I was thoroughly enjoying my lunchtime ride when 16 miles into a 20 mile ride I road through an intersection and heard the dreaded sound.
At first, I thought I had run over something and that something was stuck in my back tire, however as I quickly slowed, I heard the sound of all the 100 pounds of pressure escaping through a gash in the side of my tire.
I was riding with Tregaron, a buddy of mine from work. We stopped and assessed the damage of my tire. Not only did I ruin the tube, but I ruined the tire as well. It appears that a rock gashed the size wall of the tire, which meant I was done riding for the day, even though I had a new tube with me.
Being 4 miles from work, I called Deni to come pick me up and sent Tregaron on his way.
Now I have to buy a new tube AND a new tire, which will set me back around $50.00. The joys of training for a bike race.
