Yesterday, we headed out knowing that all week it had been 80+ degrees and sunny skies, only to find that that day was chilly, very windy and raining. Perfect for riding, right?! Well, it started off fair enough. First forty miles were somewhat cold, but manageable. Then we leave this well known town out near the Mississippi river and not more than 1/4 mile down the busiest stretch of road that we were to ride on that day, flat tire number 1!
Not only was it the most unfortunate flat I have seen - we were dodging a huge puddle that motorists were aiming at us. Constitution was coming off our detour back on to the rode and a puddle was obscuring a ditch of some kind and smack! Ssssssssss. And there we were on a small side of the road with cars pelting by and the rain lashing. Now, these things happen. I accept that. However, Murphy's law does dictate that things must happen at the worst of times. We move on.
He fixes said flat in record time under great subconscious pressure from me peering over his shoulder, willing him to fix it so we can keep up the core temps.
We're off and of course, it stops raining! The road dries up and we get on to a nice quiet section of road and the mood begins to improve. All goes well until we get to Prescott, Wisconsin. At that point, mother nature decides we are good for another soaking and she throws in a brutal wind from the Northwest that does it's best to knock us off our bikes. It is good to note at this point that the entire rest of the remaining 40miles is due in to this howling wind. And then came flat tire number two.
Littering is one things. Smashing a glass bottle on the side of the road is a step too far! I dodged it. My riding buddy did not. The main plus was that we were on our way in to a town and the flat was discovered in the center of it. Trigger rain sequence number three and a bad reflate cartridge and the ride was at an end. The irony was that we had only just finished talking about why I would bring two spare tires during the race. Need I say more?
We called in the rescue brigade at this point and accepted our position and found a coffee shop to warm up in. Hopefully next weekend will end if a 7hour bike ride successfully.
This is the final week of hard training and then "taper" begins. That means we must be getting close. Exciting/terrifying. The good news is that the lakes are warm enough to swim in now and open water practice is under way. Looking forward to getting a swim in when I get back from this trip.
Good luck to us all!
Not only was it the most unfortunate flat I have seen - we were dodging a huge puddle that motorists were aiming at us. Constitution was coming off our detour back on to the rode and a puddle was obscuring a ditch of some kind and smack! Ssssssssss. And there we were on a small side of the road with cars pelting by and the rain lashing. Now, these things happen. I accept that. However, Murphy's law does dictate that things must happen at the worst of times. We move on.
He fixes said flat in record time under great subconscious pressure from me peering over his shoulder, willing him to fix it so we can keep up the core temps.
We're off and of course, it stops raining! The road dries up and we get on to a nice quiet section of road and the mood begins to improve. All goes well until we get to Prescott, Wisconsin. At that point, mother nature decides we are good for another soaking and she throws in a brutal wind from the Northwest that does it's best to knock us off our bikes. It is good to note at this point that the entire rest of the remaining 40miles is due in to this howling wind. And then came flat tire number two.
Littering is one things. Smashing a glass bottle on the side of the road is a step too far! I dodged it. My riding buddy did not. The main plus was that we were on our way in to a town and the flat was discovered in the center of it. Trigger rain sequence number three and a bad reflate cartridge and the ride was at an end. The irony was that we had only just finished talking about why I would bring two spare tires during the race. Need I say more?
We called in the rescue brigade at this point and accepted our position and found a coffee shop to warm up in. Hopefully next weekend will end if a 7hour bike ride successfully.
This is the final week of hard training and then "taper" begins. That means we must be getting close. Exciting/terrifying. The good news is that the lakes are warm enough to swim in now and open water practice is under way. Looking forward to getting a swim in when I get back from this trip.
Good luck to us all!
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