As I pedaled along, enjoying the beauty of fixed gear riding and the conditions, I got onto the first dirt section of the NK route, Old Train road. As I fiddle and faddled I hit a root and my hand flew off the bars, ending up with a nice little shoulder slide and roll out. I laughed, got back on and kept going.
The cross tires I got on the War Machine Right now are skinny, and they sink in the muck, so the mucky conditions made for some working and riding to stay on top of it, but like always when I ride the Naked Indian route, I feel so proud that I am the one who put this route together. Then I think, shit, this was the start of it all, the start of even bigger routes, which have grown as big as 300 miles.
Attempted to explore a new section only to hit dead ends. Backed out, rolled into Cassadaga, did the super steep climb, got onto Old Enterprise road and got bogged down in a Sandy Climb, dismounted, pushed up, got over into the single track section, was amazed how well I was doing in such a big ratio in the single track with the skinny tires and then bam, the chain came off. Not only did it come off, but it was as loose as when I initially had an issue.
I had to soft pedal my way out of there, very paranoid about it wrapping up in my tire and sending me over the bars again, I took the short cut out via bushwack. I knew that nearby my friend lived, so I rode over to his place and borrowed a wrench and OVER TIGHTENED the chain. To the point that the entire 10 miles home it popped and creaked and screamed at the pressure, but I did not want it to come loose. 29 miles later I was home, I went in the garage, fixed the chain again, and then grabbed some Ice to continue my knee rehabilitation.
Today I will Millimeter check all the bikes, the Black, the War and the Cross check. My current hypothesis is that on the Mt Dora Ride I injured the front part of my knee under the knee cap, irritated it on the Huracan and the injury is still there. The only way to fix it is to make sure my seat heights are all correct and to keep pedaling and icing it till I condition it to its former glory. As I sit here now its not bad, not in pain, can walk, just feel the tightness. I will also explore my all natural anti inflammatory options as well.
Right now, this is my current theory. I want to go see Matt Goforth to be sure, but I am doing the math, and its a full tank down, a full tank back and then his visiting fee. That's more cash then I want to spend when I look at my monthly budget. BUT, tomorrow I plan to ride and to work and back, if I survive that with minimal soreness, then I will continue as planned and forgo the visit. If not, then I will bite the bullet.
The NK course is in TIP TOP shape, so I am planning a weekend in May, while its still cool and still wet to open it up and invite people to ride. The NK ride didn't go as planned this year, mostly because I was a depressed and downtrodden mess, redemption is on the horizon!
Take Care,
Laters,
The NaKeD InDiaN
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