“Ride #39: I'm Growing Tired of Equipment Problems”

For the first 17 miles of today's ride, I had an average speed of about 19.6 miles per hour! Then a spoke broke in the back wheel - the same wheel that had two spokes replaced on Monday.

I finished the ride by completely releasing my back brakes (most of the stopping power is in the front brakes anyway, of course), but the wheel was so badly warped that it was still rubbing against the brakes. Looking down at it while riding, it looked like the wheel was wobbling by an inch or so. That's bad.

I'm going to talk to Mystic Cycle Center tomorrow about building up a new wheel for me. I just bought a new one last year, but obviously it's wearing out. Hopefully as I continue to lose weight, the parts on my bike will last longer.

Stats: 24.71 miles in 79:22, for an average speed of 18.68 miles per hour.