Why am I gripping the throat of my handlebars you are sitting there wondering?
Well.
Around noon I headed to Arlington to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area for my regularly scheduled Monday bike ride with the Indian Ghosts.
All was going well as I rolled merrily along.
And then as I was almost at my turn around point, that being the furthest from the motorized vehicle which brought me and my bike to Arlington, as I braked slightly going down the dip that goes under the Green Oaks Boulevard bridge over Village Creek, I knew I was in bike malfunction mode.
I came to a stop, got off the bike, poked the front tire, no problem, poked the rear tire, big problem.
Flat tire in the making.
So, I began the long walk back to air-conditioned comfort. An almost three mile walk, with about half out in the open, with no shade.
I don't know how many gallons of water I leaked as I walked along, but I was dripping profusely. The bike's water bottle holds 30 ounces, I think. The backup bottle back in my vehicle holds 40 ounces. All gone by the time I got back to a tap water source of hydrating.
I have not yet done a forensic exam on the failed bike tire to determine the cause. I'll likely put that off til tomorrow.
It has been a long time since I had to walk an injured bike a long distance. If I remember correctly the previous incident occurred way back in 2005 or 6. I was at the 6 mile mark on the River Legacy Park paved trail, which put me about 4 miles from the nearest road. It was extremely HOT. I did not have much water. I called for help, which had a rescue team rescuing me at where the trail intersects Collins Street.
Today I did not feel like calling for help. First off because three miles isn't all that far, even when pushing a broken bike. And second off, I would have had trouble directing any of the directionally challenged people whom I might call to drive to Interlochen to find me on the Bob Findlay Linear Park trail.
Maybe I need to consider finding a new source of endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation. Returning to roller blading perhaps?
1 comment:
Always travel with a spare tube, tire levers, and pump. Add a patch kit just in case.
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