Well...I am back home in Calgary after a 7 hour drive through the Rockies. Before I left Kelowna today I had a recovery bike ride that I wanted to get in. Kelowna has an amazing network of bike lanes and bike paths. I mapped out a route that would be reasonably flat that should take me somewhere around an hour. The first half of the route was not too exciting. A bit of uphill here and there, but not much scenery out there. Until I hit the top part of my loop that is! All of a sudden it was nice and rural and the scenery was beautiful! Should I mention that this was also the part of the ride where I realized that my cell phone was sitting on my bedside table...at home..??
Lots of green and a few orchards around here and there. Beautiful.
It was time to head back into town and it was pretty well downhill. I hit one section that was a 5-6% grade downhill and picked up some speed. I tried to keep it reigned in...but... I turned a corner and there was a set of railroad tracks to go over. And there was a huge rut right at the track. I hit the rut, then the tracks and got some air...then landed. I looked down and no surprises...flat in the back tire. Hey...this would be my first time changing a tire...by myself...on the side of the road...fun! I swapped out the tube, filled it up with CO2, then struggled to get the back wheel back on. All said and done it took me about 16 minutes. As I started away there was a funny sound. Something wasn't right... It kind of sounded like thump, thump, thump... I pulled over, felt the tire to see if there was still air in there...yup. I started off again, same weird sound and within 30 seconds the tire then went BAM!!! I obviously had caught the tube under the tire bead right by the valve stem. Bugger... Luckily I had another spare tube and CO2 cartridge, but now I was shaken. If I made the same mistake again I'd be screwed as I was still 5 miles away from my car. And did I mention that I'd forgotten my cell phone at home?
I swapped out the tube again and made sure to check that it wasn't caught anywhere, especially by the valve stem. I filled her up and put the wheel back on. Just then a fellow walked by and asked if I was okay. He mentioned that there was a bike shop about two blocks away if I needed anything, so that was good to know. If I had another blowout in a minute at least I would have somewhere to go!
As I got back on the road it looked like things were holding...sort of. When I looked down it would look like there wasn't a lot of pressure in the back tire, but then I would stop and feel it and it felt just fine. Let's just say that I was really happy that I made it back to the car without another flat!
Um...so yeah...just over 18 miles of recovery riding in the bag...plus a little flat changing experience to go with it!
Lots of green and a few orchards around here and there. Beautiful.
It was time to head back into town and it was pretty well downhill. I hit one section that was a 5-6% grade downhill and picked up some speed. I tried to keep it reigned in...but... I turned a corner and there was a set of railroad tracks to go over. And there was a huge rut right at the track. I hit the rut, then the tracks and got some air...then landed. I looked down and no surprises...flat in the back tire. Hey...this would be my first time changing a tire...by myself...on the side of the road...fun! I swapped out the tube, filled it up with CO2, then struggled to get the back wheel back on. All said and done it took me about 16 minutes. As I started away there was a funny sound. Something wasn't right... It kind of sounded like thump, thump, thump... I pulled over, felt the tire to see if there was still air in there...yup. I started off again, same weird sound and within 30 seconds the tire then went BAM!!! I obviously had caught the tube under the tire bead right by the valve stem. Bugger... Luckily I had another spare tube and CO2 cartridge, but now I was shaken. If I made the same mistake again I'd be screwed as I was still 5 miles away from my car. And did I mention that I'd forgotten my cell phone at home?I swapped out the tube again and made sure to check that it wasn't caught anywhere, especially by the valve stem. I filled her up and put the wheel back on. Just then a fellow walked by and asked if I was okay. He mentioned that there was a bike shop about two blocks away if I needed anything, so that was good to know. If I had another blowout in a minute at least I would have somewhere to go!
As I got back on the road it looked like things were holding...sort of. When I looked down it would look like there wasn't a lot of pressure in the back tire, but then I would stop and feel it and it felt just fine. Let's just say that I was really happy that I made it back to the car without another flat!
Um...so yeah...just over 18 miles of recovery riding in the bag...plus a little flat changing experience to go with it!
8 comments:
You are such a champ. A recovery ride the day after an olympic triathlon? Well done!
You are hardcore girl...thank goodness you had a spare...thanks for the reminder!
Wow! What an experience! Glad to hear you made it back alright!
Sounds like an interesting recovery ride... glad you made it back safely!
sounds like a nice recovery ride, well, minus the tire issues :) glad you made it back safely!
You are so hardcore! I'd probably be crying on the side of the road LOL
Good for you carrying 2 tubes and CO2 cartridges. I once went through both of mine pretty quick (probably nicked the tube trying to put the tire back on) and was worried to death I'd get another flat. If I'm by myself on a long ride (say, 50+ miles), though, I carry a patch kit and a mini pump as well, just in case.
Glad the second one worked and that there was a bike shop close in case it didn't! Looks like a nice ride minus that little glitch. :)
I hate when I realize that I left my cell...usually when we need it the most, haha.
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