Ring Shank Nail Turns Good Bike Ride to Gloomy One
Another bike ride without a bike computer but I used my FitBit Versa 2 and the Wahoo fitness app on my phone. With those starting a ride is not as smooth as a bike computer. I rolled to the street on my Canyon Endurace, stopped to start the FitBit and the Wahoo app and began the bike ride at 8:29 AM. As usual for Saturday I rode the “Atascocita – Huffman – Walden” route hoping to see other cyclists along the route.
For the first time in a long time the temperature was 75 degrees at the start when lately it has been in the upper 80’s to 90’s. The humidity was above 90% though and the dew point was 74.6 making for a muggy tide. Wind was light at 5 mph which didn’t help keep me cool as I warmed up. An overcast sky would keep the sun hidden for the whole bike ride. Weather while I biked: start 75 (98% humidity, 74.6 dew point), mostly cloudy, wind N 5 mph. Finish 84 (83% humidity, 78.1 dew point), overcast, wind E 5 mph. I still filled my CamelBak with lots of ice and water thinking it would be much warmer by the time I finished.
The ride went as I thought it would until around 13.28 miles as I crossed Lake Houston heading east I heard a hiss and a clicking sound from the rear wheel. Look at the video for details. Walking to The Cedar restaurant parking lot on the east side of the lake Fred, a jogger going west, stopped to ask if I was okay. I explained what happened and showed him the thing that caused the hiss and clicking. I told him I was walking to a quieter place and he shook my hand before continuing his jogging.
In addition to the flat my GoPro camera mount would not stay in position, swiveling back to the handlebar pointing the camera to the sky. After “fixing” the flat I removed the mount and put the camera in my jersey pocket, not thinking to mount the camera upside down like I used to put it. After not recording a cyclist when I turned right onto Fairlake Lane I stopped at the church and put the camera in the upside down position but forgetting to change the lockscreen setting. I stopped again and fixed that about 1/2 a mile farther on Fairlake. The camera still moved with each bump but not as much.
Making the turn around on Old Atascocita Road east of FM 2100 I decided to not go north on FM 2100 because the dirt looked damp and I didn’t want to sling mud on the Canyon like I did the Lynskey bike the other day. So far the flat tire patch seemed to be holding. I rode back to FM 1960 and headed west. Ahead of me I saw a red blinking light in the distance. I sped up and got close enough to see another cyclist but they turned right before I got closer. To keep on my route I stopped at the traffic light at Atascocita Shores Drive to ride through Walden. while I waited two other cyclists pulled up and we chatted until the light changed. The patch still seemed to be holding air.
Riding through Atascocita south of FM 1960 I noticed the rear tire getting soft and decided to not ride through Walden but go to Christ The King Church on Pinehurst Trail Drive to see why. I knew why, the patch didn’t stay. My only option was to put my spare tube in and ride from there. See the video for more.
With the tube in place and aired up I headed north on Pinehurst Trail to Kingwood. I felt a few rain drops but they went away. After everything else getting soaked wasn’t something I looked forward to. The ride was going well until I looked at my FitBit at 27.92 miles and it said no GPS so it quit tracking the ride. It did resume close to the end of the ride showing 28.42 miles when I finished compared to Wahoo fitness app’s 29.71 miles. Those miles put me at 203.9 for the week and 162.88 miles for September. I barely made my 200 mile week but at a good spot for reaching my 700 mile goal for the month. A recap of the month.
A recap of the week’s rides. I plan on not biking on Sunday, September 6th.
Finishing the bike ride at 12:04 PM I breathed a sigh of relief. The bike ride that started off good went downhill after 13.28 miles. After getting home I decided to turn on my Bolt computer that went berserk a couple of days ago. Surprisingly it started up , showed the normal screen and reported a low battery. It paired to my phone and showed the ride summary of the day it went berserk. It’s charging and I will see if it works. Should I trust it on the next ride? My backup Lezyne computer may arrive tomorrow just in case.
