Ouch

So the dreaded lurgy had finally subsided to a point where I could get back onto the bike for more than 8 minutes at a time.

Unfortunately, the Gods were not smiling on me for this particular mission.

I rolled out this morning, off to meet the crew for the usual Sat morning bunch ride. As I rolled into the carpark, I thought the bike was a little squishy and indistinct on the handling. It wasn't until I came to a stop and heard the telltale hissss that I knew the morning was not going to go as planned.

This would be the 3rd flat in 3 rides on the same wheel. And try as I might, I had not been able to find fault with the tyre, and up until now had been chalking it up to bad luck.

Well, third time is the charm. And it was only because the tyre was still inflated that I was able to see the split in the sidewall, exposing wire, which was no doubt the cause of the repeated punctures.

Aah, only if the tyres I had ordered two weeks ago had arrived, I wouldn't be facing this issue!

So after a rudely interrupted Sat morning, plans were changed, Farmers Market was visited, dogs were run, and I managed to line up a MTB ride with a mate of mine, Lisa.

Lis is 49 and thinks she is 21 - and is fitter than most 21 year olds I know. I (stupidly) suggested to her a couple of months back that she should consider racing the Aus MTB Champs, as she would probably be a red hot chance at a National jersey. She agreed, and has been training her arse off ever since!

So I got roped into one of her hill repeat sessions.

Ouch.



We did a couple of varying loops, but 2 sessions up 'Hernia Hill'. And it's called that for a reason. By my calculations the climb is 12.5% average, and there is a section in the middle that is deadset closer to 15%. You could have played my hamstrings like a guitar.

On a slight tangent, I wonder if people (in general) suffer the same degree of exaggeration about climb grades (yeah, seriously, it was 20% for 10km!) as they do about bike weights (yeah, seriously, it's 10.2kg with pedals).

It was always amusing comparing people's claimed weights to actual, just by whacking a bike on the scales. Without having data to quote, my observations suggested at the time that people would typically underquote their bike's weight by a good 15 to 20%.

Anyway, that stretch goal of mine just gets a littttle bit closer, every single day.