Back to the bike ride...

So Sunday I decided I would take the bike out for its maiden voyage of 2009. I went into the shed, yucked out the rack and the bike and the tire pump... First test - how the heck does this rack go on the car again? The general structure makes sense - the short bars go down the back of the trunk, the longer curved portion along the top, and the racks themselves stick out the back. But there are three sets of straps... where the heck do they go again? Nope, not that way. Oh, maybe that way. Hmm, is that supposed to be loose like that? And then a neighbor and her dog come by.... Always good for a chat and Bacchus likes the company... But where was I with these darned straps? I swear it took me an hour - but I am probably exaggerating - to figure it out.
Second test - the bike... First the tires... The pump works a little different than the one I had for most years of my life. Sure I could tell that what I thought was the locked position was not the case. Everytime I thought I had it right you could easily HEAR the air escaping. That didn't take too long to figure out. Just added to the frustration.
Then getting her on the rack. Now this was a struggle last year even when I had full recall of how to get it to work. Lifting the bike and shimmying it up and over the pads to position it takes some skill. And there are certain pieces that fit just perfectly if I could just remember what they were....
Well I got the bike on there. Ultimately it was not the way I wanted it but it stayed put.
I was headed to the 12 mile round trip trail. Last year it wasn't completely open so I just did 8 miles round trip. I was kind of excited and a little nervous as to the full 12 miles. And then it started to drizzle. I try to push myself but let's be honest I am pretty good at giving myself an out every now and again as well.
So I stopped at the shorted trail - 2 miles round trip. It is flat and very little creek water near by. So I figured if it started to rain real hard it wouldn't be difficult to get back to my car. And there wasn't a fear of flash floods. Oh you laugh, but they do happen around here.
The rain never amounted to much so I did 8 miles on the trail.