So I planned on a century today - at least a metric century. Could've happened, but my back tire had other plans.

I have a bad habit of bragging about never having had a flat tire. Well, I don't do anything halfway, so when I had a flat tire, I completely blew the tire. Fortunately, it was between quarter of a mile and half of a mile from the last rest stop before completing 69.1 miles (which would've been about 71 for me because I took a wrong turn earlier). I was riding along at warm-up pace when all of a sudden I heard a loud POP and then felt this woosh of air on the back of my leg. And I knew why.

There was a man riding behind me who agreed to give me a hand with the tire (back one - after all, I've never changed one). Well, he was so fast that by the time I dug out the pump and my spare tube, the wheel was already off and the tire pried from the wheel. So much for learning, but I certainly wasn't going to complain to him. I play the damsel in distress REALLY WELL.

His comment, "well, at least it was just the tube." Au contraire! (as we discovered after replacing everything - big old shred marks on the back tire). So I took the bike back to the rest stop, and everyone there agreed that a call to the SAG was the best course of action. As it was on its way, one long-time rider did rig it with a Powerbar wrapper, but the SAG was just pulling up as I was about to head out (and I'd already called Brian to tell him I was going to end my ride at the 55 mile point), so I took the air-conditioned, non-self-propelled way back. A bit safer, since I had no idea the skill of the person who was working with the bike. And I was a bit squeamish.

All in all, though, good ride. 55 miles in 4 hours and 6 minutes. I would've been fighting the wind the 16 remaining miles, so it would've dropped a bit, but I felt good the whole way, and I think I'm ready for the MS 150 in 2 weeks (yeah, doing that again). Unfortunately, the bike's in the shop - needed a tune-up before the big ride, and I'm having both tires replaced (figure I have between 2500 and 3000 miles on them; it's time), so no ride tomorrow.

hln

Posted by: hln at 08:38 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 That only leaves Ryan. ;-)

Posted by: hans at August 27, 2005 10:32 PM (SSLGd)

2 $&^% Hans, Shut Up! Knock off the jinxing already!? I've been riding on original tires and tubes to get the inevitable out of the way, but it's sensible to replace them before the MS-200 regardless. When I blow out on those new tires and tubes, I'll be cursing Hans. Heather, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles - I certainly don't envy your century interruption, but it sounds like you comfortably covered significant ground. Ready for a double-century?

Posted by: ryan at August 27, 2005 10:42 PM (t+MAO)

3 There will be no double century. But I'm ready to ride. Today through Tuesday I'll just beat myself up at the gym - try to turn this to my advantage with stronger legs. I'm also considering blaming Jim Jansen on the flat, even though he was probably 10 miles ahead of me hln

Posted by: hln at August 28, 2005 08:07 AM (V04ml)

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