Sunday, July 20th, 2025
July and the Tour de France are two-thirds complete, so I celebrated by going for a bike ride. I knew it was going to be wet because I watched the thunderhead build and move across the region from my living room window. We received a fair amount of rain in Emerald City, but the real action was to the north.
It was beautiful this morning with clear skies and the gentlest of breezes from the west. As I sipped the morning brew, I considered that I might catch the Smoky Hill River with some water in it. A good friend mentioned recently that her grandkids would go tubing on the Smoky Hill after a good rain, and I found that hard to believe.
The headwaters are about a dozen miles northwest of town, and I’ve crossed the high desert river hundreds of times during my morning rides. I can count on one hand the times there was water, so tubing seemed pretty unlikely to me, but to my surprise, as I headed north on Double Cross over Willow Creek, a tributary of the mighty Smoky Hill, water was flowing heavily down the small stream.
“Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.” ~ Vladimir Nabokov
The road was soft, and my average speed was half normal as I struggled up the road. The flooded field woke up all the toads, and they were screaming their amphibious love song around the edges of the temporary pond. I don’t remember ever hearing a toad chorus like that on the High Plains; it was shaping up to be a day of anomalies.
The county road crew will be busy for quite a while patching up all the washouts, and there are plenty of them. Many were rocky and firm, but a few were very soft, and I made sure to unclip from the pedals, so if I bogged in the soft mud, I wouldn’t fall over into a mud puddle in a panic, trying to unclip; I’ve been there, and done that, and never want to do it again.
I managed to add twenty miles to the July total, and they were tough miles in soft substrate with numerous, gnarly creek crossings. Here’s a video showcasing some of the amazing flows in the local, normally dry creek beds.
After a ride like that, it takes more time to maintain the bike and get it sorted than the time spent in the saddle. I hosed all the mud off and wiped her down, but knew it was going to take a bit more.
Monday, July 21st, 2025
We experienced another gully washer overnight, accompanied by thunder and lightning that pulsed for hours, delivering even more rain to the already drenched fields and swollen waterways. So, even though the weather was perfect this morning, I opted not to go riding, at least out on the dirt roads. I did run some errands around town on “Soulville.”
“Soulville” is a project bike that I’ve been working on for about a year in my spare time. I originally bought the bike about 15 years ago, but my collection grew, and with the bike barn bursting at the seams, I gave Soulville away. I gave her away three times, but she kept coming back, and so I decided to remake her into what I perceived to be the perfect single-speed cruiser.
It started with a bid on eBay for some cool, polished Masi track hubs. Then I had to find some polished rims to go with the hubs. Once I laced up the wheelset, it was game on. Next came a new crank, new pedals, new brakes, and a flip-flop single-speed rear end. I was able to use some spare parts from the growing collection, like the carbon Salsa handlebars and the Velo Orange headset.
Then I added a few accoutrements to create a serious cruiser. Stainless steel water bottles to stay hydrated, and military surplus panniers attached to a sweet stainless rear rack capable of trucking a couple of six-packs or whatever groceries are required for grilling and enjoying the summer. Dirt roads are awesome, but life is bigger than dirt. I’m pretty sure I need a gravel bike, a mountain bike, a road bike, a touring bike, and a townie bike. I’ll leave room in the quiver for a fat-tire beach cruiser and possibly an electric bike when I’m 90 or so.
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025
We had errands to run in town this morning, and I rode Double Cross instead of Soulville to sort out any possible issues that might have cropped up after the very wet, very muddy ride on Sunday. The sand/clay matrix gets into everything; it’s very abrasive and sets up like cement. The first thing I noticed was a creaky bottom bracket. It got dunked several times, and it’s due for service anyway. Two sealed cartridge bearings, so I’ll need to order a new one.
I cleaned all the mud and sand out of the triple front chain rings and the freewheel sprockets and then lubricated the chain. When I was cleaning and checking the wheels, tires, and brakes, I noticed the front hub was a little chunky, so I decided to service it. No cartridge bearings there. A Shimano adjustable cup and cone setup that took an hour in the bike barn, but it was very satisfying when it spun so beautifully afterwards.
Life is big and beautiful; bikes are just a small piece. I’m probably not as passionate about baking as biking, but I am passionate about it, so while I was polishing bearings, I was also making some summertime sourdough. Hamburger buns and two filone. They came out of the oven perfectly, and the feeling was nearly as satisfying as servicing the cup and cone bearings on Double Cross.
Love it!