Critical Mass and the Best Beer Run Ever

CM started cold and didn't get any warmer until an Old Style was firmly in my grasp at Lincoln Lanes. John the Pierogi was there along with roughly 100 brave and/or stupid pairs of frozen feet.

Riding up Michigan en mass was a thrill for sure. I was fortunate to be able to snap a few shots even with my hand pillows on that I think look pretty ok.
The one unique thing I noticed was the overall good cheer displayed by both the riders and more surprisingly, the motorists. Usually I peel off about an hour into the ride when dickheads on our side start picking fights with the shakingly furious drivers. This time, all the drivers were smiling and honking the cheery kind of honk. I chalk this up to respect this time around. Got to hand it to a 100 folks freezing their asses off on bikes together. Hell yeah.

Darin peeled off about an hour in. He was wearing warm up pants, dress socks and thin leather shoes. The previous day's balmy weather duped him. I'm surprised he made it as far as he did. Also, I can only grasp the extent of his suffering by imagination only.

The pace picked up as the icy blast seeped closer to our bones. The beers at the LL were well deserved and delicious.

At 9AM the next day, the call from Darin to ride rattled my brain into what could've been mistaken for conciousness. The key to these Saturday or Sunday AM rides is to strike while the iron is still drunk. Considering the two of us closed Tai's til 4 that morning we were still well soaked. The idea was to pick up a 12 pack of craft beers that Darin's girlfriend ordered for him as a gift. (Beers of the month or something.) The thing was, the beer was sitting at the FedEx facility 2 miles SW of Midway. We live in Wrigleyville. Thankfully, the wind was at our backs for the return. With a pie and pints of Dysfunctionale from PIECE in Wicker Park on our minds, we made the rerturn trip in record time. We were drinking victory beers and eating pizza about 2.5 hours after launch. Best Beer Run Ever.