The thought had occurred to me, now that I'm back on the road, that having a mechanical or a flat tire would bum me out more than usual since I lack full usage of my right hand. On Saturday, I found out just exactly how much ...
After procrastinating all morning, I finally turned off the Tour coverage and donned my lycra. Did one lap through Patapsco Park and started to head down the trail to pop out on Ilchester. If all went well, maybe I'd take a spin up the hill. All did not go well, so I never made it.
About 3/4 of the way down the trail, I realized my rear tire was going flat, quickly. No problem... Pulled off to the side and dumped out my seat-pack. Tire levers, cO2 cartidge, tube - all present and accounted for. I grabbed the levers and got to it - still holding onto my fairly sunny outlook on the ride. About 10mins later, I lost that sunny outlook. The levers were sh*t; wouldn't hook under the tire bead to save my life. My lack of a right hand didn't help. A few riders sped past, not slowing a half-second to see if the clearly disabled chick needed help.
Another 10mins and I finally get my hands under the tire to pull it free from the rim. Out comes the tube, where I discover that it was the valve that failed. Good, at least my tire is okay. Now to the new tube, all put together - time for air and I'm home free. Still annoyed that no one bothered to ask if I was okay.
Then I realized that I had the wrong cartridge. I had a threaded inflation-thingy but I grabbed a non-threaded cartridge. It wouldn't work no matter how hard I tried. After pondering the idea of walking 4miles home, I flagged down two kids on MTBs. They begrudgingly stopped, gave me what I needed (thank you) and rode away before even seeing if it worked.
It almost didn't work- I lost a bunch of air because I'm not that adept with my left hand. I managed to get enough air to get home, where I promptly emptied the tire (did you know that cO2 cartidges carry traces of oil that will weaken your tubes if don't drain out the air ? Thank you for the insight, Josh!) and refilled it with my floor pump. Having wasted a good 45mins on this little escapade, I hooked up to my trainer and finished my ride while watching the rest of the Tour.
If I see a rider on the side of the road, I always - ALWAYS- slow down, take out the earphones and ask if they need anything. Am I really the only one who does this ? I understand that I'm an odd sight right now in my bright green cast, but c'mon- I'm a cute (if I do say so myself), fit female in lycra. WTF ? People suck.
Take away lesson: Chivalry is dead.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Tour Observations- No Spoilers !
I've been obsessively watching the Tour these past few days ... I don't normally follow it more than passing highlights, but this year is different for two reasons:
1) I can't race so I'm living vicariously and
2) I recently got DVR capabilities from Comcast (thats another story).
Anyway, just a couple of quick observations for now - I can't use up all my material or my TGIF post will be pretty boring.
1. Love him or hate him - Lance's participation in the Tour is bringing media coverage and overall interest that professional cycling hasn't seen since ....well, since he raced the Tour.
2. In stage 2 (or was it stage 3?), the leader of Lampre's squad had a mishap right when the peloton was starting to chase the break ... the announcers said the peloton slowed to allow his team to get him back in the group. Is this analogous to honor among thieves? Note that our local racers will hear a wreck and use it to drop contenders that might have been tied up in the incident.
3. SPOILERS - argh !! I've received at least 4 different emails that contained info about that day's outcome. Please don't make me boycott email until I get to see the stage !
4. I hope to heck that none of the big-names get tagged for doping this year. While that doesn't mean they're not doing it (another discussion), it'd be super if we could get through one Tour without further disparaging the sport.
That's all for now - I'm off to Hains Pt to see how much shock value my new green cast has when I'm on the bike. Hey, if I'm stuck with the damn thing for another 6 weeks, I might as well have a little fun with it.
1) I can't race so I'm living vicariously and
2) I recently got DVR capabilities from Comcast (thats another story).
Anyway, just a couple of quick observations for now - I can't use up all my material or my TGIF post will be pretty boring.
1. Love him or hate him - Lance's participation in the Tour is bringing media coverage and overall interest that professional cycling hasn't seen since ....well, since he raced the Tour.
2. In stage 2 (or was it stage 3?), the leader of Lampre's squad had a mishap right when the peloton was starting to chase the break ... the announcers said the peloton slowed to allow his team to get him back in the group. Is this analogous to honor among thieves? Note that our local racers will hear a wreck and use it to drop contenders that might have been tied up in the incident.
3. SPOILERS - argh !! I've received at least 4 different emails that contained info about that day's outcome. Please don't make me boycott email until I get to see the stage !
4. I hope to heck that none of the big-names get tagged for doping this year. While that doesn't mean they're not doing it (another discussion), it'd be super if we could get through one Tour without further disparaging the sport.
That's all for now - I'm off to Hains Pt to see how much shock value my new green cast has when I'm on the bike. Hey, if I'm stuck with the damn thing for another 6 weeks, I might as well have a little fun with it.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Anyone up for a BBQ ?
So I missed my TGIF posting but in my defense, it was a holiday. A 3-day weekend was much appreciated - I consistently lobby for 3-day weekends to be a rule rather than an anomaly, but alas I'm but one voice amongst the powers-that-be. Sigh.
Friday morning started without an alarm-clock, which is a wonderful way to start any day. I was enjoying my coffee out on my back patio when I decided my mission today was to buy a grill. Much like my quest for a new TV, which has yet to be fulfilled, I've been meaning to get a grill for my back patio for at least a year now. Today was the day.
I'll skip the minor details but suffice it to say that while the idea and intent to buy a grill was all well and good, the execution was not exactly thought out. Remember I lack an opposable thumb and the full use of my right hand/arm.
Arriving home with a huge box in the back of my car, I took out the smaller parts, carrying them through the house and out to the back patio. Then I got to the "body" of the grill. Large, awkward and heavy - no way I was getting that up 4 steps to my door, 4 more steps inside, across the house and down 3 steps to the patio. I slid the box to the ground and proceeded to push, pull, slide, curse and will the box up the stairs, across the house and to the sliding door.
Which is when I discovered the box wouldn't fit through. At this point I was more than frustrated, mostly at my own stupidity for thinking this was a good idea. After a couple of tries, I lifted the piece out of the box and nearly fell backward as I gripped it precariously with my left hand and my right cast. Awesome.
I pictured someone finding me days later, pinned under a half-assembled grill. The local media would interview my neighbors who would confirm that yes, she was a bit ... eccentric. We don't know what she was thinking, they'd say. She wore that neon-colored lycra all the time, even in the dead of winter, and we saw her recently riding her bike with a cast on her arm ! I digress...
I managed to get the grill together by about 930pm. The project started at 4. But dammit, I did it. By 10pm, I had grilled veggies, some chicken strips and an ear of corn.
Score: Wendy = 1, Grill= 0.
Friday morning started without an alarm-clock, which is a wonderful way to start any day. I was enjoying my coffee out on my back patio when I decided my mission today was to buy a grill. Much like my quest for a new TV, which has yet to be fulfilled, I've been meaning to get a grill for my back patio for at least a year now. Today was the day.
I'll skip the minor details but suffice it to say that while the idea and intent to buy a grill was all well and good, the execution was not exactly thought out. Remember I lack an opposable thumb and the full use of my right hand/arm.
Arriving home with a huge box in the back of my car, I took out the smaller parts, carrying them through the house and out to the back patio. Then I got to the "body" of the grill. Large, awkward and heavy - no way I was getting that up 4 steps to my door, 4 more steps inside, across the house and down 3 steps to the patio. I slid the box to the ground and proceeded to push, pull, slide, curse and will the box up the stairs, across the house and to the sliding door.
Which is when I discovered the box wouldn't fit through. At this point I was more than frustrated, mostly at my own stupidity for thinking this was a good idea. After a couple of tries, I lifted the piece out of the box and nearly fell backward as I gripped it precariously with my left hand and my right cast. Awesome.
I pictured someone finding me days later, pinned under a half-assembled grill. The local media would interview my neighbors who would confirm that yes, she was a bit ... eccentric. We don't know what she was thinking, they'd say. She wore that neon-colored lycra all the time, even in the dead of winter, and we saw her recently riding her bike with a cast on her arm ! I digress...
I managed to get the grill together by about 930pm. The project started at 4. But dammit, I did it. By 10pm, I had grilled veggies, some chicken strips and an ear of corn.
Score: Wendy = 1, Grill= 0.
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