Steve of DFW Point-to-Point has a point: Salt air really is rough on bicycle parts. I should have taken a photo of the bike I rode when I was in Florida. Every time I see it, the spokes and other parts are more corroded than they were the previous time I rode. It seems the spokes get the worst corrosion. At least, that seems to be the case for the non-plated, non-stainless spokes found on cheap bikes like the one I rode.
Whenever I'm in Florida, I see lots of bikes that have so much rust that it's a wonder they still run. Even the more inland areas are affected by salt air, and there are many bikes that spend years or even decades in garages or on porches after their owners stop riding them.
I must say that just about everyone who looked like he or she was riding long miles or doing any kind of training was astride an aluminum or carbon bike. Those riders are young and tend to be more swayed by trends, but I suspect their choice of ride might be influnced by the salt air and humid conditions. A mechanic with whom I worked spent a few years in Florida, where he worked in two bike shops. He told me that he often saw parts rusted clear through, and hubs that rotted on the inside because of the humidity and salt air.
Well, this year is old, too, although it's not rusty. So, as this will probably be my last post of 2011, I want to wish you a Happy New Year and lots of safe, enjoyable and fulfilling rides!
Many years ago (before many of you were born!), I dated an astrologer. Apparently, I am a Cancerian--or, as some politically-correct types would say, a "Moon Child. However, Astrologer was not politically correct, at least not in matters of pigeonholing, I mean pegging, people's personalities and destinies. So, she told me that I was "such a Cancerian."
Later on, she would remove the "ian" suffix and continue the sentence. But that's another story.
According to her--and everything I've heard or read (admittedly, not much) about the subject since, Cancer is a "water" sign. In fact, Astrologer claimed that Cancer is the "ultimate" water sign and, according to her charts, I was about as Cancerian as one could be.
If nothing else, it was a pretty good rationale, at least for her, for ending our relationship. But that's yet another story.
Anyway, I will concede that there is at least some truth to what she said. I am certainly drawn to water. Not to beaches, necessarily, but to water--wide expanses and endless vistas of it. I am so drawn, in fact, that sometimes everything along the way can seem like the desert.
Now, I've never actually ridden through a desert and, truth be told, never had any desire to do any such thing. This is probably as close as I'll come to it. I can hardly imagine anything that contrasts more with the ocean.
Sometimes, at the end of a bike ride, the ocean greets me: "Where have you been?"
Sometimes I cannot explain; when I can, the answer never makes any sense to someone who's gone to the beach. I know I am a different person when I go to the beach from what I am when I pedal to the ocean.
Another day, I will join them again. After that, I will continue the ride I took today, on my bike, to the ocean.
Do you see what I see?
This is what, among other things, I saw for my Christmas Day ride. It ain't Rockaway Beach; that's for sure.
I saw these sights while pedaling along the Atlantic Ocean on Route A-1A from Matanzas Bay to Ormond Beach in Florida. When I got to Ormond, which is about ten miles from Daytona, I encountered something you'll never find in the Rockaways:
This guy thinks it's about time we've been slowed down. And he means business:
Seriously, though, he wishes us all a good holiday!
