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06-24-01, 07:03 PM
In the past, I have been doing my 'long' distance (for me!) rides on Sunday. The problem with that is that then I have to lay off commuting for a day to give my legs a rest. So, this weekend, I decided to make my trip on Saturday, and rest on Sunday. As it turned out, a very wise decision.
I took off Saturday morning and headed for McCook. I have already done this trip once before, so I pretty well just did what I did last time. As I got into Indianola, about 25 miles from home, I decided to stop at a gas station and grab a sports drink before I hit the next 10 miles of hills. I talked with some guys I know, and as I was about to go, I looked at my Roubaix, and the back tire didn't look quite right. Sure enough, flatter than a pancake! I knew that this day would come, and at least here I had plenty of shade, and lots of moral support if it were needed. I took the rear tire off, and got out my mending supplies. I had always wondered if those little plastic tire tools would work, and to my pleasure, they did perfectly. I easily found the small hole, but I never did find what caused it. It was located right next to where the tires bead is, so I don't think anything from outside could have caused it, and I couldn't find anything inside the tire or rim. Oh well, I put on the patch, put the tube into the tire, and installed the tire on the rim. So far, so good. Now, to find out if the little pump I had been carrying around was going to work! Patty, the owner of my LBS, had given me strict instructions on the use of the pump, but, heck, I didn't have the tire on the bike just then, so I proceeded to air it up. I tried to stablilze the pump as best I could, but didn't seem to be making much headway. Finally, I thought I would break down and put on the adaptor that she had given me, and just use the stations air to inflate the tire. Still no luck, the air seemed to be going out faster than I was putting it in! So, I took the tire apart again, and, just as Patty had warned me, I had broken the stem away from the tube when I was trying to inflate it! So, I got out my spare tube, reassembled everything, and this time, put the wheel back on the bike before I tried to finish the job. Standing the bike back up, and bracing myself exactly as Patty had demonstrated, I easily got the tire inflated to 100 psi. I was having to push pretty hard to get to 100 psi, and I usually carry 120 psi in the tire, but I didn't have any other tubes with me, and I didn't want to risk ruining another one, so I decided to stop there. By the way, those little tire tools, if you don't hook them on a spoke, they can propel themselves quite a ways! If you should find yourself riding through Indianola and find a flat, slightly used tire tool, enjoy it! It was working good for me untill it launched itself off to who knows where!
So, I resumed my trip. When I got into McCook, I stopped by a friends house to fill up my Hydrapak, but of course I had to have a beer with him and tell him of my adventures. (Yes, I know, drinking and riding don't mix, but the way I was sweating and with my body mass, I knew it was not going to hurt.) After filling my the Hydrapak with nice ice water, I was off again! I did the 10 miles of hills again, but by now, the bottoms of my feet were burning with pain. I think this is from grinding up those hills. As I have said before, I sure with the Roubaix had that 'grannie' chain ring! I made it through Indianola, but my feet were really hurting, so I stopped on the side of the road, drank some water, and ate a fig cookie. I got back on the bike, and made it to Cambridge, where I saw another friend, so stopped at a convenience store with him for another sport drink. After this, I did the last 10 miles to home without any further adventures. The total for this trip was 74 miles, and I ended up with an average speed of 16 MPH. Not as fast as my last trip to McCook, but I am satisfied with it!
All in all, it was a fun trip. I got to fix a flat for the first time, I learned that I should have listened to Patty, I know that I need to ride more hills to get my feet toughened up to the demands that I am going to put on them, and at the end of the ride, I really felt great! I mean, I was tired, but glad that I did it, and looking forward to my next adventure!
I took off Saturday morning and headed for McCook. I have already done this trip once before, so I pretty well just did what I did last time. As I got into Indianola, about 25 miles from home, I decided to stop at a gas station and grab a sports drink before I hit the next 10 miles of hills. I talked with some guys I know, and as I was about to go, I looked at my Roubaix, and the back tire didn't look quite right. Sure enough, flatter than a pancake! I knew that this day would come, and at least here I had plenty of shade, and lots of moral support if it were needed. I took the rear tire off, and got out my mending supplies. I had always wondered if those little plastic tire tools would work, and to my pleasure, they did perfectly. I easily found the small hole, but I never did find what caused it. It was located right next to where the tires bead is, so I don't think anything from outside could have caused it, and I couldn't find anything inside the tire or rim. Oh well, I put on the patch, put the tube into the tire, and installed the tire on the rim. So far, so good. Now, to find out if the little pump I had been carrying around was going to work! Patty, the owner of my LBS, had given me strict instructions on the use of the pump, but, heck, I didn't have the tire on the bike just then, so I proceeded to air it up. I tried to stablilze the pump as best I could, but didn't seem to be making much headway. Finally, I thought I would break down and put on the adaptor that she had given me, and just use the stations air to inflate the tire. Still no luck, the air seemed to be going out faster than I was putting it in! So, I took the tire apart again, and, just as Patty had warned me, I had broken the stem away from the tube when I was trying to inflate it! So, I got out my spare tube, reassembled everything, and this time, put the wheel back on the bike before I tried to finish the job. Standing the bike back up, and bracing myself exactly as Patty had demonstrated, I easily got the tire inflated to 100 psi. I was having to push pretty hard to get to 100 psi, and I usually carry 120 psi in the tire, but I didn't have any other tubes with me, and I didn't want to risk ruining another one, so I decided to stop there. By the way, those little tire tools, if you don't hook them on a spoke, they can propel themselves quite a ways! If you should find yourself riding through Indianola and find a flat, slightly used tire tool, enjoy it! It was working good for me untill it launched itself off to who knows where!
So, I resumed my trip. When I got into McCook, I stopped by a friends house to fill up my Hydrapak, but of course I had to have a beer with him and tell him of my adventures. (Yes, I know, drinking and riding don't mix, but the way I was sweating and with my body mass, I knew it was not going to hurt.) After filling my the Hydrapak with nice ice water, I was off again! I did the 10 miles of hills again, but by now, the bottoms of my feet were burning with pain. I think this is from grinding up those hills. As I have said before, I sure with the Roubaix had that 'grannie' chain ring! I made it through Indianola, but my feet were really hurting, so I stopped on the side of the road, drank some water, and ate a fig cookie. I got back on the bike, and made it to Cambridge, where I saw another friend, so stopped at a convenience store with him for another sport drink. After this, I did the last 10 miles to home without any further adventures. The total for this trip was 74 miles, and I ended up with an average speed of 16 MPH. Not as fast as my last trip to McCook, but I am satisfied with it!
All in all, it was a fun trip. I got to fix a flat for the first time, I learned that I should have listened to Patty, I know that I need to ride more hills to get my feet toughened up to the demands that I am going to put on them, and at the end of the ride, I really felt great! I mean, I was tired, but glad that I did it, and looking forward to my next adventure!