Killing Butterflies
· Jun 25, 11:32 AM
Butterflies are actually kind of big. When you hit many of them at 35-40mph descending on a bike they hurt a little. Not a bad kind of hurt, but I wouldn’t want to take one in the face.
Summer has arrived in Bend. The clouds are gone, the sun is out and the temps are rising. That can only mean one thing – bike season. Bike season should have started right after the PPP, but the USST on-snow camp, some rainy days and a bike upgrade conspired to severely limit my riding time over the last month. But that’s all behind me now. I got my new wheels yesterday, and after the hour of getting it fit and sorted out I took it straight out for a ride. In hindsight the decision to do McKenzie Pass as an out and back with Lieto was maybe a bit optimistic for my first ride in three weeks, but at the time it seemed like a good idea.
The ride out was great. I suffered a bit in the headwind and when the road kicked up, but there weren’t any problems. We made the top of the climb in a little over 2.5, took in the views (far better than they were for the adventure a few weeks ago) and then cruised back down. On the run-in to Sisters my legs started to feel a bit shaky, but we had a stop lined up at Angelina’s Bakery. Two bottles of water, an iced tea and a large cinnamon role later I was good to go. That should have been a large sign that I was more than a bit dehydrated and was going to suffer on the way home, but I held out hope that some food would fix me up.
It did, but only for about 15 minutes. Once the road kicked up and the headwind returned (it really swirls out here) it was time for the full on suffering. My legs died a slow death with an hour to go, and even after a few hours on the couch and many Doritos the details of the end of the ride remain a bit hazy. The good news is I feel far better than expected today (though I think I earned an extra day off tomorrow!) and am eager to get in some more good rides.
But on the real excitement, my new bike! It’s a Scott Addict R3 (which I think is the same frame as the other Addicts, but with a seat post, not seat mast and lesser components). Ultegra SL, decent wheels and did I mention it’s full carbon. It’s a huge step up from my Bianchi and I’m very much in love. Many, many thanks to BBNS for getting it to me so quickly (5 days from order to being ridden, including the weekend!), though we may have to have a little chat about the rear derailleur adjustment… really, I just think I might need the 12 on occasion.
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