Doing it all the hard way...

Friday, January 2, 2009

Just Ducky so far in 2009


It was thirty four degrees and the predawn morning was as dark as my heart when Evo departed for work on the bike this morning. I am trying out the new Craft rain jacket I picked up in Portland at the USGP and was delighted that it wasn’t raining or snowing when I left. The steep hill hits me right off the bat and although it is no doubt bad for my knees to have a Vuelta-quality hill before getting warmed up, the heat I generate climbing the hill usually takes the chill off pretty quick.

It was a joy to be able to go at a nice pace and let my mind wander. Although I was craving more light from my headlight, I have convinced myself that if I got a better light I would just become a junkie and would always want even more. Awesome Mike at work periodically shows me new light systems and I shudder at the cost of those. And for me to shudder at the cost of bike equipment, as you can imagine, they are rather spendy. I am pretty visible from behind and since I trust myself more than others, my priority is to be seen more than to be able to see.

I was surprised at the amount of snow left in the highlands and I had to dab to cross the snow on both sides of Cipollini Bridge. I thought I could channel my cyclocross skills on the snow, but slick road tires and a single loaded pannier kept that concept in the realm of outrageous fantasy. I was able to keep the rubber side down and although some areas of the Burke-Gilman trail necessitated that I alter my route ever so slightly, I arrived intact.

I’ll offer a full review in a later post, but so far the jacket is great.

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