Once again, into the gaping maw of utilitarianism!

I was informed that we needed milk. Perhaps "informed" isn't the right word... but when it was suggested that I should also get some syrup to make chocolate milk, I folded.

In all truth, I was excited to have a reason to go out. About 16 days ago, I'd entered into the fi'zi:k Tour Tune-Up Challenge on Strava -- a challenge to ride 30 hours in 16 days. As the deadline approached, I noticed that I was coming up 10 minutes short of completing the challenge. I'm not entirely sure if the challenge ends at midnight or if it runs until the end of June 23, but I figured I'd go get those ten minutes in sooner than later.

Aside from claiming those errant 10 minutes, I was also itching to test out the rear rack I had just installed on my bike. Carrying home a gallon of milk seemed like the perfect test. The question was, once I have the milk, how the hell do I get it to stay on the rack? Well, it wasn't easy, but I did it.

Does this mean I've given myself over to the dark side? Hasn't my speedy road bike suffered enough from being forced into daily commuter duties? Must it also serve utilitarian purposes? Then again, Giant created the bike frame with threaded mounting holes for a reason, right? I don't think it's too much of a sin, is it? Is that it? Is this the slippery slope? I even wore regular clothes and left the helmet at home! What next, a cargo bike? Man, that's like the minivan of bikes... I'm doomed.

The rack is a necessity -- I swear. It'll be nice to be able to carry stuff around without a full backpack pressing against me and making me even more sweaty, but I've been hard at work, completing my crazy plan to bike to Pittsburgh, next month. For that, I'm going to need to be able to carry a tent (at least) and some supplies. It's not exactly randonneuring, but my aim is to do about 269 miles over 2 days, with an overnight at a campground. Although, after a 62.3 mile ride on Thursday (that's metric century!) I'm wondering if I shouldn't cut the mileage down a bit and stretch the trip out over 3 days, instead. We'll see. If I can get myself conditioned to much longer rides, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm really looking forward to this!

Panoramic view of Mountain Top, PA