Gnomes, snakes, and lawn chairs

Seven randos rode the RUSA Lookin' Out My Back Door 200K today in eastern North Carolina.

It was foggy and cool most of the morning, and the afternoon was not as bad a scorcher as it could have been.  The skies were absolutely gorgeous, with monster puffy clouds against a dark Carolina Blue sky.  Jayjay and I did well until we melted mid-afternoon, but we got to the finish in time.

Here are a bunch of photos with witty captions about gnomes, snakes, lawn chairs, etc: [photos]

Video snip from the commute

I encountered several pieces of construction equipment being unloaded in the road as I biked to work one morning this week..  I see this now and then on lightly-used industrial roads.

This was a harmless surprise in the daylight of summer morning, but justifies a really bright headlight in winter darkness.

20-second drive-by video:  http://youtu.be/7J1hzRFpVzw

Sloth

Back in February, I commented [on this blog] about how I had prepared a few chain segments for quick repairs on the road.  I also quipped about how it was a waste of my time, since I had never had a chain problem on the road.  Well, guess which of the following possibilities has just ensued?

1. I heard a new clicking in my drivetrain and I promptly found and fixed an imminent chain failure.

2. My chain broke out on the road and I repaired it quickly and efficiently.

3. My chain broke two blocks from home, I coasted back home, locked the bike in the shed, and drove the car to work.  And continued driving every day since...