Mudwrestling

The muck that ended my ride.

 

Went out for a short one after work today to check on the gravel conditions.  We've had a few days of rain and I wanted to see how things were looking on the final run up to Trans Iowa.  I had planned on checking out three local B roads to see if there was any chance they'd be ridable.  Long story short, no.  The road shown above is the first and last one I hit.  No riding this one, so I tried to walk some of it.  Bad idea.  I ended up clogging up my already filthy bike with some peanut butter mud and grass/straw.  Great if I was building a hut, not so much when you're riding a bike.  I turned around, got back on the gravel and made for the next section of B.  The Surly had other ideas though.

In an apparent act of rebellion, it decided to go on strike and firmly wedged it's derailleur into the brand new rear wheel.  Ok, so maybe I had that coming.  Weeks worth of grime have been building up, all the while with me promising a wash "as soon as we get home".  I yanked it back out, hobbled home and lived up to my promise.  A quick wheel truing and it's looking a lot happier now.  I'll be sure to give it a thorough tune up and proper detailing before Trans Iowa.

As for the gravel, that's not so bad.  The section I hit was pretty well packed down so the road wasn't spongy.  Hopefully that will be the norm this weekend, not the exception.