Moving On

The original purpose behind The Fourteen Percent Ride has long since been fulfilled. So, I've decided that Mighty Proud will be the last posting. It just seems right.

But, don't worry. Or maybe you should. In any event, I plan to continue. I'll keep riding. And writing. Click here to come along in my new blog ~ The Long White Line. <-- check it out!

Thanks

As I've ridden for the last two years, I've picked up on the fact that Shirley, my darling wife, has been more worried about my safety than impressed with my "accomplishments." How do I know this? Well, when I'd come back and tell her, for example, that I'd hit 53.6 mph going down FO, she'd reply, "I don't want to hear it." Being the sensitive sort I figured out, after many such comments, that just maybe we were not on the same page here. But last week, she told me that she would "greatly reduce her focus on the 'fear for my safety' issue." We talked about the tour, looked at some maps, researched nutrition suggestions on the internet, and so on, just enjoying the idea of the ride. How nice is that? Thank you, Shirley!

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Part I - Bring on the Hills

OK, I've been nursing the Bianchi along using only the big ring since May 5 when there was an "event" when I shifted up while riding through West Salem. Since the Trek was in the shop (and is there yet), I didn't want to risk shifting. Fully expecting the Trek to be ready to ride "any day now", I did the river-route thing with the Bianchi. Today after the 67.3 mile ride to Westby I took it in to see if there was something that could be done. A quick check revealed that it seemed to be shifting OK. Being reluctant to commit another bike to disassembly, I decided to to go with it. Tomorrow, weather and other things permitting, I'll go back to the hills.

Part II - Detritis
You see stuff along the side of the road when you ride, the detritis of the highway. Flattened fauna are a constant, but there are other things that you notice. Banana peels. Quite a few. Bikers, I think. Not too surprising, I guess, are bungee cords. Seems as if they tend to let loose frequently as loads are hauled along the highways. Might be a good commodity to invest in. More surprisingly, you see a lot of gloves. What's that all about? A unique find today, though. Riding past the Westby Ski Jump hill, I met Bill coming down from the direction of Westby. He'd done the hills and was headed to Coon Valley. I was within a mile of where I was going to turn around anyway, so I reversed and we rode back to Coon Valley then on to Chaseburg, Stoddard and back to La Crosse. You never know what detritis of the highway you'll encounter on a ride.

Total ~ 1329.0 miles

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