Butt Balm and Me

Before I headed out on my long weekend bike ride, I had heard I should get butt balm, but I did not find any resources for where to apply it other than the ubiquitous 'sensitive areas.'

The final week before the big ride

In preparation for the big ride this weekend, I finally took my bike in for a tune-up (and then some). I ride my bike quite a bit, especially with my regular commute to work so I got the fancier tune-up. Plus my pedals were falling apart, and my tires were drying up a bit, and I wanted extensions to my handlebars... the new tires (being smaller) needed new innertubes and so on. When all was said and done, the price of the tune-up and upgrades actually came close to the cost of my bike when it was new. Shit. Granted, all the pieces replaced will be good for several years and the tune-up is a yearly thing, but shit. shit shit shit.

Okay, after the realization that the upgrades, replacements and tune-up were going to be expensive, the bike does ride much better. My brakes work like a charm, the chain doesn't jump off when I shift to '3' and the skinnier tires require less effort to pedal (although they do require more effort to keep balance).

It looks like the rain of May has passed. We are now in June and every day of the weather forecast does not show impending thunderstorms. Just every third day. AND... it looks like the weather will cooperate for the bike ride itself!

After writing all of this, I actually did not ride my bike to work today. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get out of bed. Perhaps tomorrow.

All ride all week

My goal this week is to ride my bike every day. Well, Monday I could not ride my bike because I received my birthday gift to myself. The box was far to large for a long bike trip and did contain electronic devices, so the road bumps would not have been kind to the package contents. I did ride on Tuesday and this morning (Wednesday) I rode to work and picked up donuts. My job has this odd tradition that you bring treats for all your coworkers (all 85!) on your birthday. What's that shit about? Anyway, there is a Dunkin Donuts about a mile away and I picked up a couple of dozen mixed bag donuts to share. I need not tell you DD donuts are horrible and they did not fair well on the bike ride. Actually, they're fine, just a couple were really squished. They are the wonder bread of the donut world. I know a wonderful donut from Dinkel's on Lincoln would never squish in a such a fashion! Unfortunately, Dinkel's is no where near my bike path to work and heaven knows I do not need to add another 4 miles to my trip. Anyway, bike day 2 is half complete and donuts were delivered.

The last of the big rides...

Today was the last big training ride with the Ride for AIDS group. It was supposed to be 70 miles, but the weather and laziness made it about 50 miles. Per usual with Saturday mornings this spring in Chicago, the weather changed about every 15 minutes. In general, it was cloudy with a light breeze - ideal weather for riding. But every once in a while a nice torrential downpour would pelt us... or a gust of wind would threaten your stability. Whatever, standard for riding in Chicago.

Hopefully, I will be able to ride more to work this week. The weather does not look to helpful, with rain forecast for each day. I know Monday is out, I'm getting a package from UPS and I would not be able to bring that home on the bike.

Monday monday... so cruel. Saturday saturday, so many weather systems, so little time.

Finally, after a week of not riding....

Last week I did not ride my bike at all due to my bought with phayn/tonsil-itis. But Monday I was able to get back in the saddle and ride to work. Horray!

I rode into work along the trusty Granville/ Kedzie/ Devon/ Caldwell/ Touhy route. Biking the last mile on Touhy is really tough. There is not much room for a bike and the potholes are insane. Ech.

A nice bike ride along the Evanston/Skokie sculpture garden with a fellow bike ride in a different AIDS ride.