2 July 2009

Swanton time trial

Before heading out, I topped off my tires with air, remembering that I had done so just before each of the last few times I got flat tires. It was warm and sunny, with somewhat of a headwind when heading out, but much less than the last times I rode out.

At the intersection with Bonny Doon Rd, there were flares on the road, a fire truck and police cars around, and the remains of at least one crashed car.

There were 10 riders lined up before me. When I started, I immediately got held up a little by a car pulling out of Swanton Berry Farm, but managed to get by it. There was pretty much no headwind. I got overtaken by the guy who started a minute after me near the end. My time was around 34:30.

On my way back home, there were still a police car and a wrecked car near the Bonny Doon intersection, but the flares were gone, and most everything else had been cleared off the road. A minute later, I suspected my rear tire was going flat. Another minute later, I stopped, and my rear tire was going flat. Why!? That would be over 6 flat tires in the last 3 months. The year before that, I only had something like 3 flat tires. Yet again, after topping off the tires before riding, I would get a flat tire. Why why why??? I checked the tire and found nothing on the outside. I pulled out the tube and couldn't find the leak. I felt the inside of tire and found a half centimeter segment of a thin wire. It was probably from a tire from the wreck at the Bonny Doon intersection.

As I replaced the tube, a tow truck hauling the wrecked car went by. I headed home with about 40psi in my rear tire.