"Tire"some

For some reason today I was really tired. Just downright exhausted; however, it seemed like it was about time that I got back up on the bike and tried again since my last crash. It wasn't the warmest of evenings, but I figured my son and I could get in a 10 mile ride and grab some dinner en route.

I never did inspect my bike after the crash. My ego and body were too wounded. Needless to say, my front tire was completely flat. After many attempts and a few unnecessary tools later, I managed to get the tire off - with only a minor surface puncture wound to the knuckle of my thumb. Off to the bike shop I went. Ten minutes later, I was back home with my new and improved tire. The attempt to put the tire back on proved more difficult than getting the tire off. After trying to bang the brakes open and then realizing they wouldn't move, I deflated the tire to put it back on. Probably not the best option, but it worked!

So we were finally on our way. My son was definitely struggling to keep up, so I wasn't pushing it by any means. My speedometer tracker wasn't working, likely due to my crash as well but could be because I somehow didn't put the tire on correctly. Life without a speedometer, I surely missed it! We were almost .5 mile from Subway for dinner, and 7 miles into the ride, when my son asked to stop. Yep, sure enough, he had a flat tire! Seriously...

We walked our bikes to Subway and had dinner. Then I left him with his bike and the cell to eat his chips and drink his lemonade while I raced home to get the car. Last year he had a flat tire several miles out and we both walked back - but it was mid-day and in the middle of nowhere that I felt safe enough to leave him. I figured he would be OK in Subway, especially with his recent independence of staying home alone for a few hours after school.

I pedaled as fast as I could. My thighs were burning and I was breathing hard. Clearly this was faster and longer than I had pedaled in a long while. It's clearly obvious that I am so out of shape. A friend emailed today and asked if I wanted to do the Boyne bike ride this weekend, good thing I'm not available, I might have met my fate! I made it home in just under 10 minutes. I could feel the slight wheezing of my asthma threatening to surface. I put away the bike, grabbed the car keys and off I went to pick him up.

He was fine. He thought it took me a longtime. I was hoping he would call one of the grandparents so that it didn't seem like he was waiting forever, but guess he decided against it. On the drive home, I went the way that I rode - which was likely not the shortest route but I avoided a really nasty hill. It was almost 2.4 miles. So just over 4 minute miles.

I'm sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow. Two tires in one day. Maybe I should invest in tire insurance.