Sometimes you don't belong......

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon that a Independent Fabrications ride was happening. The flier said a "casual" ride around Austin. I figured it was going to be more like "business-casual". To me, this meant road and mountain bikes with maybe a Fireman's or two , and their riders in semi-technical cycling clothes. Maybe some Swobo knickers. A few cycling caps. Probably t-shirts as it was a nice seventy something degree winter day.

Figuring it was a casual ride, I found no problem making my lunch prior to the ride slightly alcoholic. So I did.


I then put on some plaid shorts and a dirtragmag shirt and set out on my Panasonic sans helmet.


Boy did I make some bad ASSumptions. I roll up at noon to see the ride participants getting ready for a sexy photo shoot. Except for one sweet IF MTB and the token fixie, everyone was riding road in superhero suits and superhero accessories.

I really should have ridden this instead:

For a second I was gonna keep on rolling, but I said fuck it. I'm here, don't have shit to do, I've got 90 psi in my t-servs, might as well see what happens.

I've got to admit, I felt super-duper out of place for a while. It was kinda like being invited to a bar you have never been to and being told at the door that your shoes don't cut it.





So we ride west. Pace turned out to be the casual part. We road neighborhoods and streets I had never been on. I met bigwheelbart from bikemojo. After a few hills, some dude rolls up next to me and says, "your doing alright on that thing." LOLOLOL.

That dude turned out to be Gary Smith of IF.

A little while later, my 7th sense (#2 of four bike related senses) told me I had a flat coming. At the next stop I do a pinch test to confirm. We had already had maybe 2 other mechanicals, I was just getting into the meat (~ 13min) of a fav. FELA song, and the ale in my stomach needed reinforcement, so I told the group to go ahead.



Many were nice and made sure I was cool with it.

With music now in stereo (I had been riding with one bud in for consideration and to chat with the fixie) I rolled around lost for a few minutes.

I finally figured out that I was in north-west-ish Austin and set my next way point for the draught house since I don't really find myself in that hood often.

In the end, I had a good time.

Oh ya, those IF bikes are pretty nice.