2014 SMR 25

Flat Damn It:  on Walnut Avenue, rear tire, I rode out to the traffic circle so JB would see me if he hadn't gotten that far yet.  Fixed it and then cracked the threads on my CO2 inflator... not the ones that thread into the cart, just the ones that thread into the holder so it still works fine.

Roadkill Report:  skunk on the approach to the Gate.

So I get to the Gate at 8:10 and no rock and no JB so I figured today would be a solo ride and I put myself in endurance mode.

Didn't stop at Junction cuz I needed the outhouse at Sunset so I took a little break there and rearranged my flat tire fixing stuff.  Determined that the punctured tube was repairable so I rolled it up better in my pocket.

Then at Muir I hear a pop and feel a little burst of air and I figure my repair failed for some reason, but it wasn't really that loud, and my tire wasn't going flat, so it must've been something else... like I ran over a balloon or something - yeah, I'm pretty sure I would've seen that.  So I pull over and inspect the tire and everything's fine and I conclude maybe the used CO2 cart in my seatbag vented off some pressure somehow.

edit:  yup, sort of.  I guess those plastic threads were more important than I thought.

At the Summit Lower Lot I always stop and make sure I'm ready for the Wall... I have a drink from my bottle and usually some HammerGel and take some deep breaths and get my heart rate down into Zone 1 before I start up.  It's probably overkill but it's routine and I like it.  It also gives me a chance to listen for any cars that are coming up so I don't get in front of one because they can't pass once you get past the split to single lane width road.  But today a big black SUV zoomed in right behind me right at the no passing point and the driver had to watch me plod up the whole way... he didn't seem to mind and I gave him a thank you wave at the top.

These guys had a bunch of microwave antennas; I think they
were trying to communicate with their home planet.

My Contour camera worked much better today - it's been getting kind of quirky the last few rides but did everything right today... even the GPS recording... I should do a video... except I didn't catch anything too interesting.  Did have a close call with a loose dog near the goat yard.

Rawhide from Diablo Scott on Vimeo.