In theory riding this morning sounded like a great idea. Theory is usually better than reality.
I was home early enough from The EARL to get a decent night’s sleep, but I just didn’t want to get out of bed. The Baseball Project show was a lot of fun, even if Peter Buck didn’t perform and the crowd consisted of old farts like me.
I forced myself to get out of bed and with thankfully light traffic I was at work by 6:30ish.
It’s All About The Rubbers, Part 1
I pumped up my bike tires hard and hit the road about ten minutes later than I desired.
Four miles into the ride I saw a small patch of broken glass, swerved, and then heard the inevitable. Psst. Psst. psst. pssst.
DANGEN, FUCKING, DANGEN!
Off the bike I got, cursing all the way, and performed yet another rear wheel tube replacement. Hey ITP-Reader Bob, I’ve learned how to get the rear wheel off without touching the chain! Now if the chain would just stop jumping off the front derailleur as I make the repair…
Being only four miles in and without another option for repair I seriously debated turning my bike around and giving up. But I didn’t (because I am a stubborn sonnabitch). I made my entire 25-mile loop!
I’ll need to restock my seat pack before tomorrow’s “long” ride.
I think this weekend I’ll stop by a bike shop and pick up another tube, CO2 cartridge, and perhaps two new tires. I also may look into getting another pair of bike shorts to accommodate my fat ass belly.
It’s All About The Rubbers, Part 2
Yesterday I stopped at Target and one of the items on my shopping list was rubber cement — you know, to try and patch a couple of these tubes I’ve been puncturing. Much to my surprise I needed assistance in the self-checkout lane because I had to verify my birthday in order to buy rubber cement. What the fuck?
I told the Target employee that now that they’ve covered their legal basis that I was going to sniff the hell out of that bottle…
Seriously, this has gotten way out of hand!
Another Busy Weekend Ahead
I’m getting my final haircut at Nadine’s Triple Crown tomorrow. I’ve mentioned that they are supposed to close at month’s end.
Tomorrow night I will be at Horizon Theatre to use my season’s pass before the current play closes next week.
I’ll probably have to work on Sunday. Ugh. ITP-Reader Barb, if you and Allan do not have dinner plans for Sunday and think you’d be interested in getting together please let me know. If so I’ll bring over the money for the new pedals, as well as some wine to compensate Allan for the work he did installing the hitch. Hell, if I get my shit together tomorrow I might even have the new bike rack on display. 🙂
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Dang – what’s up with the flat tires??? that sucks.
Knocking on wood over here to be sure it doesn’t happen to me, as I plan to ride over to Cycleworks after work to meet up with Allan. (who is working there, for the 2nd time this week).
Call Allan over at Cycleworks (770-993-2626) about getting new tires – he can get you a better price & probably a much better tire for that price, and since you already owe him money – why not???
We might be able to make a plan for Sunday, let me talk to the man. You need to bring the shoes, & the bike & the rack (even if you still have it in the box). Allan has all the tools to make it all work of course.
We rode with the Chattahooligans last night, I’m sure it was a nicer gentler ride because I was there. I’ve come to realize I really don’t see well at all as it gets towards dusk, so riding around in some woods makes me very nervous.
I might have better luck if I rode with prescription sunglasses. The flats come in threes, right? If so I should be done…
I will call Allan today. No pressure about Sunday, if it fits your schedule and you are both interested just let me know.
Good on you for not giving up and completing your ride! Don’t let a flat discourage you. And good job on the change without getting all greased up. It just takes a little more time and patience. Next we will have to teach you the secret of mounting the tire with no tools 🙂
2 pieces of advice for you.
1. Continental GatorSkins tires. I have been running them for years and the only flat I have had is from a piece of metal I kicked up and cut the side wall. They may be heavier than other tires but totally worth it.
2. Bib shorts. Pricey but so much more comfortable. There is nothing digging in to your waist. Once I switched over from regular shorts I will never go back.
Not sure about Sunday, it is fathers day and there are Kahn family plans. I have not been told a time yet though. I may be able to meet you at the garage mahal for a beer though.
Nice seeing you and Allan last night Barb, you missed the beer stop though 🙂 Alive after 5 rambles are kinder gentler rambles anyway. A few cruises up and down Canton with some shenanigans thrown in the middle.
I wasn’t really discouraged, I was fearful that I would have another flat much further away from work with no facility for repairing it.
That feeling of not having a backup plan, very little cell service and riding on a gravel road makes me always double check my supplies before I depart.
Greetings from lovely Jacksonville. I’m in a Hyatt with a convention of corrections officers- jailers and prison employees. Nice.
Stopped on the way down at Agriculture Supply. This is the real deal and if we had real farms around Atlanta, they would certainly open a store. Lots of stuff I have no idea about, but also stuff for my small tractor, like a scrape blade. Cool.
A run this morning before heading into the office seemed like a better idea than a run yesterday afternoon in the heat. Except for 0 humidity, it was lovely. A nice path along the river makes for flat running. I’ll tackle the bridge tomorrow.
I brought the bike for Sunday- if we do our job right, Sunday should be an off day and we’ll just stop in Monday to check that everyone is happy before returning to the ATL.
Have a great weekend friends.
-FP
That would be % 110 !!
Thanks for the clarification, I was wondering why 0% humidity was a problem. 🙂
Back from eating WAY too much lunch (chicken wings and french fries) at a new-to-me place called Clay’s Sports Cafe on Roswell Road (just south of Abernathy).
This is why I’m not losing weight…
The lunch special here was a Monte Cristo sandwhich. 3 slices of bread, turkey, ham and cheese, all DEEP FRIED. It was almost too disgusting to eat- almost.
oh Steve- I bet it was TASTY!
Paulie – Allan is buying you all kinds of stuff today- I’ll get you the total later & we are thinking sunday evening will work – just gotta actually talk about it. Its been a crazy day here at work.
Okay. Thanks!
Spent a few minutes this afternoon patching the tube that picked up the nail. After letting it dry I used the pump I have at my cube to test the integrity of the patch, only to discover that there were about eight holes on the underside of the tube. My best guess is that as I rolled to a stop each time the nail touched the ground its tip reached through to the other side in a slightly different space, thus creating another hole.
With Allan’s buying spree for me I decided to trash the tube.