“Ride #NaN: Ugh. Let's Not Count This One”

What a joke.

I left late for this 'ride' planning to do just 20 miles. I've had multiple flat tires in the last week, so the plan was to ride to Mystic Cycle, get a new back tire, continue on for a few miles and then turn around and zip straight home.

They were a little busy, even though it was raining and almost closing time.

Rick replaced the tire for me, and noticed the water bubbling around my spokes. Graham said not to worry about it, it's just the air that was trapped between the tube and the wheel escaping, and you only see it because of the water.

Duh. I should have thought about this before leaving, because that just didn't make any sense. A tiny little bit of air, yes, maybe for a second or two. Not a constant 'sizzling' sound coming from the wheel. Really, duh.

It was too late to continue away from the house, so I headed home. Tire was flat within two miles.

I pumped it up.

Tire was flat again a mile later. I pumped it up.

Tire was flat again a mile later, now at the intersection of 27 and 184, two miles from the house. I pumped it up.

Er, I tried. The end of the valve (the little, metal part that screws down into the rest fo the valve so it can't be depressed accidentally) popped off, all the air came out, and that was that.

I walked. Some older gents were out test riding scooters, I borrowed a phone, and a few minutes later Corinne came to rescue me from a 2 mile slog home in the dark and rain.

Yee haw, I love cycling! ;-)