Lobster Special #12

Can someone turn up the a/c out there? Or at least ride in front of me with a dehumidifier and occasionally peg with snowballs and waterballoons? It's friggin' hot out there. Yesterday's rain and my aversion to cleaning my road bike (again) had me dusting off the 'cross bike, which actually had me doing more cleaning and tuning than I really wanted to do.

For starters, I need new brake pads. A season's worth of riding in the rain, snow, and mud have worn the pads too close to their shoes for comfort. Plus, they were probably a little bit dry rotted too and I couldn't get them to stop chattering and squealing (until I got the bike in to some mud). The tubeless setup didn't last beyond the season. The sealant dried up and wouldn't hold air. I guess it's a good thing that I can always throw tubes in them. Finally ready to go, I headed out towards the equestrian park that I've been neglecting all these warmer months.

When I got there the grass was long, dirt was muddy, and everything was steaming in the summer post-rain heat. I was more than the proverbial dumpling at a dim sum brunch. I was the friggin' Steamed Lobster Special #12. That super red, super salty, wine-infused main entree that always seems like a good idea until it arrives at your table and eventually makes you sick to your stomach. After an hour, I'd had all the "fun" I could stand and rode home with a few things running through my brain:

1) I have a lazy personal mechanic. He never wants to do any work for me. All he wants to do is get drunk, build bikes for other people, and daydream about bikes that he might or might never own. What an asshole.

2) I haven't been riding the 'cross bike much. The long grass is evidence to this and I need to spend more time "cutting" a trail into the park to make my rides there marginally faster (read: less painful).

3) I'm tired of the summer. No Page Valley or 540 Series for me. If I learned anything at Lost RIver, it's that I suck at road racing and that it's getting hot as shit out there. Spending the season doing crits and circuit races (and fighting hobos) has left me ill-prepared for anything that requires getting up anything. Spending the past couple days out there in the heat and humidity has me longing for the chillier, embrocation-heavy months. I think it's time I started training for 'cross and I can't wait until the season starts.