After removing the old hoods and swapping handlebars, installing the replacement hoods turned out to be a bigger job than I expected. But with good weather I wasn’t going to miss a chance to get out and ride, even if that meant riding without hoods or bar tape. My riding buddy also happens to be my mailman. He noticed the packages coming from bike shops, and we got to talking about riding. We met up for a ride at the Muscatatuck park in North Vernon on a really nice Sunday afternoon.
We headed south out of town and came to an intersection where continuing south was a gravel road. Riding a gravel bike, going straight seemed the appropriate choice. The bike rode fine, I didn’t fall off, and I got some mud on the bike (and on me as well). So the Focus Mares is officially a gravel bike now.
We worked our way east and south to the Commiskey Corner Store, but they were closed. Oh, well. We went west on 850S for a ways and then headed back north towards Vernon. Greg met his wife in Vernon, and I continued up IN-3/7 to the east side of the park. Riding through the park had some unexpectedly steep climbs, almost 18%, and then I was back to the truck.
A good ride, no bike issues – except for the unwrapped bars and shifters with no hoods. Made my hands a little achy, but I’ll get the hoods on and the bars wrapped and that should take care of it. That’s my task to work on next.