Unexpected number one was going on a bike ride today. I expected to get home from the medical center too late to ride but I was home around 12:30 PM and rolled out the driveway at 1:13 PM to ride the “Atascocita – Walden – E. Lake Houston Parkway” route going 27.71 miles

Weather as I got ready to go to the medical center before sunrise also didn’t look favorable either with rain and clouds. But by the time I started the ride the threatening weather was long gone. I dressed lightly with shorts, long sleeve jersey, short sleeve jersey, and biking gloves. Weather during the bike ride: start 75 (35% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind N10 mph. Finish 74 (34% humidity), mostly cloudy, wind N 16 mph, gusts 24 mph.

At times the 24 mph gusts required extra effort but I was able to keep a good pace and built my average speed up to 14.2 mph when I made the turn around at E. Lake Houston Parkway.

That’s when unexpected number two happened. As I rode across FM 1960 heading west the rear started wobbling and when I looked back at it I saw a flat tire. I can’t remember the last flat tire I had but last week I was thinking I needed to replace the patch kit in my seat bag because it was old. Pulling into the parking lot at AM Donuts by the Exxon station I rotated the tire to find the culprit and a staple came around. Leaving it in the tire I found a good spot to lean the Canyon bike against in the shade, removed the rear wheel, and got the old patch kit and tire tools out of the seat bag. Releasing the pump from the seat tube bracket I sat down and began loosening the tire bead on one side. Pulling the tube out (why do flats happen so close to the valve stem?) I spotted the hole. Removing the staple from the tire I used a sheetrock screw to make the hole more visible when I put the glue and patch on it. To be sure I had the correct spot I tried to attach the pump’s hose to the valve stem to air up the tube. I have a Leyzne hand pump with a hose that connects to the valve. When I tried to thread the hose onto the valve it kept screwing the Presta valve closure nut which would allow me to pump up the tube. After several attempts I figured the closure nut was sticking to the rubber gasket inside the hose connector so I put some water in the hose connector and then the hose connected . I pumped up the tube and the hole I marked was the one.The old tube of glue had enough glue for one last patch which I smeared around the hole. Waiting a couple of minutes I put the patch on and waited another minute or so pressing the patch firmly before pushing the tube back into the tire and remounting the bead. I started pumping up the tire stopping every so often to squeeze the tire to see if it was getting harder. After many pumps I couldn’t squeeze the tire anymore and decided it was ready to ride. To be sure the patch was going to work I waited a few minutes before putting the wheel back on the Canyon, putting the tools and patch kit away while I waited. These photos show the culprit staple and the fixed tire.

All this took about 25 to 30 minutes before I got back on the Canyon and rode west on FM 1960. Surprisingly riding over Lake Houston the wind wasn’t that bad and I kept my speed at 17 to 18 mph.

Once I was up to speed I worked on a rubbing noise from the front derailleur. With the chain in the small front ring and the 9th cog on the rear cassette the chain rubbed on the outside of the front derailleur. So I shifted to the big ring on the crank and shifted to the 6th cog on the rear and the rubbing went away. This change in gear increased my speed some with not too much extra energy. With the new 11-28T rear cassette I need to change the gears I ride in going forward.

Back in Kingwood I rode past the farmers’ market in Town Center Park and finished the ride at 3:48 PM about 30 minutes later than expected before the flat.

With the strong NW wind a cool front is supposed to pass through during the night. Friday might be too cool (for me anyway) for biking.

After today’s ride 2019 trails 2016, 2017, and 2108 YTD miles.