Ride Report 8/13

3 miles? on the UCD Aggies cruiser

When I check the Trek for my planned bike ride, the rear tire is flat. I realize the only spare tube I have for those size tires (700x28) has a Schrader valve, so I have to patch the flat tube. It takes most of an hour to wrestle the tire off the rim, pull the tube, find and patch the puncture and then wrestle the tire back on the rim. Then the tube will not inflate, even after I try 2 floor pumps and 1 CO2 cartridge. So I wrestle the tire back off the rim, pull the tube and discover a tear in the tube near the valve stem.

The Bontrager tires on the Trek were eventually going to be swapped for those on the Bianchi, so I decide to go ahead and get that done now that I have one of the tires off already and an unusable tube. The Fortezza tires are at least as hard to wrestle off the rim as the Bontrager, but I finally get the rear tube/tire swapped and check the tire before I inflate it and discover the tire is sliced. After more swearing and crying (unfortunately, I'm not exaggerating), I get the second tire off the Bianchi and discover and even bigger slice in that tire.

At this point, I realize a quick repair and getting back on schedule is not going to happen. I head off to College Cyclery on my UCD Aggies cruiser, looking truly odd in my road biking clothes and sunglasses on a single-speed bike. I pick up 2 tubes for the Trek and mosey home. My sum total accomplishment for the day is changing the flat on the Trek.