Small Chain Ring Bliss
I got the itch around 10:45 this morning during math class. Each day at the start of class, Dr. Rucker puts a problem on the board for us to solve during class. Today's problem involved bicycle gears. We were to figure out the RPM's of the large chain ring given the diameter of both gears and the RPM's of the small cog. It was an inverse proportion problem that I had solved before to compute gear inches on the bicycle (don't worry, I won't bother with the deatils of the gear inch concept). Anyway, that got me thinking about riding. It was really gray and windy but I didn't care- I had the itch. But I couldn't just go home and ride, I had to take care of some BITS business. Dan kinda showed me the ropes and introduced me to the important people of the school.
It wasn't until 2:50 that I finally got on the bike. There was a fairly strong head wind on the way north but I felt good. Almost too good. Darkness would be here soon but at the pace I was riding, I knew I could make 55 miles before dark. A few miles after the turn around (Speedy Reedy's Bike Shop on Lake Union) it started to rain. Then it started to pour. That's when I saw it. Right there next to me as if it had been there all along. I was moving at this point. I figure 26+. Into the driving rain and instead of getting more fatigued, I got stronger. And stronger. I caught a few racers from Broadmark Capital and promptly dropped them. All in the small chain ring. Sometimes my best rides come in the toughest conditions. It was 45 degrees and pouring rain. Even though my entire body was numb I didn't want the ride to end. That's what it's all about.
The buzz is that Kelly will have her baby by Monday.
