102nd ride

Today's ride was most unusual. It was both considerably later, and considerably shorter, than those to which I am accustomed. As we did not get home from our Colorado vacation until nearly 3 a.m. today, I decided to forego bicycling to work today. Instead, I rode to our Weight Watchers meeting this evening, and had planned to take a 10-mile route there.

However, when I was just under a mile into the ride, it seemed to me that the front tire was mushy and not riding well. I quickly concluded that its pressure must be off from what it should be due to the extreme heat we have been experiencing. (I later felt this was counter-intuitive, as excessive heat should raise, not decrease the pressure.) And when I stopped and looked at it, I thought it looked low. Since I was still fairly close to home, I deemed it best to turn around and go back and pump it up.

However, when I got home, I couldn't be certain that I was connecting the pump to the tire correctly. I should have been able to, as I've done it twice before under the tutelage of my friend Doug, my father in biking, as it were. But I wasn't sure. However, when I began to pump, it showed a pressure of over 100 pounds, and I believe Doug told me mine should be about 85 pounds. (I'll clearly need to see if I can get a little refresher course from Doug.) But, at any rate, it seemed clear to me that the pressure wasn't too low, after all. So, at that point, I modified the ride I had planned to do, and ended up (going to the meeting and then coming home) with a ride of 6.2 miles in a poky 40 minutes.