On A bumpy ride

Tuesday night I did the 'Escape the Don' ride with the Beaches Cycle Club. There was only one image, taken after the ride ended. Dan disabled the flash so the red light from the traffic lights creates an ambiance that I personally am not entirely fond of, but at least there is a nice wide depth of field, something you don't get when the shutter speed is too high. (Even in digital cameras lessons from my 35mm still apply.)



The ride was fast, we took the standard route to the coffee shop, but instead of going south through York University, Dan decided to go straight along Steeles all the way to Yonge and then south on Yonge Street. I made a very important discovery, I need more, better, lights. On the way out, on Queens Quay there was a metal grate in the road. My front wheel got into a rut and steered hard right, I thought I was going to crash for sure, the guys who were behind me said I still looked stable, but I sure did not feel that way. Had I been able to see the grate from just a little further away I am sure I would have had no trouble avoiding it. Then coming south on Yonge just below the 401 I was doing about 52km/h when I hit a small lump in the road, not even a bump really, but at 52km/h you don't need much to get air time, granted only a few centimeters and only for perhaps a tenth of a second, but again, it is the fear thing. After that bump I rode the brakes all the way to the bottom of the hill (Hogs Hollow). Of course the leaders of the pack must have waited some time for me at the top of the hill at Yonge Blvd, but a crash at 50km/h would have been very ugly at best. There is a moral here, if you ride at night, lights are not just so cars can see you, they are also good if you can use them to see the road. Anyway here is the route.


In other news I spent much of the evening, well working actually, had to update a web server, but also cleaning Erin. I noticed the front wheel is not completely true, but it is a lot better than her back wheel. I took the cassette off to clean that as well, when I replaced the cassette I forgot to put the little plastic ring that goes on the hub between the cassette and the wheel itself. Its amazing how much rattle the little piece of plastic prevents. When you think about it, it seems that so much about bikes hangs together with little more than a thread and a prayer.