Things You Don't See Every Day

You're probably spending a lot of time riding in wet, sloppy metro streets these days. Paths, trails, the Greenway, sidewalks, parking lots are all covered with large pools of grayish-brown liquid in various stages of freeze/thaw. You really never know what's at the bottom of some of those puddles. "Is there a Kraken in there?" I often ask myself, hoping for the answer "no." Well, no Krakens yet, but that isn't to say that I haven't ridden through puddles deep enough to conceal at least a juvenile Kraken.

The worst (relatively speaking) time is when the grayish-brown stuff is just starting to freeze. At sunset, for example, when the air temperature is starting to drop rapidly enough to make you wonder if another layer wouldn't have been rad. There is that magical temperature when the earth is still warm enough to keep the grayish-brown stuff liquid, but it freezes on your bike. We had a bike come in the other day with a nice, even coat of grayish-brown stuff frozen all over it and this interesting formation on the BB shell:

You can just read part of the serial number in the reflected light. The owner took it home and stuck it in the freezer in case his bike ever gets stolen.