Today IW is riding from Berlin to Leipzig - a friendly jaunt of 170km. Not wanting to be left out, I finished work assembling a table full of eyeballs (yes I do) and packed the bike with a plan to crack my virginal imperial century.
Not to repeat the mistakes of the past, I took extra everything - battery, food, water, reflective gear, warm clothes - and set off, falling into a very comfortable rhythm as the sun went down. I decided to take the flat, smooth (and dull by daylight) freeway bike path to Rockingham then Mandurah, if all was going well. Though I didn't sleep well last night, I was feeling remarkably fresh, and figured on 6 hours for the full trip. The wind had died away by the time I left, so 28-30km/hr was achievable.
Until 38km.
Not just a puncture - a slash. My rear tyre was cut up the sidewall to almost the midline of the tread. This tyre was relatively new, and couldn't see anything sharp on the path in the twilight. So I had the option of MacGyver or a phone call - I took MacGyver and fashioned a patch out of a piece of soft bark and a folded over ziplock bag (the little zippy bits were nice and strong across the cut), put just enough air in to keep my rim off the road, and nursed it home.
While it was disappointing to only make 75km out of the century (hence the $1.20 - it was a $100 tyre - just let me be dramatic, OK?)), it was getting bitterly cold. Next time, maybe next week, I'll put on one more shirt and carry a spare tyre.
Being out in the dark, seemingly very very alone, was actually quite pleasant. Very quiet and serene, ticking over the rhythm. As Phil Liggett would say "tapping out the pace".
This sees the end of a pretty successful week. Tuesday's speedwork was a good one and Thursday saw a half-marathon time trial exactly on prediction (1:25). Things are going well, with recovery and absorption of these workouts perfect.
The sharp-eyed will notice that I removed "I plan to run the marathon barefoot" from the blog header. I did this for two reasons: I seem to run much much faster in shoes (Kinvaras) and I have been battling with an odd pain behind the toes on my left foot anytime I run in Fingens or bare, but not in shoes. Thus, if it's faster and painless, there's not much of a choice.
Todays ride was made possible by most of IW's cold weather riding clothes (yep - they mostly fit). Heading out in Perth winter is proving to be quite an adventure for a sub-tropical lad, and not all bad.
An expensive day out, but a good day nonetheless - and I still got to have my espresso gel - worth getting cold for.
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