Bruce's Bike Blog: Live to Ride, Ride to Live Another Day

East on Moore Road, Mt. Lemmon, and Sun God

I decide that while I'm here in Tucson, I'll make a trip to The Hungry Fox - a long-time and well-known down-home county style dinner. Gentle Readers of This Blog, when you go in and see the regulars, you see very obese, elderly folk - many with oxygen tanks and walkers - this is the food of yore... What our ancestors ate to harden their arteries and lead them to an early grave. But it is the best fookin' biscuits and gravy and hash browns and grits you ever ate! The difference between them and me is that I'm riding 30 miles to have breakfast, and then riding 30 miles home. I'll burn four or five thousand calories while they drive home and watch TV.

I am wearing lots of sunscreen these days, mainly on my nose

I have to to tell you that it got very hot - very hot indeed! I can still do the old commute route, but I must tell you mes amis - going on 90 degrees by 9 am - I was feeling the heat!

Intersection of Swan and Broadway, Tucson, Arizona

After riding across the city, and over the Foothills, I shot down Swan Ave at 35 mph until I reached The Fox! I was starving, mes amis!

After about three large glasses of water, I finally cooled off. The rush was over and everything was low-key and relaxed. I had a great waitress named Audrey - she reminded me of a girl I was in love with years ago back in Tulsa - her name was Laura McDonagh - tall and thin, pearl white complection, blue eyes, and jet black hair...

Tucson's Tiki bar circa 1950s

Tucson has had a Tiki bar - Kon Tiki, since the 1950's here in this spot - right next to the Hungry Fox. I have been here once with Canadian Friends - they seem to know about these places... Anyway, I got totally shit-faced here on exotic concoctions while cuddling with lovely Canadian Girls.

Phil and Judy's Shop

I ride a few miles to drop in on Phil and/or Judy - to pay my respects and have Phil just eye-ball the bike. Right away Phil notices a big problem. He says that the rim on the back wheel is shot - he sees cracks in the rim from across the room, I kid you not, Gentle Reader of This Blog!

Then I see the cracks and Phil says that he hopes I can get a ride home because the wheel is about to fail. He said I'd know it failed when my face impacted on the pavement. I don't think he was joking that much.

Explaining that this LeMond was borrowed from Dr. B, I was kind of in a fix - Phil assured me that he had seen this very same wheel (Bontreger Elite) and said that they are P.O.S. so he started to hunt me up a wheel to borrow.

Luckily I remembered that Le Tigre has some wheels, and after a quick call, I got hold of him (on assignment for wealthy patron who cannot be named) and he had Mrs. Le Tigre put a handful of wheel outside that I could go by and get and see if one would work.

I also knew that my neighbor was a few miles up the street getting a haircut - I was able to get a secure a ride back up to Dog Mtn!

Phil saves my life once again...

Phil said that the wheel might last for about two miles but that was it - he explained that when you have these race wheels with only a few bladed spokes, they have to be set up very tight - making them light and fast but prone to fail. Every mile I rode, the more the wheel cracked. I made it to the shop just in time!