Today the heat returned because it’s August, it’s DC, and the planet is melting. So I went for a 63-mile ride.
I drank enough to make my tummy slosh. I stopped for a real lunch. I did all the right things but with 10 miles to go I was gassed.
I stopped at a trailside water fountain, filled a water bottle, and dumped its contents on my head. Twice.
The ride was an out and back affair, mostly on trails. Home to Potomac Yard to Georgetown to Bethesda to Rock Creek Park to Garrett Park Road. Then I turned around and rode through the shade in Rock Creek Park to the Lincoln Memorial, crossed the Potomac, and took the Mount Vernon Trail home.
On the C&O I spotted a great blue heron and a downy egret. I took a picture of the latter. I think he was smiling for me.
On the way back near Kensington, Maryland I spotted a very cool carving of a tall tree stump.
Other than melting the ride home was uneventful until my saddle went bung.
I had been noticing some side to side play in my saddle over the past week. I tightened the seat post but that didn’t fix things. Then I tightened the leather on the saddle no change.
About eight miles from home I heard a POP and my saddle and its fixing hardware went off the back. As it turns out there is a single bolt that holds the saddle to the bike and allows for/aft adjustments and tilting adjustments. The bolt broke from metal fatigue. (You carry my butt for 30,000 miles and you’ll break too.)
I gathered all the parts and put my saddle in my pannier. I managed to ride the bike while sitting on the trunk bag on top of my rear rack. I was all stretched out and moving rather slowly but I managed to ride it to Big Wheel Bikes in Old Town.
Diego and his father (the shop owner, I think) helped me out. Dad is redesigning the shop. In the process he had just donated a bunch of random spare parts to a local bike co-op. Among the parts was mostly likely the bolt I needed. He managed to find an old saddle with a bolt that worked and we had my bike back on the road in no time.
This is the kind of bizarro mechanical failure that typically occurs in try the middle of nowhere on a solo bike tour. I’m lucky my bolt broke when it did.
Time to return to drinking all the liquids in the house. Is Guinness an electrolyte replacement drink?
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
Wow, impressive that you rode all those miles in this heat! Glad you weren’t too far from the bike store to get your saddle bolt replaced!!
Tomorrow will be easier. Friday Coffee Club before it gets too hot
Guinness – providing those electrolytes since 1759. Burp.
Biking in this heat is the last thing I think I would want to do. The wind of the ride is certainly helpful, but unless it’s early in the day I’d die.
Last month about 40 mikes to my ride I bought a gallon of cold water and poured half of it over my head. Sheer bliss.
LOLLL that sounds amazing.
Just rode to the ballgame. Doused my head before going in. Ahhh!