Writing this one from a different perspective, as I made the mistake of not checking my bike out after having a little washout at Oak Mountain Tuesday night. We met up at Autaugaville Baptist and got set to roll. As I first rode my bike around the parking lot, I noticed my left shifter wasn’t working. No big deal, swap the battery, right? Wrong. Battery was full, but I noticed a gash in the top of my hood. The shifter had taken a hit and wasn’t communicating with the derailleur. I checked the app to see if I could set the right shifter to shift up and down, but that wasn’t an option.

I called the ride, so I wasn’t gonna bail out on it. I wouldn’t have thrown it out if it didn’t need to happen, which was evident by the presence of seven others. So, I made myself useful. I told the group I would be around for sag throughout the ride and managed to hop ahead of them every five to ten miles to get some great pictures and video.

I was jealous, except for a couple of those climbs out there. I had a great time listening to tunes, podcasts, and getting out and walking around nature from time to time. The best parts of my day were hanging out at the stops and getting to spend a fraction of the time I would have had with my friends if I had been on the bike, but most importantly getting to see them enjoy it. Thanks for coming everybody!

Aforementioned pics and vids: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/bjrf3lsaaymeh535je0wc/AGdK2_6Yo1fNBOFZ7bicW_w?rlkey=p5hs9q6w9eaerg3qkggqcnefo&dl=0