The miles continue

I rode Saturday and Sunday this weekend to make up for missing a day last week. Spring weather makes riding to a schedule very difficult. One really has to work around the rain. Once again this spring, it seems like there's always the threat of a shower yet when it does rain, it is never in enough volume to help all my withering flowers and vegetables. My ride Saturday was 30 miles with my good friend Nate. Also a good mechanic, I roped him into wrenching if I have a bike tune up fundraiser at my house.

My long ride this weekend was supposed to be 60 miles, and ended up being 67, on Sunday morning. Close enough I guess. It was a very scenic ride starting at my house in Dudley, and going north on 31 to some back roads through the Brookfields. I kept heading north on route 67 through New Braintree and into Barre where I picked up 122. I followed that towards Rutland and Paxton, where I started overtaking another cyclist.

I passed him and he stayed with me. It was clear after I passed him he was a very fit rider, and could have ridden away from me fairly easily, but we each took turns pulling and chatted briefly between. He was riding a LeMond Zurich, which sparked the initial conversation since I ride a LeMond Victoire. Nice guy, but he lived in Paxton so we parted ways at the intersection with 31 where I headed back south.

The rest of the ride was uneventful. The weather was gorgeous, and I got home with barely enough time to shower and leave for Newton, where I was looking at windows for the house and then heading for Norwood where I had a late lunch with my girlfriend, Meredith.

The fundraiser to which I alluded above will hopefully take place the third weekend in July (7/18 or 7/19). As I mentioned, it will be at my house in Dudley. What I'd like to do is offer a $40 tune up for anyone with a bike in any condition. If it needs new parts we'll recommend what to buy. The tune up will include a complete drivetrain cleaning/degreasing and relube, derailleur adjustment, cable cleaning, regreasing and adjusting, wheel truing, brake adjustment/inspection, all bearings checked (crank, wheels, headset) and a seat rail/post clean and lube if needed. I'm also considering including rewrapping bar tape on road bikes, maybe $5 extra for that. I'd have volunteer mechanics and all proceeds, of course, would go towards the PMC.

If you live close enough to Dudley to participate, I'll send you an email or other notice shortly if I do arrange it. I'm going to do a few more things to gauge if there will be enough interest.