I did the Flat Tire Festival today. No, that�s no typo. I had a flat. I patched it. I had another flat. I patched it again. Third time�s a charm. I had another flat.
I ended up having to replace the tube AND the tire. That must have been some ride, huh?
I rode Highway 128 to Castle Valley and back. From my tent six miles south of Moab. I never used the car today. For anything. Not even my trip back into town to get my tube and tire replaced.
This incredibly scenic route definitely is the way to come to Moab during daylight. I�m always amazed by the beauty of the Colorado River canyons. Even today, while I was huffing and puffing and at times thinking I don�t have it in me to successfully complete Ride the Rockies.
I started out heading for Arches just after sunrise. I waited in line behind 20 cars for my turn to show my pass. The guy ahead of me didn�t want to buy a pass. He wanted to look around to see if it would be worth the money. After listening to him debate the rangers for ten minutes, I wanted him to pull over and argue somewhere else.
I was going up the hill, not very well, I might add, when I noticed my back tire was flat. It�s a real drag to work so hard to go uphill and not be able to zoom back down. I had to walk back down the two miles or whatever to the visitor�s center.
Two flats later, I wanted to call Tami, just for kicks:
�Tami, can your husband come fix my tire for me? Do you think he can be here before sunset so I can still ride today???� Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
I decided rather than chance going back up into the park, I would go back to town to replace my tube. An argument can be made here for always carrying an extra.
Heading back into town, the back tire went flat AGAIN. I had to walk another two miles to Poison Spider, one of my favorite bike shops in Moab because they are fast, helpful and they have great custom jerseys. If they weren�t so darned expensive, I�d buy one. Or more.
Turned out my tire was ruptured, which is why the back tire wouldn�t hold air. Every time I rode, I was exposing the tube to yet another round of unprotected turf. So, I spent more money than I�d planned, and it�s only my first day. But my tire is a brand new Michelin, like they put on cars, and my tube has slime in it so hopefully it won�t go flat for a while. Woohoo!
Having lost the early start in the Park and hoping to avoid the midday crowds, I started out again on yet another road I�d never taken before. It ended up being the trailhead for Sand Flats Pass or something like that. I climbed a darned hard hill. Had to stop twice on the way up. But then I got to race down. Got up to 27 mph. Woohoo!
I could have taken the trail, but I decided to go for mileage instead of technical fun. So I went to the Cisco highway, and rode all the way to Castle Valley in a head wind. I stopped at Big Bend to drink my antioxidant and to lay down on a picnic table for a while. I was very hot. My knees hurt. The climbs were more significant than I remembered from the car. And that head wind! It made the climbs even harder. But I never had to stop. I got all the way down to my second middle gear on the hardest hill, but I made it to the top without stopping.
I finished my drink at the Castle Valley turnoff, gobbled a Power Bar and then turned back because I was worried I would run out of water and/or daylight if I did the La Sal loop. I headed back the way I�d come and had the dad-blasted head wind again. !!! What the devil is this?!? How can you have a headwind in both directions?!?
By the time I got to the waterhole near the 191 junction, my knees were done. They felt like they were on fire. I stopped to get water, and then I had to spend the next two minutes telling myself it only hurts for the first two minutes.
I stopped at a convenience store in Moab to pick up a banana and another tea for the potassium and antioxidants. I hoped like heck they would help.
However, the line at the convenience store was about nine or ten people deep, and there were other people in the store looking for items. I didn�t have the patience or the foot power to wait. I pushed on.
Then I reached Zax. :)
I hadn�t planned to stop there until tomorrow night. But, well, I was hungry, my knees were on fire, and I was not having fun anymore.
I had a salad with an oriental dressing. Yummmm! I had a bowl of citrus fruit. That�s supposed to be antioxidant and Vitamin C. I had two slices of cheese pizza and one slice of white pizza with tomatoes and feta cheese. That was REALLY good. Zax is the next best thing to Beaujo�s.
On the way back to the tent, which is mostly uphill, I realized my bladder was about to burst, and I was very, very thirsty. But I realized I felt better. I again had to tell myself for the first two minutes that my knees would hurt for only a couple of minutes after leaving the restaurant. And sure enough, I actually felt great.
I assumed I�d done about 60, maybe 62 miles. I was discouraged. I had about decided Ride the Rockies is beyond my ability.
I checked my mileage when I was putting up the bike. A whopping 75.4 miles, the most I�ve EVER done in one day!!!
Okay, so I didn�t get the 80 miles I�d planned, but I came darn close. And I feel pretty good, now that I�ve showered. I�m sunburned, and my hips, back and knees hurt, but not so bad anymore. I can�t tell yet if I�m going to ride tomorrow, but I�m happy. I finally achieved a high mileage day from start to finish!
