This was a real hit-and-miss weekend of riding.
The usual four musketeers met in Columbia on Friday, the day after Christmas. The goal was a basic 2-hour ride. Simple enough. We headed up the D Rd into the Bluffs and I was feeling okey-dokey and cruising along. We rolled along the flat section before the Kasteelberg when the front tire began hissing. It was a slowish leak and I rolled another few hundred feet before the bike finally that sad, squishy feeling.
No big deal. Put in a new tube, inflated the tire and listened as the new tube began hissing too. I thought maybe it was just the valve. Unscrew, screw, hisssss, unscrew, screw, hissss.
Dammit!
Put in tube #2 and off we go. We rode up the Kasteelberg and I sat comfortably on Patrice's wheel. We went around a couple turns and now my rear wheel was soft.
Put in tube #3 and off we go... again. We finished off the hill, crossed Rte 3, rode past Meer Gilmore and toward the old white farmhouse. At that point the F word could be heard several times floating through the chilled southern IL air.
Four frickin' flats in a span of MAYBE three miles. This time I actually had a couple thorns still stuck in the tire. At this point, we decided it would be best to just had back since I had already gone through both Patrice's and my supply of tubes.
Saturday was wet and ugly but I stayed warm and dry inside. I'm still in a bit of a down period after the cross season and have no guilt about missing a weekend ride.
Sunday was just Giuseppe and I riding from Meramec. He wanted and couple hours and that was fine by me since it would be just short of three hours for me when the commute is added in.
We had no plan and rode where the wind took us. Giuseppe was feeling a little cooked so we skipped Jeffco and went down Big Bend. At the last minute we bypassed Forest and went up the the hills on Big Bend to Meramec Station. My rear shifter continues to act up so I was going to stay the entire ride in either the 53x16 or 39x16. I set a comfortable cadence in the big ring and felt good. We wandered along Vance and over Ries. We turned north up toward Manchester where crossed paths with Nelson who was out for a short spin.
We went up Kehrs Mill and into the Hinni subdivision. Giuseppe knocked a couple times and Aaron finally answered. Surprisingly, he was coaxed into about an hour ride. We went east on Clayton. I hadn't been on Clayton for a while and it was nice. Much different than the last time I was on it. Nelson turned off and we went down Schoettler. It's been at least 10 years since I had been on Schoettler and I completely forgot what the road was like. The final hill came and I decided to give the big ring a shot. I powered right up the hill. The legs were a little wobbly at the top but I'm really satisfied with the way I'm riding. The return trip on Conway was equally good too as I pulled the others most of the way back and handling the rollers comfortably.
The usual four musketeers met in Columbia on Friday, the day after Christmas. The goal was a basic 2-hour ride. Simple enough. We headed up the D Rd into the Bluffs and I was feeling okey-dokey and cruising along. We rolled along the flat section before the Kasteelberg when the front tire began hissing. It was a slowish leak and I rolled another few hundred feet before the bike finally that sad, squishy feeling.
No big deal. Put in a new tube, inflated the tire and listened as the new tube began hissing too. I thought maybe it was just the valve. Unscrew, screw, hisssss, unscrew, screw, hissss.
Dammit!
Put in tube #2 and off we go. We rode up the Kasteelberg and I sat comfortably on Patrice's wheel. We went around a couple turns and now my rear wheel was soft.
Put in tube #3 and off we go... again. We finished off the hill, crossed Rte 3, rode past Meer Gilmore and toward the old white farmhouse. At that point the F word could be heard several times floating through the chilled southern IL air.
Four frickin' flats in a span of MAYBE three miles. This time I actually had a couple thorns still stuck in the tire. At this point, we decided it would be best to just had back since I had already gone through both Patrice's and my supply of tubes.
Saturday was wet and ugly but I stayed warm and dry inside. I'm still in a bit of a down period after the cross season and have no guilt about missing a weekend ride.
Sunday was just Giuseppe and I riding from Meramec. He wanted and couple hours and that was fine by me since it would be just short of three hours for me when the commute is added in.
We had no plan and rode where the wind took us. Giuseppe was feeling a little cooked so we skipped Jeffco and went down Big Bend. At the last minute we bypassed Forest and went up the the hills on Big Bend to Meramec Station. My rear shifter continues to act up so I was going to stay the entire ride in either the 53x16 or 39x16. I set a comfortable cadence in the big ring and felt good. We wandered along Vance and over Ries. We turned north up toward Manchester where crossed paths with Nelson who was out for a short spin.
We went up Kehrs Mill and into the Hinni subdivision. Giuseppe knocked a couple times and Aaron finally answered. Surprisingly, he was coaxed into about an hour ride. We went east on Clayton. I hadn't been on Clayton for a while and it was nice. Much different than the last time I was on it. Nelson turned off and we went down Schoettler. It's been at least 10 years since I had been on Schoettler and I completely forgot what the road was like. The final hill came and I decided to give the big ring a shot. I powered right up the hill. The legs were a little wobbly at the top but I'm really satisfied with the way I'm riding. The return trip on Conway was equally good too as I pulled the others most of the way back and handling the rollers comfortably.
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