A week riding with Lily

Greetings Readers

I would have to say that the past week was tough all throughout.

This past week was the first time that I had take Lily out for the upcoming winter season. Snow was and did come this past week. Unfortunately, the forecast was calling for a lot of snow. If I remember correctly - 9 to 12 inches.

What that meant was that I needed to use the Mountain Bike. With it being this late in the year I could not take the chance that it was not not going to snow. And with that chance there was the possibility of the snow coming hard and heavy the way people were talking.

Since mid spring Lily has been outside on the deck. I know, I know no way to treat Lily that way. Since then there has been signs of rust here and there on her. "Whad ya gonna do?"

I spent some time on her getting ready for the week on Sunday. Scraping off the rust, putting lube and wax on the chain. Checking her tires as well as inflating them back to specs.

Prior to last week I have been on the "beater" bikes for roughly about a month now. The good bikes have basically been put away until a nice day or even could be til next year. A "beater" bike some of you Readers may be asking what the fuck is a beater bike. Basically, it is a bike that is going to be taking the elements that Mother Nature will be throwing at you during the seasons. Also, the bike is used for anything else that you may not want to do with your good bike.

For the past year I now have two beater bikes that I use in rotation. My faithful Readers would know which ones they are, but in case you are a relatively new Reader then let me tell you. The newest one is Deneise and then the older one is Tracey. One's a Fuji (white color) and the other is a Giant (gray color). Tracey is about to reach 10,000 miles and she is starting to show her age, use and how much I have ridden her all those miles without any major replacements. That was the reason why I acquired Deneise last year. I needed a new beater bike and it was the right time.

Anyway, I have to admit Monday Morning Lily kicked my ass. Fuck me. I would have to say that I forgot how much of a difference there is between a road bike and a mountain bike. A whole of weight, smaller crank and working up a sweat. What usually takes me about 20 / 25 minutes took me about 50 minutes to get to work. The bad things were it was cold and all uphill. Though going home was all downhill basically. Monday night I slept like a baby.

Then, Tuesday came and I had to do the same thing all over again, except this time the storm was coming. I was prepared. What I was wasn't prepared for was the rain. I assumed, which I know Readers should not have, that the snow would be falling when I left work. Little did I know and that was from not watching the news was that the snow was not to start until 9 that evening. When I got off work at about 6:30 or so it was raining. Steady rain. Oh yeah, it was cold steady rain. I was not even 1/2 mile from leaving work and I was soaked. Soaked. Gosh, it fucking sucked. If I have not said it before or if I have said it a thousand times - being soaked to the bone while riding in the rain is the worst thing I hate.

Wednesday - where's all the snow that was forecast. Fuck me. I actually rode Lily for two days when I could have been riding either of my road bikes. However, the thing is both Deneise and Tracey had front flat tires. I was lazy and just have not had the time to fix the flats. Matter of fact, I think Tracey has had a front flat for about two months and I have been using Deneise for the past month until I got a flat on Sunday.

Thursday - even better. Still was riding Lily, yet I have to admit I was getting use to riding her and not out of breath like I was on Monday.

Friday - I knew this was going to be last day that I was going to ride Lily. Period.

And that Readers was my week with Lily. Oh yes! I spent the time on Saturday Morning by fixing both Tracey and Deneise and I have to admit it did not take as long as I thought it would. That is the really the only reason why I did not fix the flats. I don't hate fixing flats it is just if I do not get the flat fixed/repaired the first time I tend to get aggravated due to the patch perhaps not staying affixed to the tube, not enough rubber cement, not dry enough, etc. And what really gets me is when I get the tube in the tire, back on the rim, pumped full of air, then seconds later I hear a leak which I know is from my poorly done repair. Oh yes, I may be a seasoned/pro bike rider, but I have my "moments: from time to time when fixing flat tires.

Come Monday Morning I am riding a road bike - LOL. For sho'!

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete