Tuesday Buddy Ride

Got to the place, met up with the guy I was giving a ride home--his rear tube had leaked and he was elbows-deep into learning how to change an innertube...but his method was flawed: he was attempting to change it with the rear wheel still on the bike. Much easier to take the wheel off and manipulate the tire and tube, separate from the confines of an upturned bike.

So I took over and we had the new tire installed and inflated pretty quickly. Then he and I started riding to catch up with the rest of the group, who had decided to go on ahead--and man, were we flying! We were averaging 19.8mph on the way out! And this is just six weeks into his true training; he had a hybrid, sure, but it's nothing like a road bike. But he's a strong rider, for sure--he was keeping pace with me, without a cyclocomputer, and with a fully laden backpack.

So then we got to Leesburg...and his rear tire blew again! Not just "went flat", but we actually heard the PSSSSSSSHHHHHHH of his tube popping. Turns out that his rear tire actually had a hole that went through the threads. Lacking a spare tire (not just tube), I got to boot a tire with a dollar bill for the first time today. The idea is this: a modern bike tire is made of several layers of threads, encased in rubber. The threads are what give the tire its strength, both to resist the imperfections in the road surface and to contain the inner-tube. When the threads are severed, as in what happened here, the tube will expand into the weak spot and weaken and eventually rupture there. When a hole occurs, and no spare tire is available, it can be reinforced with something fiberous like a strip of duct-tape or...a dollar bill. This operation is called "booting" the tire.

So we replaced the tube, booted the tire, and turned back, intending to ride a little slower...except we didn't: we still booked it all the way back.

Statistics:
Bike: Trek 5200
Distance: 22.47mi
Saddle Time: 1h13m59s
Actual Time: 1h30m
Start Time: 6:10PM
End Time: 7:40PM
Start Outside Temp: COMFORTABLE
End Outside Temp: COMFORTABLE
Max Speed: 27.5mph
Avg Speed (saddle): 18.2mph!!!
Avg Speed (actual): 15.0mph

Afterward, Roger (the guy I was giving a ride home), Jane, Chris, and I went to Fuddruckers in Ashburn and had dinner: I was good and ordered a 1/3lb burger and a light beer, and did my usual salad-trick. I inhaled the food, and still felt a little hungry after finishing my food, but after a few minutes it all settled and I felt good.

I just weighed myself now, however, and I discovered that I'm at 173lbs. Maybe ~170 is my fighting weight, because today (and last week) I was flying, despite knowing how badly I ate over the weekend. Maybe. But I'd still like to be this fast and at 165lbs again...