As Expected the Unexpected

After such a nice weekend of cycling immersion, expecting to maintain that momentum through the week was probably too much to ask. As expected, the unexpected once again put a little crimp in my plans.

When I read the email Sunday night "asking" me to be at the Monday morning President's Council meeting, I wasn't too disappointed. A day off the bike to ensure full recovery sounded like a wise option. Even the weather was sending the same message, leaving the morning streets wet and scattering little rain showers around the area. I had planned to do a Spinning class Monday evening, but by the time I remembered to sign up after my meeting the class was full. OK. I can take a hint. On Monday I rested.

So by Tuesday morning I was ready for a nice long ride with the group up on the levee. A paceline formed up quickly and after picking up Donald at the playground we settled into a fast rotation. I took a few short pulls and the next time I dropped back I ended up behind Donald who I soon discovered was acting as gatekeeper for the sitting-in group. I have to admit, I was pretty comfortable sitting behind him for a long time, but eventually the pace at the front eased up a bit, and by then I was starting to feel guilty, so I went around and got back into the rotation. I was feeling pretty good Tuesday, and may have been guilty of pushing the pace just a bit on the way back, thanks no doubt to my earlier session in the easy chair behind Donald.

On my calendar for Tuesday afternoon was a visit to the dentist, so I had taken the car, which I usually just drive on weekends, to work. At one point I applied the brakes and thought, "Holy crap, that sounds really bad!" I rolled down the window and turned off the radio. Yep. This sounded like the automotive version of when you have rocks and grit imbedded in your brake shoes on a rainy bike ride. Clearly, one of the front brake pads was no longer with us in any easily recognizable fashion, and I was hearing that nasty and expensive metal-on-metal sound. Great. So I made it to the dentist were there were needles and drills and the other bad things associated with getting a new crown, wrote a big check, and drove back treating the brake pedal like it was made of china. I should have expected this unexpected development, of course, but anyway the bottom line was that my Wednesday morning ride time was going to be spent at the Volvo dealer rather than the levee. By 10 a.m. estimate for the new pads and rotors, replacement of the blown front speakers, a transmission software upgrade, brake fluid purge, and various other deferred maintenance items came to around $1k.

Just as I'd expected.

Naturally, it's supposed to be freezing cold, literally, tomorrow morning. At least I did manage to sign up for Spinning tonight. I expect I will also be up on the levee tomorrow regardless of the temperature. A guy's gotta ride.....