At last, a near match of plan and action. Sort of.

The journey described in the most recent ride guide nearly matched the one I went on yesterday. I rode the 100-kilometer leg of the Frostbite Tour through Johnston, Wilson and Nash counties. Though frostbite was never a risk, I was a cold mofo while I waited to get started and I never got warm warm even under bright sun. Just cool warm. Temperature, combined with a dearth of riders going for 100 miles and confidence that I had absolutely no idea where I was going, caused me to pack it in a metric century. Those things and the rest stop located at the 100k start-finish, where my car also happened to be. Now I know what I'll do for half a banana.

C'dork's Friday ride guide: 100 reasons

Sorry to have slacked over the last couple of weeks. But I'm actually hitting the road this weekend and am going to put my money where my mouth is tomorrow when I turn in my application for the Frostbite Tour. Johnston and the other counties involved are largely uncharted territory so it will be good to see a new part of the world, even though I'll be seeing parts of it two or three times over 100 miles. The information is pretty slick, as maps and cue sheets are included. As of a few hours before post time there were still spots left.

The wonderful smugness of superiority

Admission: I am not so superior that I do own not a car. In fact I have a financial interest in three motorized vehicles. It came to my attention recently that one of these vehicles needed new tags. The first thing I did was concoct an intensely complicated plan that involved switching cars among every family member, time tables with no more than a split second of discrepancy and financial transactions that would constipate a Nigerian e-mail scammer. So after I forgot the car-switch part yesterday morning — and that was the linchpin of the plan — I decided to simply ride to the DMV license plate office. Not only did I get to cycle down Walnut Street (Cary's equivalent of the most hideous road wherever you live), I — here's where the smugness and superiority come in — parked my bike inside the office while I waited to pay my $33. It's probably better for me that the clerk acted as if every person who pays his or her fee does so after wheeling a bike into the office. I understand. After all, I've had to stay cool in analogous situations myself.

New heights indeed

If Bicycling's climbing special makes cycledork want to take a nap, Procycling's "50 Greatest Climbs" from the January issue makes me want to hide under the bed. Four rides in the United States make it: Brasstown Bald in Georgia (No. 46), Mount Evans in Colorado (No. 42), Flagstaff Road from Boulder, Colo. (No. 33) and Mount Washington in New Hampshire (No. 13). It was surprising that only Mount Evans and Mount Washington made Bicycling's unranked, alphabetical-by-state list. Appropriately for a magazine published in a country with a longer history in international cycling than the United States, 43 of the other 46 climbs are European (the other three are in Colombia, Australia and Malaysia). Most are legendary even among those of us who have trouble distinguishing between a genuine hill and a false flat. While I've had my own successful badass, albeit unlisted, uphill adventures in Colorado, I am naively and probably hilariously curious enough to want to answer this question for myself: how hard can Mont Ventoux really be?

C'dork's Friday ride guide: the ride not taken

February is going to hell in a handbasket. The last few weekends, going back into January, I've felt too crappy to ride. Tomorrow the scientist and I have college stuff to do for and with our daughter, followed by the state high school wrestling championship match. None of the three of us are competing but we know several people who are. Sunday the scientist and I are booked wall to wall. Our dumb. Of course, as I type this, I'm feeling fine even though my diet has sucked lately: too heavy on simple carbs and fat, not enough protein or complex carbs. Jesus, do I need some fish, brown rice and oranges. I also need to start lifting again. Anyway, there will be two more February weekends after this one but it's going to take some serious cranking to get any meaningful miles in for the month. That would make all the difference.

Look — down the road …

It's Bicycle Repairman! Kudos to Gears 4 Beers Google discussion group for posting it.

CD's Saturday cycling tip: medals to the pedals

This is too cool not to share. I have several alerts set up through Google and found this site as a result of one of them. I had no idea that toe clips go back as far as 1896 or that clipless pedals date from when Nixon was declaring peace with honor. For all who wonder about pedal history this site from an industry giant is indispensable.

C'dork's Friday ride guide: Northeast Passage

Cycledork, finally, will head from Cary to Wake Forest. A motorcycling buddy told me the trick is to take Edwards Mill Road to Ebenezer Church Road. Ebenezer Church Road and connecting roads wend their ways to N.C. 98, which goes straight into Wake Forest. It's about a 60-mile round trip — perfect. I had intended to provide readers with a map, but upon its completion my browser had a stroke and the Googlemap died as well. The map will live again but not in time to be part of this Friday ride guide. Finding the Northeast Passage is leading to greater ambitions — dare I speak it? — including a circumnavigation of Wake County. Obviously, more map surfing (and saving) is in order, but if details become more concrete, they'll be here.