Monday, May 24, 2010

Fate and Flats

 I was all set to do a team ride Saturday morning, I never go to the team rides because they are up north, and I'm down south. The amount of time driving up to the start and back equals about 1 1/2 hours of riding time, and since I'm already pressed for time it's not worth it. Saturday's ride was different because it was a memorial ride, and they were going to cover 150 miles. Those 2 things caught my attention. Regardless of my apprehensions to do this grandiose "event", I packed up the car and headed up north. Stressed, I became turned around but landed up finding the start location with time to spare. The thing that sat in the back of my mind was the fact that my odometer read 666 when I started. Add to that, I was listening to Black Sabbath (with Ronnie James Dio) on the way up there which apparently didn't help. So off we go, and about 20 minutes out I get a flat. First flat of the year. Some very cool teammates assisted, and I replaced the tube in just a couple minutes - nascar pit crew style ;) About 10 minutes later same tire goes flat. WTF?! First time on the team ride, and I'm having a flat fest. I was then down to my last tube, and figured 10 miles into a 150 mile ride with 2 flats means I need to reconsider. I reluctantly told the group that pulled over with me to go. After a very brief bit of coaxing, off they went, and I proceeded to NOT throw my wheel or bike Bjarne Riis style across the grass or road. Instead, I sat on the curb perplexed and as deflated as the tube. Checking the tire I found that a shard of glass cut a quarter inch slot in the top of the Vittoria Open Pave EVO CG tire which I was riding to make the bike a bulletproof Paris Roubaix mobile... The ride was over, and the tire was trashed. I put the last tube in, and once again had the opportunity to test out the CO2 inflator that I never had the need to use. Back to the car I went. There were a LOT of thoughts going thru my head as I rode back. This has been hurdle after hurdle, and the events that transpired that morning were poetic. I landed up getting outside of my self by going to watch my Niece play in a baseball game, and it was the first time I had the chance to see her play. I then took the kids to a park they wanted to go to, and sat and read a local athlete magazine while they enjoyed the afternoon weather. I (once again) found great satisfaction in being there for them. A call and visit to the local shop and the bike is now setup with Continental Grand Prix 4000's and looks good. I took advantage of some store credit and it was a sweet deal on top of a weekend 20% off they were already offering.I went out Sunday midday for a ride and the new tires ride nicely. It was a hot one but it was a good ride. I even rode with my new Sidi shoes that I've been putting off setting up because of the pain in setting up new cleats/shoes, and I think I'm close to having em good to go. New tires new shoes and a bit of clarity over what transpired "Sometimes you simply have to go home" is one of the thousand things I talked thru with Anne, at a party later Saturday afternoon, and she knows what I meant...
Allez
Ray

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