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06-25-06, 08:01 PM
Had a pretty spectacular flat today... 47 miles into a solo century I ran over a nail. In one side of my rear tire and out the other. Whap-whap-whap-whap-hisssss. It was ugly, and it tore up the sidwall pretty good. But I used the old dollar-bill-inside-the-tire trick, and it worked like a charm.
(Not sure the dollar bill was such a good idea, though. Friend of mine says you should use a twenty, so you won't forget it's in there!)
Except for the nail, good ride. The time came in at 5:37, not including the time it took me to change the tire. The first 50 miles was pretty hilly, including two laps over the killer hill that was on the Eastern Collegiate Championships road race course awhile back. (I love that hill. 12% or so for about a mile, which is tough for me, but about 3/4 of the way up, just where I'm starting to feel really gassed, somebody has painted "Allez! Allez!" in the road. Gives me a boost every time. :) ) With all the climbing, the time for the first 50 miles was 2:57. The second 50 miles was gently rolling, and came in at 2:40. This was my second century, and the time was almost 45 minutes faster than my first one... it felt good.
The only other major excitement came somewhere around mile 90, in pouring rain, when I very nearly collided with a snapping turtle. Big sucker, right there on the side of the road. You know you're tired when your reaction time is so bad you can barely avoid hitting a turtle. :)
(Not sure the dollar bill was such a good idea, though. Friend of mine says you should use a twenty, so you won't forget it's in there!)
Except for the nail, good ride. The time came in at 5:37, not including the time it took me to change the tire. The first 50 miles was pretty hilly, including two laps over the killer hill that was on the Eastern Collegiate Championships road race course awhile back. (I love that hill. 12% or so for about a mile, which is tough for me, but about 3/4 of the way up, just where I'm starting to feel really gassed, somebody has painted "Allez! Allez!" in the road. Gives me a boost every time. :) ) With all the climbing, the time for the first 50 miles was 2:57. The second 50 miles was gently rolling, and came in at 2:40. This was my second century, and the time was almost 45 minutes faster than my first one... it felt good.
The only other major excitement came somewhere around mile 90, in pouring rain, when I very nearly collided with a snapping turtle. Big sucker, right there on the side of the road. You know you're tired when your reaction time is so bad you can barely avoid hitting a turtle. :)