Bad day on the road for me today.
Weather was gorgeous. So went out intending for a long’ish ride, with several big climbs and descends. There was a descend I know usually “grow” tons of potholes every spring. So when I saw a fresh sign “Bump”, I chuckled. Yeah, yea, for those who don’t know...
I slowly picked my way through the potholes. Then the pavement improved. I let the speed build up... Up ahead, the trees made a shadowy pattern on the road. In those shadows, there were another bunch of potholes, some with jagged edge! And I was speeding towards it at a decent clip...
My bike bounced like a bronco on them potholes. I was barely able to control the bike on a straight line without getting tossed off the side. And I hit some of the potholes HARD! I wasn’t even thinking about flats. I was just struggling to stay upright. When I got through, I felt it on my butt. That sickening “bang, bang, bang” jolting of rims hitting the pavement. I had a double flat!
I fixed one of them quickly. But the rim/tire combo was a little tighter on the other wheel. All the while I was debating whether to cut my ride short by turning around, as I would be without any more spares after I fixed the second flat. I was there long enough, one of the passing motorist slowed and asked if I needed help...
I didn’t feel like taking a ride inside a stranger’s car. But he has a pickup. So I asked if he could just let me and my bike ride in the bed. As we were actually not too far from where my car was. That worked.
Haven’t looked at the bike yet. I might have even potentially dented one of the rim. Good thing I got another bike. And I just bought a bunch of tubes...