So I went back in the house to the basement to get my pump. Aired the tube up only to hear the air pissing out. Took the tube out and saw the hole was at the base of the valve stem. Crap. So I checked the rim and tire for the culprit and found nothing. Grabbed the spare tube out of my saddle bag and put the bike back together. As I went to air up the tube all I heard was air coming out and the pressure gauge still reading zero psi. For real?
Back to the basement to find another tube. I was going to give it one last try. As I walked in Sue was up and so was Ciara. She gave me that look like 'thought you were gone already.' I said to her, "Something doesn't want me to ride today. I had flatted twice already and haven't even made it out of the garage." Looked all over the basement in 'the bike shop' as the kids call it, and found no extra tubes. Had two new tires sitting there. Even have a second set of wheels but no tubes or tires on them. How do I not have any more tubes? Damn it. Had my face buried in my hands with frustration when through my fingers I see the Salsa Mamasita I spent 2 hours building up yesterday. Only problem is I don't have a seat post or saddle for it yet. Other than that though the bike is ready to ride. The Titus uses a bigger diameter post. The Felt post would fit.....oh but so would the post and saddle off the Redline! So I threw the Mamasita on my shoulder and hiked it upstairs and through the kitchen on my way out the door. Sue gave me another look...."I got a seat post and saddle in the garage! Love you! Be back in an hour or so. I don't have any house keys....." I said as I ran out the door.
It's been 6 years since I went for a morning ride on the road with a mountain bike. It took a couple neighborhood blocks of riding to get the seat post and saddle position right but I managed. Wanted to make sure it was spot on this time so I wouldn't have a repeat of last month. Figured I would start my 20 mile loop and it would take me a little over an hour to finish. Well my 20 mile loop turned into my 25 mile loop because I was having so much fun. As I rolled down Mack and was 3 streets from my block I see a car that looks an awful lot like mine make a right turn and head down the street in the opposite direction. Luckily it was heading into the direction of The Pancake House. What are the odds Sue ordered breakfast and threw the kids in the car and went to go pick it up? Very slim since that's my job.
Once closer to home I see my car is not in the driveway where I left it. Little late in the morning for people to be stealing cars but I wasn't worried. But Sue knew I'd be home close to 9am. She'll be back from the Pancake House with breakfast soon. I better go in and shower up, I told myself, so I can eat my food while it's still hot. Got to the back door and crossed my fingers she left it unlocked. Had been out riding for about 75 minutes and breakfast was sounding good. Walked in the house with the Salsa on my shoulder and as I walked to go through the kitchen I saw a piece of paper on the counter that read, "Went to church with the kids. Luv Ya!" It was dead on 9am. I had an hour and fifteen minutes on my hands. What to do? Well, I did the only sensible thing of course. Slammed a gel, grabbed a rice bar, refilled the bottle and went out on the bike for another 45 minutes. Knee was feeling good and the Salsa was running great, why not?
I forgot to start my computer so I have no readout from the ride but I didn't care because after taking two weeks off to heal up and spending last week only doing a 30 min and 45 min spin, I was finally able to do something that resembled an actual ride. I was able to put in some good efforts against the wind with the left leg doing it's share of the work load. So after all the commotion before the ride I ended the morning with almost 120 minutes of saddle time and to my pleasure the knee went on through the day without any repercussions. I still think racing this weekend would be a bad idea but I will see how the week goes and consult Sue on Saturday. She is mostly worried about me re-injuring and it would be in my best interest to listen to her if I want to try and salvage the second half of the season.
And no blog is complete without any pictures. So here is some for your viewing pleasure:
"ON YOUR LEFT!"
