Every Jersey Tells A Story, Don't It?

So there I was, yesterday, riding along in a slight mist just enjoying the morning. I was in a slight mist, I suppose, because I only had a couple of shots in my latte. Well, I also had two cups of tea before I left in the dark, but that hardly counts.

The guy behind me in line at the ferry terminal coffee stand had held nothing back and ordered his with five shots. Count 'em. Five. I vowed to redeem myself as the day went on. We randos know how to pace ourselves. Yeah, sprint out of the first turn, and order five shots, buddy; we can go all day.

But I digress. I was also in a mist, because I was in literally a mist. It felt great after some of the hot weather, and we were all fendered and flapped appropriately as we headed out on permanent 536 -- Hood Canal 2.0. I was not around for the beta version of Hood Canal or even Hood Canal 1.0, but I can assure you that 2.0 is bug free.

Mark had a spiffy new jersey on, and the thought went through my mind that he had to earn that one. Then I noticed what the other guys were wearing. As the old joke goes, I don't think they picked these up on e-bay. Again, Anne, I really don't ride that much. I submit exhibits A through F:













And, yeah, that's two different PBP jerseys. There were only six of us on the ride. I was sporting my Glacier jersey -- The Last Best Place, or as I was taunted, simply:



As the day went on, everything cleared up, and we stopped for coffee here and there. No question over the course of the day we crushed five shot guy. I submit exhibits G and H:





Let's play, "That's Rando!"

Rando is all about what works. Some people put together coffee-table-book stunning machines. Others ride ubiquitous Trek 5000s with mind blowing speed. An old rattle can '70's bike works just as well as anything. They are all rando.

I love it when people kludge together something that works with apparent disregard for aesthetics, but in their disregard, one finds a thing of beauty in function. The Bonzo Dog Band, once said, "Baby, you're so far ahead it's beautiful!"

As the first in a series, I submit this beautiful Pinarello with a classical hand tooled clothes pin:

So I'm supposed to update this thing?

I had the best of intentions. My dog ate my homework.

Well, you see, first I was going to do a ride report from RAMROD, but Matt beat me to it.

Matt rode to the ride, so he wins big time on style points. But I did shamelessly swipe these pictures from his Flikr site:


















I had a very fun ride at RAMROD this year. It seems I know a few cyclists now, so this was a pretty social event. I've already forgotten about the heat and the usual cramping.

Then I started writing a blurb about Fatty's wife and Susan passing away, but I couldn't find the words. Fight like Susan.

Oh, I went and bought myself a honest to goodness mountain bike. If you hadn't noticed, I like bikes. I'll sell one of the road bikes in the garage to pay for it; I suppose it's like Kent's catch and release program for bikes, but I have a few too many keepers.

I am learning a whole new language. For you kids out there, I've got a hard tail 29er. It's got gears and a suspension fork. Sure, I thought I was headed for a rigid steel single speed, but Bob B. asked, "if you only had one road bike, would it have gears?" and that sealed the deal. Bob rode the Mountain 600 last year on a single. He was polite enough not to say, "you need gears." Bob, not so much.

And for someone who makes it a point to do all my own wrenching, you will be happy to know I didn't know how to take the wheel off to put the bike in the car. Excuse me Mr. Mechanic, but I just bought this fancy pants bike, and I could use your help taking the front wheel off. I'm such a newb.

Lastly, I'm going to be famous! Well not really, but I'm psyched. Showers Pass, who makes the best wet weather clothing this side of the Pecos, was soliciting photos for their 2010 catalog. I sent them this picture, and they said they want to use it. How about that my Painted Fleche brethren? We're in the phone book!




But wait, there's more! Unbeknown to me, my riding buddies Ron and Barbara in NJ sent in a picture I took on a Brevet back east which was also accepted. Nothing like a waterproof camera.





That's all folks.