How fortunate can I be? If I had a dime for every time I’ve been called lucky, I’d be retired. 😉 Wait a sec, but I am . . . rewiring at least!
I have kept the discussion on these cracks strictly among a few select bike buddies, including one who had a chain stay fail on him somewhere in the Adirondacks (that was Lee). I had a restless sleep last night pondering different scenarios for today’s adventure. I definitely was not riding to St Augustine under these conditions, so I awoke at 7:00 AM trying to decide when to start making phone calls . . . well, I started shortly after 8:00 AM. Voice mail everywhere and no return calls by 9:30. So off to breakfast, mostly resolved to renting a car and trying my contact in St Augustine. Which meant returning the car to Jacksonville after the repair (if repair was possible) and then returning to St Augustine by bike (sans gear, of course)! I had reservations there from today through Thursday, so something like that would probably work.
Then, it happened! A return call from Kenneth Daughtry Welding. He seemed familiar with my problem and asked how long it would take for me to come over. I indicated probably an hour (at this point, I was well beyond expecting a return call from anyone!). That seemed to satisfy him. So I hung up and got packing. My only concern was the morning rain (now stopped) and the fragility of my rear wheel. Only habit was holding my rear wheel to the bike, that and the pannier rack and the compression from the quick release. Major surgery was required, and I could only wonder, "Would I make it the two miles and change to Ken's?" I would take it slow for sure.
And slowly, but surely, I made it. I actually didn't go too slow, but not too fast either. Ken was easy to talk with and easy to work with. He had welded other bike frames and was familiar with the issues! So we wasted no time getting to work.
A recap: Bottom right circle, crack found on arriving Saturday. Upper circle, crack found Sunday. Both fully broken through.
The final product. He added reinforcement in the gap between the stays to give it additional strength. He said it will outlast the bike. Well, that should be easy as it is now slated for Phoenix Bikes once I return to Washington. Time to buy a Surly Long Haul!
All for $60. Then it was on to St Augustine . . . with a tailwind all the way! Life is good!
Today's ride to St Augustine. Somehow I screwed up today's logging and lost everything between my departure from Atlantic Beach and the point where I stopped right before crossing the bridge into St Augustine, so this is a recreated route. Technology is only as good as the user!
I have ridden this stretch several times now. Depending on your preferences, the best part is between Atlantic Beach and somewhere south of Sawgrass. But it's all beautiful and well worth riding. It's just that south of Sawgrass you could say it gets a bit boring until you get to the Francis and Usina Bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway (locally, the Tolomato River)!
One last piece of street art before leaving Atlantic Beach. I stopped here to make two phone calls to break the "bad" news about the bike . . . and the "good" news about the bike.
After you pass through Sawgrass, you return to US-A1A at Mickler's Landing and then have 17 miles of mostly this . . . bike-friendly but not overly engaging.
A sailing boat keeling over in the wind. I mostly had a tailwind coming south, as the wind was from the east and northeast. But when I turned west to cross the bridge, I took the wind full frontal. Time to down gear as it was a climb and a headwind.
My home away from home . . . my lodging of choice in St Augustine. I've lost track of how many times I've stayed here, but it's all in my blogs somewhere.
I don't expect Conrad, the inn's proprietor, to remember me per se, but I remember him! Either way, we caught up on things, shared some new information, and he refreshed my memory on the good places to hang out. And tonight, that meant Catch 27 for some delicious seafood. And it didn't hurt that they had Cigar City's Jai Alai on tap!
Minorcan Clam Chowder (a spicy red chowder). Perfect for a cool evening.
