Good thing I squeezed the rear tire on my Cervelo Caledonia last night. It was very soft so I set about fixing the flat. The hardest part was getting the Continental GatorShell tire off the rim and then back on the rim. In between that I found a microscopic hole and patched it. But re-mounting the tire I pinched the tube adding another hole. I opted to replace the tube. The tube has a removable valve core so I hope that doesn’t come back to haunt me if I have to fix a flat out on the road. I tightened the valve core so hopefully it will not unscrew after pumping up the tire. This would’ve made today’s bike ride start much later. A smaller fix was replacing the speed sensor battery as I was getting ready to roll out the door. No problem getting that exchanged.

With all of that behind me I started the ride at 11:16 AM riding the Cervelo Caledonia bike. The late start probably was going to mean not seeing other cyclists. I compensated for the late start by choosing the Atascocita – Spanish Cove – Walden route to shorten the time and distance to get to FM 1960 where I usually see cyclists. They were long gone by the time I got there. Today marked the 8th time on this route in 2023. I biked 34.43 miles getting to within 20 miles of my 360 road mile goal for November. I achieved two Strava top results: 3rd fastest time on Kings Crossing South (2:03) and Local Legend on Kings Harbor Loop Reverse. I finished the ride at 1:55 PM.

The sun tried to stay out but the clouds had their day. This made the perceived chill go up and down. I wore a light weight long sleeve jersey and a short sleeve jersey but a heavier long sleeve jersey would’ve felt warmer. Weather: Start 70 degrees, humidity 73%, dew point 60.8, mostly cloudy, wind NE 10 mph; Finish 72 degrees, humidity 68%, dew point 60.9, mostly cloudy, wind variable 5 mph.