Rough Night

[snyderd25]

Hi all! I'm new here! Thought I would post about my crazy night. I am an out of shape, overweight woman who signed up for a century ride with Team in Training. I was doing a short ride with a friend this evening... I almost got hit by a car on the way to meet her... it was totally my fault and I was saved by about 2 feet of air and good brakes on the car... Then I had a clipless pedal accident and fell... scraped knee, lots of bruises, the norm... AND THEN... I got a flat tire! My friend and I did the best we could, changed the tube, but had no luck getting air in it... so I sat in the dark while she rode off to get her car.

Add insult to injury, while I was in the shower, my dog ate my Terry cycling capris and a shoe.

This was not my day!

Hope you all made out better than I did!

Danielle

[salsabike]

My theory is, you got your quota of bad stuff done for a while! Congrats on surviving it and coming out laughing a little.

[hebe]

oh no! I hope you (and the dog!) are ok, chalk it up to the learning curve, and post some more to tell us how you're doing please! Welcome to TE.

[Maye]

You definitively had your quota and I'm glad that you are ok!!

[smittykitty]

You survived your "training" ride with humor! The century will be a piece of cake.

[Tri Girl]

Welcome to TE. Glad you're OK!! What a horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day!
Tomorrow HAS to be better.

Glad to have you around. Good luck with your TNT training and experience. I did a marathon with them a few years ago, and it was the most fun I've ever had training and racing. Which ride are you doing?

[snyderd25]

Hey ladies!

Thanks for the support!

Today was not much better, so I decided it was in my best interest to stay on my feet instead of two wheels. At least I got my tire fixed!

I am doing America's Most Beautiful Ride in Tahoe on June 3rd. I did a tri with TNT 5 years ago and had a great experience. I needed some structure and some motivation, so here I am again :-)

[CyclChyk]

Good for you and kudos! I too have been away from biking for about 5 years but I am BACK and this time, I plan on staying for awhile.

Let us know how your next ride turns out. Hopefully it will be a lot less painful for you.

[snyderd25]

I live in Philadelphia. I will drive to the burbs on Saturday to ride with TNT.

[ClockworkOrange]

Hi Danielle

OMG that sure was a bad day but that's what makes all the other days good.

Do you keep a note of when you do ride and what things happen, if not you should do.

My health has been crap for the last four years and I always write how things have been, especially when I am back to riding only 2 miles again. Then I look back at what I could do and it kind of inspires me.

Look forward to hearing of your future rides, however long or short.

Ride safe.

[Melalvai]

If that's your first training ride I can't wait to hear about the century.

[snyderd25]

Hi ladies! I considered a date with my couch instead of the team ride... but I felt guilty... so off I went. We did somewhere between 45-50 miles today... no trail riding, all roads and a whole lot of hills. I had two flat tires and some major shifting problems resulting in lost and jammed chains. I can't lie... there were some laughs, but some tears too. And a few walked hills. I don't know the last time I've asked so much of my body and been so exhausted. I got through... wish I did better, but I guess I should be glad I made it...

Whew... this is hard work! The TNT coaches and mentors really came through today... I even got some pushes up some hills. Real pushes... physically pushed. How are they so strong?

[snyderd25]

This is the link to my web site/blog/fundraising page where I tell all of my adventures if you want to peak.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/epa/ambbr12/dsnyderklo

[Trek420]

I had two flat tires and some major shifting problems resulting in lost and jammed chains ....

I'm wondering about the flats. Flats happen, a lot but you should not get that many. In my 5 California AIDS Lifecycle rides (7 days, 545 miles) I had 3 (three ) including all the training.

So there's something going on.

Everyone feel free to chime in with more tips. Let's keep you on the road.

Feel free to ignore us if any/all of this you already know:

Check your tire pressure often, at least before each ride. Under inflated tires are more prone to flats.

Don't hug that curb. Ride as far to the right as is safe to do so of course but not so far that you're in the debris. The rough road debris like broken glass etc is way on the right. Find a good line that's safe but outa that mess.

Speaking of debris if you ride over some stop safely and brush off the tires front and back. I can do this in motion for the front. Haven't got the hang of clearing the back . But just pull over, use your gloved hand, spin the wheels and brush it off.

You're getting repeat flats so if/when you fix a flat make sure to check all around the inside of the rim for bits of metal, rough spots on the rim, debris that will put you right back on the side of the road.

More tips, anyone else?

[marni]

I check my tires and wipe them down at the end of the every ride looking for cuts, nicks, miscellaneous stuff stuck in it, thorns etc. On longer rides, I will do this every time I stop.

marni.