Providence to Cambridge (Memorial Day 4/4)

The ride

Monday, I got up early and left Providence. A neighborhood cat was extremely curious about me and my bike. It kept me company while I was packing and saw me off when I left.

I had thought that I might push it a little bit going up. My knees let me know very quickly that no, I would not.

Again, cars were wonderfully sweet. I saw folks out and about on walks for Memorial Day. A small child told his mom, “Look! A bike! It has three wheels!”. I waved at everyone. Everyone waved at me. I decided that I was The Bicycle Ambassador, spreading cycling goodwill.

About halfway through the ride, I heard a strange noise coming from my front wheel. It sounded like my brake pad was dragging. It wasn’t. The noise persisted. I made it another five miles down the road and started to feel definite resistance. I stopped and looked the entire bicycle over. My back wheel had come out of alignment and was dragging against the frame. I put it back in place, tightening the trailer attachment that had come loose and caused the issue in the first place.

Once back, I made myself a simple post-ride pizza. It was exactly what I wanted.

Now, since you were curious, and definitely come to this site to get information about my weight and thigh size: over the four days I ate two whole pizzas, a large plate of nachos, a gallon bag full of granola, and a quart and a half of frozen yogurt by myself. I also lost four pounds. My scale tells me that mostly that was body fat. My thighs also grew noticeably. They still fit in the legs of my shorts, but we’ll see as the summer progresses.

Off nominal

• It took me over five miles to figure out that my back wheel was rubbing against the frame. My ears misled me. When encountering strange noises, check for all possible causes.

The route