Surreal, that's how I would describe today's ride. I haven't been on the bike since the last Landry's group ride thanks to a combo of poison ivy, allergies, and a cold. I felt like I was floating over the bike for most of the ride, and just watching a bike cruise along the road. The air was cool and crisp, and the sun was bright but not overbearing.
The only thing that kept bringing me back down to earth was the amount of glass I had to avoid. The evil side of me would love to force people who throw glass bottle onto the road to pick it up by walking over it with their bare feet. The lawful side of me would love to see them out there with brooms sweeping up the side of the road for all the many miles they've covered in glass shards. The good side of me is depressed that people would do something so maliciously idiotic.
I only went six miles today as a sort of test run to see if everything was still working before riding in to work tomorrow. I'm already certain that it'll be a hard ride, but if I'm going to survive the 110 mile Tour de Landry's on Columbus day then I need to get back out there and get some miles under my belt.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Pit Stop
I woke up before the sun came up this morning at 5:45am to give myself time to bandage up my arms before heading down to Norwood for the Landry's group ride. The ride itself showed me just how much having the massive reaction to the Poison Ivy has taken out of me. The whole ride I felt sluggish, and just couldn't get my muscles to go when I needed them too. It was only on the hills that I was able to make up any ground, and I would quickly lose it again once we hit the flats. In other words I spent most of the ride hanging onto the wheel in front of me.
That lead to my first flat during a group ride. Hugging the wheel of the guy in front of you means you can't see much except wheel, ass, and back. You have to trust the people in front of you to tell you if something looks odd, unfortunately for me no one pointed out the big metal lined hole in the pavement that my tire struck square. After the initial jarring blow from hitting the hole I swore, and then about three seconds later I heard the hiss of a blown tire. This was my first pinch flat, the tube tore at the stem. Before I could call out flat the guy next to me did and the ride slowed to a stop ahead and a group of five riders gathered around my bike and went into full on Pit Stop mode. I popped off the tire and handed it to an older gentleman whose name escapes me at the moment, but I think it was Jim. I pulled out my tire levers and handed them to him while getting out the tube and CO2 tire inflater. In all of about five minutes the tire was inflated and we were back on the road.
Still with no spare in my kit and the jar fresh in my mind I spent most of the rest of the ride getting my confidence back so I could draft effectively. If I hadn't been so exhausted I think I would have just hung back and left a gap, but I couldn't afford to. In the end we did 36 miles at a 19.2 mph average. At least according to two different computers in the group. A good workout, and a great way to start the long weekend.
My poison ivy is still weeping, but it doesn't itch much anymore. It only woke me up a couple times last night. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep through the entire night soon.
That lead to my first flat during a group ride. Hugging the wheel of the guy in front of you means you can't see much except wheel, ass, and back. You have to trust the people in front of you to tell you if something looks odd, unfortunately for me no one pointed out the big metal lined hole in the pavement that my tire struck square. After the initial jarring blow from hitting the hole I swore, and then about three seconds later I heard the hiss of a blown tire. This was my first pinch flat, the tube tore at the stem. Before I could call out flat the guy next to me did and the ride slowed to a stop ahead and a group of five riders gathered around my bike and went into full on Pit Stop mode. I popped off the tire and handed it to an older gentleman whose name escapes me at the moment, but I think it was Jim. I pulled out my tire levers and handed them to him while getting out the tube and CO2 tire inflater. In all of about five minutes the tire was inflated and we were back on the road.
Still with no spare in my kit and the jar fresh in my mind I spent most of the rest of the ride getting my confidence back so I could draft effectively. If I hadn't been so exhausted I think I would have just hung back and left a gap, but I couldn't afford to. In the end we did 36 miles at a 19.2 mph average. At least according to two different computers in the group. A good workout, and a great way to start the long weekend.
My poison ivy is still weeping, but it doesn't itch much anymore. It only woke me up a couple times last night. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep through the entire night soon.
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