) and back into New Albany using my newly bold method of charging into N’Albany via Spring Street/IN-62. It was cold but I dressed the part with a wool shirt, wool, pants and wool socks…needless to say I stayed warm.

Tuesday was not looking good for a ride – a work meeting than ran two hours and the requisite catch up that followed threatened to squash the needed window for bike riding. A furious round of catch-up ensued. At 1 o’clock I said “screw it” and went anyway for a theoretically shortened ride to compensate for the lateness in the day. This was to be the big clipless pedal tryout after all. I headed west towards Silver Hills because it gives me the most options for length and terrain. I studied the booklet that came with the pedals and had an idea of what was need to seat the cleats into the pedals. I omitted the advice section where they intone that you should mount the bike to a trainer and practice for a bit prior to putting your self in traffic. The claims proved to be true in that the first couple of clip-ins were accomplished by what could be described as “mashing” the shoe into the pedal. Soon enough I was pedaling away with a new feeling of connectivity. I have had issue with how my feet feel relating to cold and sometimes numbness that I thing relate to how the solid areas of toe clips are routing air at my feet and into my shoes. I did not experience these feelings on the new pedals. What was interesting is that I had sore thighs by the time I finished. This indicates to me an adaption of my pedaling stroke to accommodate and feel and new opportunity to apply power to the “back side” of the pedal that I was missing out on (perhaps). All of this and I think they admittedly look better than sloppy toe clips. With the sun shining and the brisk wind in my face my shortened ride turned into a pretty normal ride of around 15 miles. The verdict on the pedals is good. I like how they felt in the ride. My brain communicated properly and allowed me not to fall on my maiden ride although I understand it may be coming.

The weather is supposed to be quite good on Thursday and I will be there…can’t wait.