The longest mile
Well, I rode home in the rain again yesterday. Bleh. But I'm getting better. Most of the trip was spent chasing the blue sky I could see from under the rain.
I set off at about 6:15pm after it stopped raining in Binghamton. Shortly after heading out I hit the absolute worst stretch of pavement I have ever been on. They are going to repave a 1 mile section of the Vestal Parkway. I have never seen such a poor milling job in my life. They apparently used an extremely old machine as the groves were at least 1" apart. What does this do? It pushes you around like you wouldn't believe, that' what. I spent the entire mile doing about 15mph and leaning heavily on the left grip to stay (mostly) straight. Thankfully at the time of day I left, there wasn't much traffic and I didn't see anyone until I was near the end. What annoys me more is that this pavement had been milled at least one *week* ago. It should have been paved by now. Oiy!
Once back on smooth pavement, I continued my trek home, using the "long" way home. On NY 7 near Conklin, I round a bend and hit gravel in the turn. The front wheel slid left and I just stood the bike up with it. I ended up running the turn way wide, but I kept it upright :) After that it was all chasin' the blue sky.
I finally caught up with that blue sky around Lenox. Booked it like heck going home from there as I was still seeing lightening (cloud to ground no less!) I got home about 8pm.
Some things to note:
1) My new Teknic Interstate jacket is really waterproof! The only wet spots were along my arms because I didn't have the vent covers on.
2) Pack the vent covers in the event of rain. :)
3) No wet feet this time! I remembered to wear my waterproof boots.
So I arrived home triumphant but pooped. I ended up taking the car today as my gear was still wet. Ah, well. Tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be fantastic :)
I set off at about 6:15pm after it stopped raining in Binghamton. Shortly after heading out I hit the absolute worst stretch of pavement I have ever been on. They are going to repave a 1 mile section of the Vestal Parkway. I have never seen such a poor milling job in my life. They apparently used an extremely old machine as the groves were at least 1" apart. What does this do? It pushes you around like you wouldn't believe, that' what. I spent the entire mile doing about 15mph and leaning heavily on the left grip to stay (mostly) straight. Thankfully at the time of day I left, there wasn't much traffic and I didn't see anyone until I was near the end. What annoys me more is that this pavement had been milled at least one *week* ago. It should have been paved by now. Oiy!
Once back on smooth pavement, I continued my trek home, using the "long" way home. On NY 7 near Conklin, I round a bend and hit gravel in the turn. The front wheel slid left and I just stood the bike up with it. I ended up running the turn way wide, but I kept it upright :) After that it was all chasin' the blue sky.
I finally caught up with that blue sky around Lenox. Booked it like heck going home from there as I was still seeing lightening (cloud to ground no less!) I got home about 8pm.
Some things to note:
1) My new Teknic Interstate jacket is really waterproof! The only wet spots were along my arms because I didn't have the vent covers on.
2) Pack the vent covers in the event of rain. :)
3) No wet feet this time! I remembered to wear my waterproof boots.
So I arrived home triumphant but pooped. I ended up taking the car today as my gear was still wet. Ah, well. Tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be fantastic :)