Flat Tire and Fastest Commute

Well, it finally stopped raining, mostly anyway, and I was eager to get back on the bike after two enforced days off.

On Friday I decided to do the North Danville loop, giving me ~19 miles total for the day once I made it back home. When I got to Danville I had picked up a piece of glass and flatted my rear tire. That gave me the opportunity to practice my tire changing skills while sitting on the side of the road. Luckily I'd extra time so I wasn't late for work.

Flatting made me realize I had no spare tires, so if I cut up one badly I'd be stuck until I could replace it. As I'd been wanting to get a new set of shorts and a jersey, I decided to go ahead and place and order with Bike Nashbar, my usual source for cycling stuff. I've used Performance Bike as well, but for some reason I like Nashbar better. So I have 2 tires, 2 tubes, bib shorts, a jersey (matching colors of course), base layer t-shirt and chain cleaning fluid that should come on Wednesday.

Yesterday I headed out early planning on riding the same route to work. I was only about 1.5 miles out when I realized I'd forgotten my wallet so had to turn back to the house. I didn't feel like doing the extra distance I'd get if I went back and did my planned route, so I went straight to town and then tacked on distance out the North Danville road to get to the milage I wanted (about 15.5 miles on the outbound leg). This took me out to North Danville Village, where I turned around. I pushed relatively hard and by the time I returned home after work I managed to average the commute at 14.4 mph, which I'm pretty certain is my best time on the commuter bike.