Deal with the Carillon

A lively and plucky bunch, most of whom were looking for some relief of the humidity by way of a bicycle, showed up at Mary Munford’s Elementary School on Friday. It’s been really, really hot lately…like, the kind of heat that when you walk outside you just get mad. It’s August, so it’s really no one’s fault that it is so hot, but when someone recommended an Amateur RAMM Gears, it seemed to make sense to a good amount of people.

YHC originally signed up to lead the PAX on a jog around the near west end…maybe a new route that no one would follow, maybe an old route that no one follow, maybe something that no one has any idea what it is. Upon hearing from Splinter on Thursday that there was an Amateur RAMM Gears on Friday, YHC figured most would be up for that and the runners would be a small number (as they’ve been lately at Munford).

So YHC borrowed a bike from a buddy and woke up five minutes earlier than normal to tighten up the seat and get it into the car. Why didn’t I do all that the night before? I’m not sure, but I’ll keep that in mind this fall when I get on my 14yo so about being lazy.

Or maybe I won’t.

Anyway, shockingly, the bike didn’t originally fit in the back of the 2015 Honda Accord. Who saw that coming? After a few tries I decided to see if I could open the window and stick the wheels out. Sure enough, that worked. Eureka! Of course, that left 7 minutes to get to Munford, normally a 9 minute drive. So YHC did about 75 down River and up Cary…smart move.

Fortunately, I didn’t get caught behind any lights or slow cars and pulled in with about 45 seconds to spare to give the runners…of which there were more than normal…the route. “Carillon”. That was met with some considerable consternation, for reasons passing understanding. YHC feels like it’s been a bit since we’ve run that nostalgic route.

So off they go and YHC grabs his bike and begins the breeze feeling RAMM Gears Amateur hour. About 50 yards into the trip one of the more experienced Gear guys mentions that I have a flat tire and “You’re not going anywhere on that thing.”

Nice.

Dumped the bike, went for a reverse carillon run, YHC thinking I’d meet up with the regular carillon runners who, you know, theoretically should be running in my direction. Yet I never ran into them. No one saw that coming.

Awesome to have 25 guys out there in some way shape or form. Next time, Saab, I’ll put together a new and intricate route that will make up for this one.