Conditioning Ride - interrupted by flat tire - 9.91 miles

Route

Up Miller, cross Maple, turn right on Zeeb, cross Huron River Dr., right on Joy Rd, turns into Webster Church; got flat tire not far from North Territorial.

Stats

* 9.91 miles

* 40 min

* 14.6 avg mph

Interesting Happenings

Got a flat tire on Webster Church. There was still light, but I was worried about changing the tire, and then having it go flat again, like the last time I got a flat on the road. I very carefully inspected the tire, and found one place on the side-wall that was worn through. However, the tube had not gone flat at that location. There were two punctures, like a snake bite, at another location, and I could find nothing in the tire that could have caused the puncture.

But in the meantime, before I'd even attempted to change the tire, a woman with a mountain bike on the back of her car stopped to offer help. I used her cell phone to call Ian for a ride because I didn't want to take a chance with the fading light and the possibility of getting another flat. I had a lot farther to go to reach home than I did the last time I got a flat during a ride.

Impressions of ride

I had a pretty bad belly in the afternoon and evening, so I wasn't even sure I'd be able to ride. I really wanted to, but I knew I wouldn't enjoy it if I wasn't feeling well. I was able to yield to nature's call enough times to get the bad stuff out of my gut and get on the road pretty comfortably.

Shortly after Miller crosses Maple, it got pretty nasty because the road had been freshly tarred and graveled. There was a lot of dust from the cars going by, and the cars were also kicking up gravel from time to time. I won't be going that way again anytime soon!

I was disappointed that I couldn't complete my ride because I hadn't ridden my bike to work, so I was missing miles. Also, the rest of the ride would have been so nice, and would have really made up for the nasty part on Miller. Oh well! The next night's ride was much better.