Back in my Element

Finally got done with all the work. Today was my first official commute to work. It is something that I just had to get out of my system. Rode the Quickbeam fixed gear on the way in. Churned the 42x16 all the way and clocked 50 miles to the shop. I did part of the ride on the Great Western Trail which is gravel and the rest was on the road. Final timing was 3 hours and 10 minutes.
The way home was a completely different story. I decided to ride the Salsa Cross bike for the first time. It all started well but my legs did not like the bike change at all. I made it to Fermi and out of fermi when the sky turned black, the wind went crazy and we went from 80+ degrees to the 60's in a matter of a few minutes. A man saw me wrestling the wind and offered his dry garage. He was checking the storm out. It all blew over in 20 minutes and I was on my way. I met Joe the tow truck guy de-stressing on his trek navigator along the fox river. He had caught a slow leak and was wisely riding it to his car.
I finally made it back to the Great Western when I realized that my brand new Durace crank on the right was coming lose. A quick mental check told me I did not have an 8mm allen to tighten them. There was no way to fix the problem so for the next 20 miles I kicked them new cranks and rode them. The GW was literally a river and I rode all 16 miles of it in the water. It got really late and very dark and I navigated by the reflexion on the water. The trail seemed like an eternal hole that never ended. The salsa, the cranks and my self were getting beat to a pulp. I was lucky to have a hammer nutrition gel and some water to get me home. I made it into town and arrive home dead. I left the shop before 6 and arrived at home before 10 . I had clocked 100 miles just to go to work.
Tomorrow I am driving.
Ari