Ratbikes...

I like them. Here's a  thread from ADVrider with some cool ones.

REM quits...

Kind of sad about them hanging it up. Not that they have called it a day, I can respect that and like that they are simply done and (so far) not going to keep on going through the motions for money.

What sort of got me down was they had been around for 31 years. 31 years. Sure, there's bands that are old that are still together but REM was new for me, nothing like them had hit before and I was sort of there, you know?

Anyway, in honor of REM, one of their videos

:

Ok, I need a new exhaust!!!

And for around $50, it works for me. Listen to this one:

Ignore the big diesel truck at the beginning.....

30% chance of rain......

Usually, I will ride to work if the chance of rain is 40% or less. The last two days the chance has been 20% and 30% today, so I rode to work.

Got rained on on the way home both days. Not too bad but it was a bit worrisome yesterday when I'm riding and the road is covered in that white slime. So. I. Went. Slow.

And made it home fine.

Today I left work and the eastern side of town was covered by black clouds. Still, it wasn't raining on me yet and I still had to get home, so I headed out. About two miles down the road a drop or two hit while sitting at a red light. A few hundred yards later, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees in about 20 feet of road.

Well, not going to make it home dry.....

The rain started to really pour so I decided to stop somewhere and give it a few minutes to wash some of the slime off the road.

And, ff I'm honest with myself (and you readers), I'm a little worried about what happened a few days ago, which I never did explain what I did wrong that caused that near accident.

So, in the days since I had the near drop, I have realized several things I did wrong that almost caused at least a dropped bike:

1. I was going a little too fast. No, not 80 mph but enough that it caused the second mistake:
2. I used a little too much brake. I didn't stomp on the rear or wrench the front brake but I think when I realized I was going a little too fast, I grabbed a little too much. And add in my third mistake:
3. I was riding in the middle of the lane. I know, I'm a newbie. So, when I grabbed the brakes, I was in the middle of the lane. And at a major, busy intersection. So, the middle of each lane is black with car droppings and leaks.

And that was more than enough for me to lose traction and have ..... an experience. Thankfully, no harm was done and I certainly don't ride the middle of a lane anymore. Also interesting how several minor mistakes could have led up to a big problem, huh?

But, back to today. It didn't stop raining so after about ten or fifteen minutes, I decided to head home. And of course, in less than a mile, the rain stopped and a little farther on the road was bone dry. Just my luck.

This is a video of Husker Du. Extremely good band: