Camels

Finally, fallish weather has come and my body digs it. So much so that I wish my race season was in the fall. Sure I still have bad days, but everything always feels a little better when the cool comes and the humidity goes away. Even with some snottiness, I was able to finally ride this past weekend. I haven't been on my SS since Shen and took it to Waway for a post-Shen shakedown ride. Sure,we did some maintenance and cleaned it up after the mud bath. However, I was still worried that during the first ride some undiagnosed issues would materialize. The concern was justified after about 20 minutes and my drop-outs started creaking so loudly and obnoxiously that I almost rode back home to tend to the creaking. I stuck it out. Shockingly, nothing major seems wrong with my bike. A little lube and tightening when I got home made the sliding drop-outs quit whining. Just another reason I prefer track fork ends. Less fuss.

The whole weekend was pretty spectacular weather wise. It was hard to make myself go inside. There was some time to find a new trail in the works and explore just where exactly it went or was going to go and where the hell the line was or may be.

Sunday, I did a local bike tour organized by the OCBC. I had planned on it being a relaxing and chill ride. A ride where I could take in the beautiful day and scenery and drink and eat at my leisure. I could even stop and take pictures. I imagined myself smiling, laughing, chatting and taking in the scenery with the chill group I decided to ride with. Somewhere my plans went south and it ended up being an extremely painful and slobber knocking experience. I don't think I got in a drink for the first part of my ride. I got in with a group of guys that were way too fast for me and I was holding on for dear life. In hindsight, I'm not sure what I was thinking. I almost made it to the halfway point and then I popped magnificently and had to limp through for a bit, recover and gather myself until I could latch onto a kinder, gentler group. I was wondering why they looked at me the way they did when we finally rolled into the parking lot and everyone could finally get a good non-rolling look at one another. I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror and there were snot streaks across my glasses and crust all over my face and nostrils. My hair was flapping out of the top of my helmet and it was crusted to my neck in places. I was flushed. Sure, this is normal after races and hard rides. I wasn't expecting this on my peaceful Sunday looky-loo ride. I looked like a deranged mental patient with hygiene issues. I haven't come home from a ride, not showered and passed out on the floor in a long time.

The best part of the day was not the ride, it was the camels. Camels are a big theme in the Warwick Valley. Since a portion of the money from the tour was going to an animal rescue that many camels call home, they had them front and center and accessible throughout the route. I stopped to get some camel loving from four or five of them. As I was taking a picture one was chewing on my helmet, one was nuzzling my leg and this guy below ate my watermelon out of my hand while my head was turned. One lady screamed bloody murder like they were going to eat me. They were like big mushy dogs and were definitely attention whores, but they were going to "eat" no one.

I want one. I really want one. I love them.  I think our yard is big enough for one.  I have already began Googling all things related to getting and keeping a camel. I was on the "I want a goat kick" for a while. More realistic, yes. Not nearly as much fun as I imagine having a camel would be.