I wanted to get my December R12 in the books early this month. It rained yesterday, and then it dropped below freezing. The roads were pretty darned icy, and they were icy for a long time. I left the house with a normal bike, but it was so slick driving, that I went home and grabbed the freshly built 1971 Roberts with studs shown here in repose.
Greg pointed out that quite a few people signed up. Most showed up. Some started. A few finished.
He is going to make a nice flow chart illustrating the decision process and the relative brightness of the different choices. I don't suspect the finishers will come out on top.
Vinnie, with a killer jersey, had not ridden since the 1200 in Australia that finished the day before yesterday, so he was in.
We ate healthy as usual.
There was a beautiful sunset over Lake Sammamish.
It was a great day. A couple of riders went down in Renton on the ice. After everyone checked out OK, some smarty pants told Greg that he was really glad he crashed because he needed to stop and pee. Said smarty pants does not take credit for this line, as Greg has heard this before.
I was really really slow with the studded tires, but my 480 studs helped me feel safe on my 200K. Yeah, I'm sort of a belt and suspenders guy.
Today's That's Rando! winners are everyone who thought about riding, didn't ride, rode, DNF'd, or finished the ride. Group hug.
I had the same idea, and wanted to get my Dec R12 ride done early. I procrastinated last year, got grounded by the insane snowstorms - and had to start all over again. So I rode Perm#531 (Mercer Island-Redmond-Orting) when you guys were out on Perm#401 on Saturday. The coldest it got was numbing 26 degrees at the start. What about for you? Love the picture of your snow tires btw!
ReplyDeleteI did steal one day on the flight home
ReplyDeleteused it for food and sleep
I started out at 6:20 to do the 20 minute ride to Leschi from my house. I got 5 blocks before I slid out, simply in the act of braking (not even turning!) I realized that getting to the start on time was incongruent with safety, and decided that even if I made it, that the roads would be too perilous for too long into the morning to make it an other than foolhardy enterprise. I went home and invited friends over for beef burgundy for dinner instead. I just finished up my R-12 last month, and don't have to kill myself to start another this month if the opportunity doesn't present itself.
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