My First Flat!

Saturday was our last BRick- yes, lots of LASTS this week! My ride was hard- really hard. It had just rained, the roads were slick and everyone was getting flats. Towards the end of my second loop I stopped on the side to watch a fellow teammate change her tire. I hadn't had one yet and wanted to learn first hand what to do just in case. I got back on my bike after she pumped up her new inner tube and I headed back for the run. After the run a mentor looked at my tire and noticed it was flat! Yup, I had a flat. So Coach Mike came over and with an audience of a few other teammates, helped me change the tire. It was the back tire which I guess is harder because of the gears. I also had replacement tubes with short valves and for my wire rim tires I need longer valves. THere is so much to learn with all of this. Who even knew there was a difference? An inner tube is an inner tube, or so I thought. My Co2 cartridge was a waste and instead we used a hand pump to put air back in the tire- the pump could reach the shorter valve. I rode home just fine but something still felt off. THe next night I met LW for a ride around the park. I made the very stupid mistake of riding up 8th ave in the bike lane instead of taking the path along the WSH. The city is bike friendly and has special lanes, but honestly i've never been so scared. It was a total nightmare near 34th street and again by Port Authority. Taxis veer in every direction. Pedestrians walk out into the street without looking. Cars make sharp left turns. It was hellish and I'll never do it again. By the time I made it to the park I was completely freaked out. It took me awhile to fully relax. The park was crowded but riding with LW was great. I love riding and gossiping and riding and talking. Its the perfect workout. I was still having a hard time going at a good, strong pace... finally LW noticed a noise coming from my bike - a noise i had been ignoring not knowing the source. We stopped and tried to figure it out- my front break pad was tight on my wheel. No wonder why it was so hard to pedal, i was constantly breaking! We thought we fixed it and got back on our bikes to finish our ride. The noise came back and we pulled over near Cat Hill and then again after Harlem Hill. Another cyclist stopped and showed me where to fix the breaks and like magic everything was fine and away we went! The noise is gone, I can pedal at a good, steady state and I can keep up... I guess i've just been getting a really good workout!