If it wasn't for bad luck............
Needing miles, I decided to try an early 50 mile sprint, knowing full well it was a holiday weekend. After getting through some hill sprints, I set out for East Huntsville. I jumped on a group of four guys for a while but got a little nervous (make that a lot) when they couldn't seem to keep a straight line on a busy highway. After a few miles, I dropped them and headed up SR 39 toward the State Road Shed. Having to slow way down for an event in that area, I was at the mercy of traffic when trying to keep good time. Out around the point, traffic was already getting busy - perhaps a bad idea. The plan was to double back, making for an even 50 miles.
At about 38 miles, I noticed a former co-worker walking around his yard as I was passing his house. He's in the fight of his life, trying to beat the big-C. I thought I'd stop by and perhaps give him a little encouragement. After about 10 minutes, I was back on the road but had a flat tire on the front before I could even get going. Simple enough - most of the time. This time, not so lucky. After installing the new tube, my CO2 head adapter wouldn't work. Basically, I was out of luck. After calling for a bailout, I proceeded to walk (barefoot) to the designated pickup spot. With the CO2 adapter head still connected, I was fiddling around with it hoping the trigger would free-up. That was until it exploded in my hand! Crazy, but not hurt.
After getting home, I looked at how risky it actually was to ride Monte alone. Had that happened then, I'd really been cooked. After making a few adjustments and re-tooling with the backup gear, I'll give the same ride a try again in the morning.
I think I've isolated that persisting noise (from the last two years) down to my rear wheelset. I'll know better tomorrow, as I'm riding on another Bontrager Race X-Lite with a different cassette. At least for 38 miles, it ran quite. The real test will be the final 4 miles at the end. Hopefully, that is the problem. We'll see tomorrow.
Try a little Dave Mathews. Where are you going?
Keep fighting Zeke! We're pulling for ya.
