Dave's Madone and Dorky Mirror

Roy must have been puzzled.

We exchanged greetings but I scarcely looked up from my aerobars and hammred north toward Asotin.

Usually we'd have stopped to chat and discuss the another rare sunny Saturday in February. But I had a mission and didn't want to lose time...

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog to bring you this exciting news bulletin.

One-Day Dave has come out of retirement. After a somewhat humiliating semi-retirement in 2009, One-Day Dave announced his return to cycling dramatically by showing up on a new Madone. Reader's will remember Dave as a veteran of many TRC centuries and for his Seattle to Portland ride in one day. Dave hung up his road bike several years ago in favor of a shiny new recumbent.

"I wanted to keep up on the hill's Dave said when asked about his new equipment.

Dave seems serious about coming out of retirement. "I've signed up for STP so now I've got to ride." So, we can expect to see Dave around this season, at least until he gets into shape. Then we'll see if you really can buy your way to a faster ride.

We now return you to the blog already in progress:

I confess a second century lurked in the back of my mind when I called for the Buffallo Eddy ride at 9. My plan was to have nearly 50 miles for the day at the lunch stop back at Southway. From there we would climb Lindsay creek where I could opt to do Lapwai or return on Tammany.

It was a plan that rested upon everything going right. Sunset is about 5:15 today which would have given ample time for the extra ride assuming the pace was reasonable and there were no problems.

The thermometer at my house showed 31 degrees when I left at 8:30 but when Dave and I headed toward Asotin I was already too warm. That brilliant sky exposed us to direct sunlight all the way out. We warmed up nicely. And I thought I was detecting some head wind which might mean a tailwind back. My plan was working.

"Oh, crap!" I said.

I knew immediately what was wrong. It had happened to me at Rockford on the 4th of July last year. My rear derailleur cable had broken. In shifting to an easier gear, I got no response. A tap of the high gear lever dropped me back into the smallest cog. No amount of clicking on the low-gear shifter had any impact.

"Damn."

I dropped back into the aerobar and increased my effort to match the gear I was in. Might as well be spinning and cruising as struggling at 6 or 7.

At Buffalo Eddy the frayed end of cable confirmed my diagnosis.

I knew I could ride back. I had done so from Rockford last summer with far more hills than I'd have today, but I was 10 lbs lighter and in better shape then. Oh, and did I mention, a nasty north wind had come up blowing far harder than the 2 to 3 mph Accuweather had suggested.

Doug showed up with his Salsa Fargo and a huge red bag. He hadn't known what we were doing or hadn't wanted to ride with us. Did he happen to have a derailleur cable in that bag? No.

Did everyone decide to ride to Buffalo Eddy this morning? Donna and Gary showed up resplendent in matching new orange jackets. "Don't suppose you happen to have derailleur cable," I asked innocently. No.

Dave and I thought we still had time to make it back to Southway for lunch and a 12:30 start as planned. "Don't wait for me," he said, knowing I'd need to maintain a faster pace and momentum before the rises.

At 10 mile bridge I stopped to call Pedal's 'n Spokes. I had decided to ride on in skipping lunch and didn't want to find Scott out-to-lunch when I got there. "I'm coming in on one speed. I'll be there about noon."

So, Roy, no offense, but I had miles to go before I'd sleep and I wasn't stopping by any snowy woods or Snake Rivers either. Hope you had a good ride.

Dave had agreed to keep our appointed 12:30 start while I re-cabled. We exchanged a couple of calls while Scott Ferguson struggled to get the cable-end out of the shifter, dealt with customers and phone calls. I walked into Pedals 'n Spokes at 12:01 and rode out at 12:30. Not bad, really.

One-Day Dave had discovered that those several years of cushy-on-the-tushy recumbent padded seats do not a callused-butt make. He spun out to meet me at the 5th street bridge but only to tell me he'd have to forgo the second lap of the day's ride.

I rode back to Southway with him, had a burrito at Taco Johns, and a discussion with my legs about what to do? Tammany? Lapwai? It was 1. I'd still have light, but did my legs really want to climb Tammany against the wind? At the Southway on ramp, my legs just took me over the bridge. I headed home around Evans and added a couple of extra miles for 65 for the day.

No century for me today, but lots of Saturday Surprisesincluding lots of riders out. Now all we have to do is get 'em to coordinate their starts. Herding cyclists is a bit like herding cats.

For the ride of it.

Corrie