Two Wheel Blogs

As I write this, I should be at the Skyview Drive-In in Litchfield enjoying a double feature of THE SORCERER's APPRENTICE and DESPICABLE ME. I should be there after having spent a couple of hours riding the 40 or so miles from Edwardsville to Litchfield under clear skies and in warm (but not too hot) temperatures. the ride to Litchfield should have been the second of two rides for the day. In fact, my day should have gone like this:

• 7:00 ~ Get up ride with Scott Thompson and his friend, Steve.
• 9:00 ~ Leave them at Horseshoe Lake and ride to KDHX to do my radio show.
• 1:00 ~ After my show, ride home to Edwardsville.
• 5:00 ~ Ride to Litchfield.
• 8:00 ~ After dinner with my wife, go to the Skyview for the aforementioned double feature.

In fact, my day went nothing like that. And to explain why that is, I have to back up to Friday.

I've been looking forward to this weekend since two weeks ago, when Scott Shaw and I rode through a rainstorm just so we listen to TOY STORY 3 while the continuing rain made it pretty much impossible to see the movie. This was, as you would expect, a huge disappointment. Last week, the weather was clear, but the movie was TWILIGHT: ECLIPSE. And besides, it was my son's last weekend at home before returning to school. so when I saw that THE SORCERER's APPRENTICE and DESPICABLE ME were playing there this weekend, I started looking forward to it. Hard. I watched the weather forecast, hoping for clear skies and warm temperatures. And that's pretty much what the forecast promised.

Until Friday.

That's when 10% chance of showers became 20%. Then 30%. In fact, the closer it got to the time when I should mount up and head north, the higher the chance of rain got. I checked the radar online. I watched the 5:00 news. Everything confirmed my worst fear: rainstorms were moving through the area and would probably be around all night.

[Expletive!]

Two weeks ago, rain ruined our last trip to the Skyview. I was not in the mood for an encore. So I accepted the obvious: tonight was not the night to ride to Litchfield. "We'll watch the forecast tomorrow," I told Diane. "If it's better, we'll go." It was a plan.

But I still wanted to get a ride in. Rain had not yet reached Edwardsville, so I suited up and headed for Belk Park. As I rode west, I could see a rainstorm approaching from the southwest. I decided to shortcut the route, turning south on Moreland in hopes of getting to the Watershed Trail and maybe getting home before the rain hit. And that plan might have worked -- thirty minutes earlier. I hadn't gone 100 yards before I felt the rain. I turned around immediately and headed north, then turned west on Rock Hill and headed for the park. I thought I might be able to skirt the edge of the storm, then double back behind it once it had passed. Again, a good plan that would have worked thirty minutes earlier. Soon, the rain was falling on me. Then it was pouring on me. I sought cover beneath some trees, but it didn't make much of a difference. I still got wet. The only difference is that the rain was splashing off leaves instead of hitting me directly.

Eventually, it let up enough for me to ride again. Since I was already soaked, I figured I couldn't get any wetter. So I headed throught the park to Buchta, then to Moreland. As it turns out, I was wrong -- again. I could and did get wetter. I rode on, and soon I was on 143 and within a mile of home. I was looking forward to getting there. Looking forward to getting out of my wet gear. Looking forward to going out to eat. What I was not looking forward to was what was in front of me. As I moved off the shoulder back onto the road, my front wheel started to slip and I was sprawled on the pavement. Fortunately -- if there is a good side to this -- I landed on my left side, not my right, which was still sore from last week's cyclocross mishap. I remounted and rode home. All this for 17 miles at a 16.3 mph pace. In retrospect, knowing there was rain in the area, I should not have gone for a ride. And, once it did rain, I should have been more careful.

"Winners," it is said, "make their own luck." I had certainly made my own. I was dumb. And so would my luck be.

Jump forward to Saturday morning. I'm up early to meet Scott Thompson and his friend, Steve, for a ride. Though they both live in St. Louis, they were driving over to Edwardsville to ride. When I met Scott at the 2nd Street parking lot at 7:00 a.m., he said Steve had called to say he was running late. So we biked the two blocks to the 222 Artisan Bakery for some Goshen coffee. When we got back to the parking lot, Steve arrived. To get over to KDHX in time, I'd need to be back by 9:45, maybe 10:00. I suggested we ride the Madison County trails. The loop down to Horseshoe Lake should be about 30 miles. We should be able to do that.

And riding was good. We took the Goshen Connector down to the Schoolhouse Trail towards Horseshoe Lake. It was near 9:00 a.m. when we go there. I occurred to me I had a choice. I could ride back to Edwardsville with Scott and Steve, then drive ove to KDHX. Or, I could keep going and ride to KDHX, do my show, then ride back home. It was an attractive notion. And I considered it. But in the end, I decided to ride back with Scott and Steve.

And it's a good thing I did, too.

We headed north on the Nature Trail. As I rounded a curve to pass under 255, I suddenly found that pedaling was moving me forward. A look at my rear wheel revealed the answer: my derailleur hanger had broken, and my derailleur was just hanging there. Or rather, not. I needed to get to KDHX by 11:00 and was now powerless to get myself there.

Long story short: Scott rode hard back to Edwardsville while I walked my bike along the trail. Once he was back at his car, he came and picked me up and drove me over to KDHX. We arrived with 20 minutes to spare. While I stared my show, he went home and changed, then came back and hung out. Later, my wife drove over and picked me up. We took my bike to The Cyclery, where it is now, instead of where it should be, which is on my roof rack as we drive back from the double feature in Litchfield.

I made my own luck this weekend. On Friday night, I rode when I shouldn't have. And when I did ride, I did not respect the road conditions. And because of it, when I rode on Saturday, when I should have, my ride was cut short. Not only was I not able to ride to KDHX, but I could not ride to Litchfield. And I cannot ride tomorrow -- unless I go out on my cyclocross bike.

A hard lesson to learn. I hope it takes.