Rides of Not(e): Corbett spin

Occasionally my rides are epic affairs: sometimes they are epics of procrastination, guilt and avoidance, remarkable for the effort that goes into making nothing happen, others times the ride itself becomes something worthy of recording on a clay tablet with a cut reed (all proper epics are originally written in cuneiform). I thought it would be fun to intersperse regular blog posts with ride reports whenever I undertake a Ride of Not(e), wittingly or not.

Last Saturday, for the third Saturday in a row, I failed to motivate myself to ride up Larch Mountain. I hemmed, hawed and prevaricated until it was too late for a ride that long. I decided instead to go for a climb in the West Hills, but by the time I got across downtown the hills were swaddled in rain-clouds. My desire to climb anything swirled away in the mist and I turned around. Then I got mad at myself and ended up doing the mostly flat 70 miles to Corbett and back as fast as I could. It was windy and rainy and briefly I felt tough. Nonetheless, my average speed was a very fredly 16.5 mph. I also wondered, for the 8 millionth time, what drivers expect you to do when they honk when they're caught behind you on blind corner. Do they expect me to stop and dismount, possibly throwing my jersey across a puddle a la Sir Walter Raleigh? My usual response is just to move out into the middle of the lane, since if they're honking I know they have seen me so now they can run interference for whoever else comes up behind.

When I got home my knee hurt.