Pardon The Interruption.

I skipped the last week of posts because I haven't been riding enough to think of new things to say, and when I do venture out it's usually not all I hoped for. So, instead of feeling guilty about it, I just took a break. OK, taking a break isn't much different than my non-riding, except this way I fully intended not to ride. If it isn't happening, forcing it will probably make it worse.
  
The Friday before the Fourth of July, I went for a ride from our campsite at South Rolly Lake to Big Lake, right at about 50 miles. I puttered along, picking up some mechanic's hand tools along the side of the road that fell off a truck. The wrenches weighed down my jersey a bit, but it wasn't like they were slowing me down.
  
On the way back I opted for the bike trail, which was a colossally bad idea. The four wheelers had kicked a bunch of gravel into the bike path, and I got two pinch flats on descents because I just couldn't avoid all of the debris. My mood went south. I didn't notice it at the time, but I was starting to get dehydrated. A small paceline of recreational roadies caught me in the last quarter of a mile of my ride, because I literally was cooked.
  
I got off the bike and didn't get back on for a week. I canoed, kayaked, played with my puppy, and generally did a whole lot of non-riding.
  
This past Friday we drove the RV back up to Fairbanks, so on Saturday morning I showed up to get my ass handed to me on the Goldstream ride. I was determined to make it a bit farther before I was dropped, but a loud bang from my rear tire just before that point ended my ride. Pinch flat. I wished them well, then pulled out my spare tube and got to work.
  
I should point out that the spot where I got the flat was about 50 yards from where my last Tour of Fairbanks effectively ended four minutes into the prologue. 50 yards down the hill was where I was dropped. Seems like cursed ground to me.
  
I had the new tube installed relatively quickly, taking the time to check for debris in the tire or something else that might have caused the flat. I mounted the wheel on the bike, and was putting on my helmet when the tire deflated. Motherfucker. I patched the original tube, which was not easy given both snake bites were on seams. I pulled out the new tube and repaired its new hole as well. I was out of patches. They both popped. Something in these tubeless-ready rims really hates tubes. With no other options, I called the wife for a ride.
  
Over $200 at Goldstream later, I was all tubeless. On this particular set of rims, I just have to deal with my dislike of the concept. I mean, they have Chris king hubs, tied-and-soldered spokes, and wide HED rims.For an aluminum wheel, they're pretty darn blingy.
  
The next day, the front wheel was flat. I re-inflated it, and it held for the whole ride. If it deflates tomorrow, I'll play with the rim tape a bit to see if I can improve things. Maybe it's not seating properly.
  
I did a little less than three hilly hours today.
 
It's a start.
 
One of many.

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