Saturday, February 07, 2009

Spring ride!

Took the Surly Pacer out for its maiden voyage (okay, I did a little ride Friday too). Set up with fenders, leather saddle and bar tape, and its downtube shifters all all, the only think that was lacking was a tweed cap! Met up with Tom and Cam for a 60 mile ride that I was apprehensive about keeping up with. Fortunately Tom was on a 'cross bike with 'cross tires, and Cam was rolling on studs, so my 25c road tires were fast by comparison. A zip tie on my fender broke, but we made it to Tonka Cycle and they got me rolling in no time - great service! They even offered towels for our mud-spattered faces. We continued on and stopped at the new Excel Cycle so Tom could get his computer working, to no avail. A nice, high-end shop, very snazzy. Just as I was running out of water, we stopped at Caribou in Minnetonka, where Paula Plant was enjoying a coffee too. The breaks were good, as we had a stiff wind on the way out, in spite of Tom pulling us along. I started bonking just as we hit the Greenway, but a candy bar and Powerade had me feeling like doing it all over again after about 10 minutes. The Greenway still had some packed snow in patches, but it wasn't icy for the most part, so the road tires worked fine. Tom estimates 53 miles at 16.8 mph. A great ride, and great to be outside riding in nice weather!