Photos From the Saddle

I’m not sure if there’s an exceptional  abundance of cigarette butts/filters along the road or if there’s some sort of comedic intervention that directs lost gloves toward the little buggers… But whatever the case, I can’t help but envision some sort of “Adventures of Glove and Butt” storyline involving junkyard dogs, makeshift rafts and long trips “home” that precipitate the acceptance of hard truths and reinforce the power of unlikely friendships.

Yes, that is how I amuse myself when I ride.

Having been out of the saddle for two days, I was itching to ride today. I’d reinstalled the seatpost on the Double Cross, so I figured I’d take it out for a spin. To be honest, I had delusions of riding for hours and hours… but after only 5 miles, I knew that wouldn’t be happening. I’m not sure what it was, but I just wasn’t feeling it… both my finger and cardio complained the whole ride. I cut it short and rolled home after an hour.

Surrounded by wheels that would otherwise prefer I not be there.

Wednesday brought mixed snow/rain during the ride home and by yesterday morning, there was a thin layer of snow on the ground. Having learned my lesson, I opted to not ride. In hindsight, I could’ve… the roads were wet with no ice… but there’s not much point in gambling with something so trivial.

Saw a hand specialist today. His diagnosis is that it’s a really bad sprain, not torn ligaments, and that there’s nothing I can do other than take ibuprofen and splint it so that it straightens out. He also commented that he once had a similar injury and it took a year and a half before the swelling went away and he had full use of his finger again. Awesome.

I think someone dumped a box of latex gloves out along this one street, as I’ve seen no fewer than 5 different gloves in the past week.

In an effort to hash out the location of that confounded squeak on the Karate Monkey, a friend checked the chainring bolts and tightened ‘em up a little for good measure. Turns out, that good measure significantly reduced the squeaking, so during today’s lunch break I set out with the intention of regreasing the bolts.

I didn’t get far along… snapping the first bolt I went after. This set about a scramble to find a replacement, which I was fortunately able to do, though only as a stop-gap measure.

Once back in town I swung by a LBS and picked up a replacement bolt set, a new seatpost collar bolt and some new Frame Saver. The Tech installed the bolts while I checked out the space. When all was said and done, they hardly charged me anything… much to my (pleasant) surprise. Definitely engendered a desire to go back there in the future.

The rains have returned and will likely be sticking around most of the time ’til May.

In other news, I put a racing stripe on the back fender of the KM for no good reason at all, though it does crack me up.

I’m pretty sure I took a shot of the above glove before, but the effects of puddle-dom gave it a new character. The below glove required a bit of finesse, as it was in the middle of a busy road. I pulled off and waited for a break in traffic before grabbing the shot… I mean, it’s not like some guy in full cycling gear standing in the middle of a busy road taking pictures of the ground is abnormal or anything.

I find it somewhat peculiar that the only two pink vehicles I’ve seen in town are trucks—one a Ford Explorer, the other the above Chevy pickup. Maybe my Karate Monkey is just an extension of a subconscious communal… perspective? I haven’t a clue. Anyway, I regreased the BB yesterday and… it’s still creaking. It’s not the pedal spindles. I’ve greased about every surface within the BB and still get all kinds of noise. Makes me wonder.

Along those lines… these two child carriers sitting out on the corner made me wonder:

After a week and a half of no change with my finger’s swelling/discomfort, I went to see my doctor to get a second opinion. He gave me shit for being in for another cycling-related injury (though to be fair, I wasn’t on my bike when I injured my back… just walking to it). He also asked if it was a high- or slow-speed crash. I said slow, which made him chuckle as he commented that his worst crashes have always been at slow speeds.

I like my doctor.

After looking at my finger he suspected that one of the ligaments is either mostly or completely torn, but wanted to have a hand surgeon check it out. So now I’m waiting on that referral to go through. In the meantime I have about 75% usability and don’t do well with lifting or grabbing. I’ve been cleared to ride, but with strict orders to wear a splint so I don’t do more damage if I crash again. The splint doesn’t fit within gloves, so I’m glad that daytime temps have been relatively moderate as of late.

Things could’ve been a lot worse, so I’m not terribly bummed about the situation.

I’m gonna hobble down the street/Til I reach Knob Creek

-Atmosphere, God Loves Ugly

The streak of seeing a glove every time I ride has continued, though I’m starting to suspect it won’t last for much longer. In addition, the expectation/hope of seeing a glove has become more than a passing distraction, and is now almost a complete a focus.

As if to relieve the building anxiety of possibly not seeing a glove, I saw the above as I was turning around to investigate another possible glove. Gives credence to the whole “you’ll find what you’re looking for when you’re not looking for it” philosophy.

Seen a lot of latex gloves lately. Kinda makes me wonder what’s going down on the side of the road. The next one had to’ve been a cop’s, given the discarded coffee cup (and that the pic was taken right in front of a government building).