:*-(

There are really no words to describe today. But once again, I will try. With a lot of words

With a 6:30 clip in time goal, we were on the road by 7:15. Shannon and I did our best to keep our pace down, as it was to be an 8+ hour day. All was going pretty well - we were having a good ride, keeping our heart rates down, I took a quick bathroom break and then mile 21.
"D@mn! Da#n! Dam*, do I have a flat?" was about what I said to Shannon.
An f'ing FLAT!!! Remember this post, where my only request was for a new tire that would NOT give me a FLAT! Needless to say, I was more than upset to have another flat on my BACK TIRE!!!

20 minutes later, it was changed and we were back on the course. I would like to say I handled it well, but no. I mean, less than 50 miles on NEW tires and I got a flat. There was no hole in the tube, the valve didn't seem to leak - we had no idea why. The rest of the loop I tried to calm down, knowing it was still a long day. But I just wanted to be off my bike. My foot hurt, my shoulders were hurting, and I was no longer having fun.

Once we got back to the cars, I thought it would be a good idea to top off my new tube with pump air (vs. the CO2 used during the ride). When I unhooked the tube, the pin from the presta valve popped off! NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That meant I had to change my back tire AGAIN! Seriously!? SERIOUSLY!?!? I lost my $hit at this point. In an email, I told the girls my goal was to cry at least one point, but I thought it would be from pain - not 2 flipping flat tires.

Eventually, I let them help. And with a new tube from Shannon, CO2 from Tammy (just in case) we got a new tire on, and were back out for another loop. But the sun was out and it was hot. Melissa turned off, and the 3 of us kept going. We took a few extra long stops, just to stretch.

When we got back to the cars, 85 miles in. There was no way I could make it 27 more miles, so I settled on another 5 for a smidge over 90. One would think I would be happy with 90 miles, but I just couldn't get past the flats. And my bad attitude about them.

So, here are some other things about the ride. We saw a blue crab, wild turkeys, deer, turtles, mama bald eagles and her babies, and a deer leg (yes, a leg. On the first loop I thought it was a stick, but Shannon was quick to point out the hoof. "Sticks don't have fur"). Shannon actually said a lot of funny things and stories that I can't remember. Tammy has really improved on the bike and I couldn't keep up with her. Melissa's longest ride this season was about 25 miles (and she had a rough day yesterday - went to the wrong hotel, lost her cell phone, found her cell phone on Rt 50). They each had a great day and I was happy for them. And my day did get better at dinner. A peach margarita and queso always make things better.

I guess someone always has to have the bad day - and today it was me. Just hopefully not tomorrow. Or anyone for that matter.