What a miserable day!
My plan for today was to do one more long-ish (40 miles or so) ride. Only about 30 minutes into the ride though, A nice big nail found its way into my rear tire and through the tube, poking multiple holes in the tube and tearing up a nice bit of the tire. I spent and next 30 or so minutes first trying to patch the tube, then replacing the tube with a new one I had, and then trying to get my mini-pump working. I finally got the rear pumped up to about 80 psi -- enough to ride on.
I decided to just head back home at that point. Though after I realized that the tire was holding up, I decided to make a trek up Ascension drive on Bull Mountain. It's a steep climb from the bottom of the hill all the way to the top. There are sections that, according to my topo maps, are as much as 25% grade. After not being able to fulfill my planned route, it was a nice diversion to go up this steep road.
Yesterday I was debating whether or not to replace the tires. Today's incident made the question moot, at least on the rear wheel. So I proceeded to replace it. In the process, I broke the valve stem on the brand-new tube that I had just installed. Grrr.... And to top it off, the plastic shield (to prevent the chain from slipping into the spokes) on the wheel is getting brittle and slowly breaking off after 5 years of use.
Earlier in the week I replaced the handlebar tape and the chain. Now all my bike needs is an overhaul for the rest of it. All the components appear to have hit a point where they need to be replaced...
I decided to just head back home at that point. Though after I realized that the tire was holding up, I decided to make a trek up Ascension drive on Bull Mountain. It's a steep climb from the bottom of the hill all the way to the top. There are sections that, according to my topo maps, are as much as 25% grade. After not being able to fulfill my planned route, it was a nice diversion to go up this steep road.
Yesterday I was debating whether or not to replace the tires. Today's incident made the question moot, at least on the rear wheel. So I proceeded to replace it. In the process, I broke the valve stem on the brand-new tube that I had just installed. Grrr.... And to top it off, the plastic shield (to prevent the chain from slipping into the spokes) on the wheel is getting brittle and slowly breaking off after 5 years of use.
Earlier in the week I replaced the handlebar tape and the chain. Now all my bike needs is an overhaul for the rest of it. All the components appear to have hit a point where they need to be replaced...
posted by Mark at 3:17 PM
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