Unfortunately, a Road Ride

We had six inches of snow last weekend, which has subsequently melted [mostly], and it rained all day yesterday, so the trails were not rideable today. I needed to spin the pedals, so I dusted off the road bike for the first time since moving here. It's a very nice road bike, a Bianchi Vigorelli, a graduation present to myself over the summer. I rode it quite a bit in northern KY, but I just haven't had any desire to ride anything with skinny tires since moving to mtb Mecca.

I left the townhouse and it was dark and dreary here in Brevard. It looked a bit brighter to the south, so I headed down Rt. 64, and up Rt. 215 to the BRP. The gate was closed, but the road looked clear, and the sun was shining bright at this point, so I hopped on the Vig and headed south. Everything was going smoothly for the first 3.5 miles, but then my first ever roadie wreck happened. It was a downhill section, so I had some speed, came around a corner and.......nothing but black ice. I slammed to the pavement and slid about 20-30 yards on my left hip and ankle. Burned a few nice holes in my shorts and left me a real nice road rash. Ouch. That's also the side I sleep on and I'm out of bourbon. Tylenol PM maybe?

Sorry for the crappy iPhone pics:






I tried to ride a little further, but there was even more ice, so I just quit while I was only slightly behind. On my way home, going down 215, I came across a little Beagle mix trotting down the middle of the road. I stopped to get him off the road, but he kept coming back to hang out with me, so I picked him up and placed him shotgun. I had no cell reception, so I had to drive all the way down the mountain to call the number on his collar. On the other end of the call was, of course, a total redneck that told me the dog was just fine walking along the road, because they live right there. I'll help animals out whenever I can, but I won't just take someone's pet unless they're treating it pretty bad, so back up the mountain I went. I dropped him off back at his home, and headed back down the mountain. I didn't feel great about it, but at least I got him off the road.

Stay safe, buddy.


I also have some fun and different fitness plans in the works. Plans, not resolutions. I hope to do some endurance races this year, but right now I'm a fat bastard, so I'm pretty excited to start doing something about it. Maybe I'll be able to avoid transitioning the Lazer Cat to 1x9.