2010 closer

as far as rides go, today's was a good one to end the year on. i woke up just before 4:00 and checked the radar. there was a narrow band of dryness between bands of icy, nastiness and i was in the dry part. not sure whether the precipitation would hold off long and wanting desperately to reach 900 miles for the month, i dressed quickly. there was no time to waste.

i will not lie to you. i was a bit nervous about the weather conditions. i've dealt with ice on the road before...dealt with it by wiping out at the end of my driveway. i rolled very cautiously onto pine. i could see wet spots here and there on the street's surface and knew that at 23 degrees any one of them could be a slam-you-to-the-ground patch of black ice. i slowed at the highway and made a wide turn to the east. i stayed upright.

since i wasn't sure how quickly the storm might come in from the west, i decided i'd only do short out-and-back laps. i rode out to the top of mock hill three miles away and turned around. less than a mile into my westbound journey, i noticed a few drops of rain falling. i'd been riding 17 minutes. my this-might-be-a-bad-idea meter registered the precipitation and its warning light flickered ever so slightly. i was passed by the first of the two cars that i'd encounter during this first lap five minutes later.

when i got back to town i rode on past main street to the turn off for 10th avenue before doubling back to the east again. the second out-and-back was much the same as the first with a slight increase in vehicle encounters. five cars passed me at some point or another - two from in front of me, three from behind. it was sometime during this lap that i started noticing a strange rattling noise i'd never heard before. more on that in a bit.

my third out and back included ten car passings and a ton of thanksgiving to God for allowing me to ride. it's His grace and protection that have seen me through the thousands of miles i've covered this year and every year. i give him credit for my strength and breath. my hard work and determination would be nothing without His assistance. i'd just be an insane man on a pointless mission. i made it out and back and finally clicked my headlight up to a brighter setting so i could see my distance. i crossed main street at 22.43 miles - at least that's close to what it read. five miles to go!

out i went again. the rattling sound was louder and more persistent. it was drowned out by the sound of a passing car only four times on this final lap. i smiled as i glanced down at my odometer less than a half mile from pine street. i'd covered 27 miles. i was over 900 miles for the month. i relaxed my pedaling and set it on cruise for the rest of the ride back to the garage.

as i turned left into my driveway, i braked. the rattling sound became a scrape, scrape, scrape. i seriously thought i'd flatted. i rolled to a stop and dismounted. placing by bike up against the wall, i gave it a once over. the tires were both firm. the derailleurs were clean and clear. the cables were tight. then i reached to turn off my taillight. my finger met an icicle hanging from it. i broke off the frozen stalagtite and shut off the light. it was then than i noticed the ice on my rear brakes. upon furtner investigation i found iced up front brakes too. my tool bag was covered. there was ice between my seattube and the rear tire. a thin sheet film of ice covered much of the remaining surfaces. i'm so glad i didn't notice these things until i was done. i might have quit short of 900 miles. there had to be ice on the roads. glad i'm safe and warm indoors now. even thought i'm less than ten miles short of 8200 miles on the year, do not expect any more riding today. i'm done.

glory be to God for an amazing year of cycling and an unexpectedly remarkable month! (27.42 miles @ 14.0mph)