I set out yesterday for a 75 minute bike ride at a comfortable pace. The temperature was cold at first, but it started to warm up as the morning progressed and the sun came out. It was a nice, uneventful ride on a spring morning until 16.5 miles in. That's when I realized that my front tire was flat.
"No big deal!" I thought. "I've changed a bike tire before, and I've got everything I need in my saddle bag. I'll be back on the road in 10 minutes."
I hopped off the bike and confidently removed the wheel and started taking the necessary tools out of my pack. Then, I started trying to get the tire off of the rim. I made sure I was using my tire wrench properly, but for some reason, I just couldn't get it under the bead of the tire.
After several minutes, I gave up. Either I'm just not strong enough or the tire wrenches that work on my mountain bike tires do not work on my road bike tires. I was very frustrated and annoyed that I could not just change that tire myself. I was going to need help.
And I was going to have to walk home.
Fortunately it was only two miles, and it was nice outside. However, I did pass a couple walking the opposite way on the bike path. The man saw me and my bike and said, "You're supposed to ride it, silly!" To which I responded, "Not on a flat tire, you're not." I should have made him stop and help me get the tire off instead. ;)
Friday, March 26, 2010
Endurance Swim - 800 yards total
4x25 warm up, 8x25 sprints, 5x100 base
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tempo Run - 30 minutes with 8 minutes at tempo (approx. 3.25 mi), 2x100 strides, drills
Total approximately 3.5 miles.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Endurance Bike - Approx. 70 minutes (16.6 miles)
Would have been more biking and less walking, if it hadn't been for that flat tire. :p
Bummer! No failure in prep though, just some tough execution. Did you practice tire changing when you got home?
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for this weekend - finally getting really, really nice riding weather over here (Rochester, NY area). Really looking forward to adding to spin classes.
I have not taken the time to change the tube at home yet, but I plan to tonight. That way I have time to take it to the bike shop, if I need additional help, before my next scheduled bike workout.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad. I got a flat tire last week too, and I broke one of my tire levers trying to get it off the rim. I finally managed to remove the tire and replace the tube ... but then getting that last bit of tire back on the rim again was nearly impossible. I finally got it after using a tire lever to push it over.
ReplyDeleteI think it's harder on road bikes, with our narrow tires. They're just not as flexible as wide mountain tires.
I have not had to change one on the road yet. Thank god! Jeramy did my last one for me and he said it was tough to get the tire off. He ended up wedging one of the tire levers in and then running the second one around the rim to break it free. We were about 20 miles out so thankfully I had my hero with me.
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