Fredding Bogus Basin Road

So I decided to role out a little half bogus nooner today.

I noticed immediately that my legs were feeling a little bit of running and riding funkiness from the last few days. But that’s ok because, you know, I’m down with being funky.

Right so anyway I get to the bottom of the hill and start climbing. I see this dude like a half mile up the road and start closing slowly. My fred radar is going off, because the only people that I catch going up bogus are freds. Yeah, if I catch you going up bogus – you might be a fred.

Anyhow, I role up behind said fred. As I pass I say ‘hi, how you doing’ – because I am social as hell. Well that, and because there is nothing more annoying than getting passed going uphill by someone who still has the ability to speak.

Well, maybe because my talking to him, or maybe because he is a fred, after I pass the dude I hear the gear change.

Fuck. Seriously?

Right. Now I have this fred going all human centipede on me up bogus.

What is the protocol for that anyway? You know, when you pass someone riding down the road should they ask permission to sit on your wheel or is it acceptable to just do it? It seems to me that you should at least say something so you know that they are there. I mean when I get passed I usually just watch whoever ride away, but if I do want to sit on I will ask if they mind if I sit on.

However, when I pass people they all just try to hop on. Then I go a little faster. Then if they are still there I go a little bit faster. Then if they are still there I go a little faster. It is all somewhat tiring and disruptive. Especially when you are funky.

That’s what I thought about as fred sat on my wheel over the top of the first hill down towards the corrals.

I figured it wasn’t that big of a deal because the guy was going to drop off eventually anyway right? I mean if he could climb that fast I wouldn’t have caught him in the first place right?

Well with me being cool and funky, and fred being, well freddly – he stuck there for like 2 miles. Damn. Must have been a fast fred. Surely that was a carbon fiber pie plate he was rocking in his back wheel.

I hate it when that happens.

I Want to be a Runner

The other day riding my bike to the office seemed like a good idea, and it was going pretty well till I was rolling down the hallway and was about to attempt the tricky turn through the office door when the boss’s boss walked out into the hallway.

Talk about awkward silence. It was like the guy hadn’t seen someone riding a bike before. He finally said something about being pretty sure we had some kind of policy about that. I told him I hadn’t seen it yet.

Then there was the other day when I thought that riding through the flood water on the gb would be funner if I went faster. And I was right, except that I didn't know that fenders stop working at a certain level of fun-ness.

And of course there was the other other day when I thought that racing my bike might be a good idea, and well, it wasn't. Turns out that some of the other bike racers have been training. Huh.

Then there was the day I thought it might be fun to do the bike race with the mile long dirt section. That would have been ok if I didn't have to ride the dirt section twice - because apparently I only brought one dirt section worth of fitness and tires.

And today. Well today I was riding home and heard my bike making a new sound.

Now I am know stranger to bike sounds, but I hadn't heard this one before. It sounded like the top layer of my back tire had separated from the sidewalls and was rubbing against the frame and fender. It sounded a lot like that actually.

Did you know you can ride at least 4 miles with the top of your tire separated from the sides?

Yeah well, you can, but apparently at some point it causes your chain to bust.

Riding a bike without a chain is hard.

Shit like this makes a guy want to be a runner.