Low Key

I don't really have a ton of content, so this is just going to be a vanilla weekend recap that will likely emphasize what a lackluster life I really live. Sad but true. After what seems like a string of weekends containing some for of racing or another we decided to lay low this past weekend and just take it easy.

I was wrecked the early part of the week from the race last weekend and even though I didn't do much for a couple of days after that, I did get out for a ride Tuesday followed by the CBTT Wednesday, which wasn't so special, and a killer SS MTB ride on Thursday which I led for the GB NEMBA group in the PR. As a disjointed aside, these Thursday night rides have really helped get me psyched about group rides again. It's been great to be able to show some new people the trails and to get new people to dog me and keep me moving hard. Anyhow, a couple hour road ride on the SS cross bike Friday put me right back into the category of spent.

Naturally, on Saturday I wanted to get a good ride in but had a bunch of errands and chores to take care of first. We knocked those off in the AM and in the early afternoon headed out on the SS MTB's for a version of the big loop. I'd just torn the EBB apart on my SS and re-lubed and Teflon taped the crap out of it in order to try and remedy the persistent creak it had developed. This fixed the creak for the first hour and all was well but right as I started running out of steam, the creak returned with a vengeance. It is hard to think of anything that is more annoying than a creaky bottom bracket. Well, I guess there is the sound of a bent wheel rubbing on the brake-pads or worse yet, the frame. That's annoying and is also robbing you of precious power and possibly destroying components. I did have that BB debacle on the new bike during the Weeping Willow race, where the bearings let loose and the creak and grind were also stealing power to pepper-mill the ball bearings into a fine powder.



We finished up the death march in about 3.5 hours with sore upper body from wrangling the bike around, sore legs of course but also some serious monkey butt action going down as well. Cathy used some of the ladies special Mad Alchemy chamois cream with great results so I think that shall be on my short list of purchases. I find that the baggy shorts with the liners tend to have fairly crappy quality chamois pads that also don't fit very well. Mine tend to move around more than desired, which would be not all all, and cause frictional chaffing on my ample, but supple, butt cheeks. By the end of a ride it feels as though I'm seated on fresh 60 grit. Not pleasant.

We cleaned up and headed for Beer Works in Lowell for dinner. Unfortunately, there was a Spinners game in progress and there was absolutely no effing parking left anywhere in Lowell. Change of plans and we hit the Outback Steakhouse, for which we had a gift-card anyhow so it wasn't all bad. They had Blue Moon on tap with a smiley wedge of orange, which has become my favorite warm weather draft. From there go out to my friend Ryan's place in the middle of nowhere Pepperell to snag a SS MTB he's selling for another friend, then high tail it to Lexington to feed, water, poop-scoop and visit George and Gracie for our friends T&S. Fortunately the awesome 80's were on so we rocked out to tunes from the decade of decadence.

Sunday started with some bike work, including tearing my SS MTB down and building it back up on the new frame that has been hanging in the basement since Chad at Soul Cycles graciously sent it to me last winter. The day then progressed to yard work for the rest of the morning. Mowing the lawn and then transplanting a whole mess of Lillis. If anyone ever offers to give you some Lillis, proceed with caution in planting them. The things are like the plague; they multiply like mad and just take over. The same basic thing happens with Iris' as well. Anyhow, we moved a bunch of those to thin the cover for some of our shrubs and bushes and also transplanted a couple of bushes to better locales.

We finally gathered up enough motivation for a ride late in the afternoon. We needed to go visit George and Gracie one last time so rode MTB's out the old Reformary Branch railroad bed trail to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetary in Concord, which for those who don't know houses markers for a large number of authors on Author's Ridge including Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne and Alcott. Then we were off to another piece of colonial American history, the Minute Man National Historic Park Battle Road and then onto the power-lines in Lexington. It was then a criss-cross of side streets to get to T&S' place. George was happy to see us as it meant food and some company. Gracie was no place to be found, which was typical. We departed and headed for home via Vine Brook, Willards Woods and finally to the Minute Man bikeway.

Last up for the non-stop thrill ride of a weekend was dinner and a movie, which consisted of a big old rack of beef ribs, garden salad and Anthony Hopkins in the Rite. Not a bad movie and actually more interesting than I though initially. Good weekend. Too bad it is well over and we are into the cold hard reality of the work week.