Bad Ride

Today was a crazy busy day at work. It's the last couple of days of the term and I got all sorts of projects coming in and classes finishing up and all I want to do is just get through it all with everything caught up so that I can enjoy the month off I have starting next week. So when I got home from work all I wanted to do was get out for a ride and forget about work for a while. I was running late from work so I decided to hit up the group ride that leaves from the 27th and highway 2 benches.

The first thing that happens is I think that it starts at 5:45 and bust my ass to get there to find out that it doesn't start until 6. So I wait and chat with some of the other people showing up and then we got going. It was a light spin out of town and then when we hit the open roads things didn't pick up to much and I was ready to go so I got to the front and upped the pace a bit. When we started to get aways from town and at this point I had already been gone a while and needed to get back home so I peeled away from the group and started to head on a road that I thought would start to work me back towards home. I was wrong. All I could find was gravel roads and I just ended up heading way out of my way. Finally I came across a paved road and jumped on heading towards home.

Eventually the road that I'm on (which I have no idea where I am) ends up turning into gravel. I think to myself that the road I'm looking for is just a ways up and the gravel is fairly smooth in the middle and the Felt handles it no problem. I end up quickly realize I have no idea where I'm at and the road that I was looking for is not coming up and all I can see ahead is gravel and the gravel is not getting any smoother at this point but a lot thicker and now the Felt is not handling it well. I come across a gravel road that I recognize and realize that I am a long ways from home and there is no paved roads coming up any time soon and then the next thing I know the front tire is flat. So now I am super frustrated and pissed that I'm on gravel on my road bike with a flat tire. I change the tire and head back up the gravel road.

After I ride for about another mile the gravel turns into large rocks and the bike is all over the place and then the front tire goes flat again. Now I'm really pissed cause I already used the spare tube I carry and I have to call the wife to come get me. The problems with calling her is that she isn't happy with me cause I've been gone longer than I said I would be and she needs me to take care of some things and I'm lost on gravel roads and don't know how to give her directions to find me. I tell her what I now and with a few more phone calls as I walked she eventually found me and took me home.

The thing that I learned again from tonight is that I just don't have time to wait for group rides anymore. I have to much to do to wait around for them. When I go especially after work I have to go and get things done. I have certain things I have to accomplish. I've wanted to hit group rides so that I can get more comfortable riding in a pack. I think that I'm going to only stick to the rides that I know I'm going to get what I need to accomplished. I've got a group on early Saturday mornings when I have plenty of time that I can ride with sometimes and get a good pace and get accomplished what I need to. The other group riding I'm going to continue to do is the PCL Crits on Tuesday. Those guys really kick my ass and I definitely get things accomplished than. Other than that if I can train with someone great but I learned again not to wait around.

Now I need to go finish my honey-do list the wife has for and get to bed. I got another long day at the college tomorrow. Later.

Harp