It was just about this time I ran into my first tiny setback. Minor really, but set against the day ahead it portended caution. Descending a steep hill I ran smack into a deep section of gravel, and pitched headlong in the dark into the road. Actually, it was more of a low-side slide downhill, and I braced for the impact of the riders behind to run right over me...but they all made it around my tangle of Colnago steel, Swiss wool, and body in the road. Not so much the worse for wear (minor scuffing of bar tape and me), I realized one can easily trust the headlight a bit TOO much in these conditions.
I pushed off, a bit more cautiously, but eager for the daylight to enable more spirited riding. A couple hours in and we finally got our light, and we could start to see the hills around:
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Before hitting the first welcoming rest stop at the hilltop in Radi as the sun finally showed its' presence in full:
[IMG]
[/IMG]
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Everyone filled up on parma ham sandwiches, cakes and topped off bottles:
[IMG]
[/IMG]
As the sun made the surrounding countryside glow with warmth after the cool start. Having the rain the day before made this a very welcome sight indeed!
[IMG]
[/IMG]
[IMG]
[/IMG]
And as I pedaled off down the gravel I immediately felt better about the whole 150+k remaining. Why, even these rutted gravel roads felt better this time, I could barely even feel the bumps in fact. Until a minute later when I felt the rim of my rear wheel on gravel, and knew the reason for my seeming comfort:
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Yep, flatted already. OK, less than 50k in and already had an unplanned get-off and a flat. Perhaps this day would be more of a challenge than I thought. After re-mounting though, I only had to stop 3 more times to get the rear wheel properly set in the dropouts. Who knew using a short cage NR rear derailleur on a 13-27 freewheel could be so touchy? In all I think I lost about 30 minutes screwing around with this small issue, a 30 minutes I would have sorely loved to have later in the day...
But the scenery was brilliant, the sun bright, and we went off into the hills...
[IMG]
[/IMG]
And hills...
[IMG]
[/IMG]
And...more...hills...
[IMG]
[/IMG]