Spring Classic

The Summer Solstice began today at 3:15 am , so I guess today's ride wasn't actually during the spring. It was also in the low-90s, further differentiating it from the oftentimes-brutally cold weather of Europe's spring classics. Despite these incongruities, I was thinking of Paris-Roubaix as I rolled some pavement after riding one of my singlespeeds around the network of fire roads, horse trails, and unpaved streets near my house.

Tucson has famously bad streets. I tend not to notice the roughness on a mountain bike, but hitting the chop at speed on a road bike can blur your vision (and put an end to said speed as well). It's not exactly the Trouée d'Arenberg, but this'll buzz you right through your bars.

Tucson Pave'

I live in a hilly area of the Old Pueblo, which means every ride either begins or ends with a climb. And depending on the route, some rides begin and end with a climb.

A named, Category 4 ascent

Father's Day

I'm not actually a dad, or at least not of any bipeds I'm not. But every post has to have a title and that's what today's is.

OK then. My prior post mentioned that BeanSS got a tattoo before I did, but that I didn't have any decent photos of it. Well, here hers is, taken mid-ride this morning. Note that the Surly cassette cog source art for her ink is on the rear hub of her SS 29er. That's my girl.

 

The fuck happened here? Someone spent a fair amount of time with a pick cleaning a six-inch step from a section of our home trail. There is no way the trail obstacle was harder than the manual labor and blisters needed to clear it. It leads to a utility right-of-way, so maybe some lineman needed to get a quad back there and didn't want to have to sit up off the seat for even a second to get over this. In either event, it's inexplicable.

 

Sanitation Department
 

The real reason I rode today wasn't to photograph my wife's drive-side calf or to view trail work, it was to shake down the sweet new WTB/Paul hoops that A.B.E. built up for me. I'm not running tubeless yet, but I eventually will. My tattoo's source art is also right there on the rear hub.