I set out to do between 40-50 today. It was a beautiful Sunday, temperatures in the low 80s, with moderate humidity. I felt fully recovered from last weekend's heat exhaustion and my adventures in the batting cages, I had prepared some bottles with water and a Propel/salt solution, I found a good system for carrying my camera, and I was all set to go.

It started well enough, and I felt good on the hills.















Alas, the ride was cut short by a catastrophic wheel failure. Two broken spokes in the rear wheel, caused by a freak collision with my left heel. The rear wheel immediately dished to the side of the breaks, causing it to lock up against the rear brake. It was all I could do to stop without crashing while clipped in.

So there I was on the side of the road at North Anna Battlefield Park, trying in vain to retrue the wheel, when along came Mike, 3 days into an 1800-mile charity ride from Washington, D.C. to Baton Rouge, LA. He and his two companions, Will and Matt, stopped and chatted for a few minutes. The fourth member of their team, Brian, was out on the road in a support van.

You can read about their ride here, and read their blog here.

Eventually I called my own support van (wife & kids in a Volvo wagon), and they came and rescued me.

Looks like I'll be back on the old Motobecane for a few weekends until my rear wheel gets fixed.