Today's ride was an adventure. It was raining (drizzling) when I left my house shortly after 11:00. This rain ended quickly, as I expected. By the time I reached the end of the trail at 21 miles, big raindrops had begun to fall. I had 9.6 miles to go. I forged ahead, not pausing to put my plastic rain jacket on. With about 4.3 miles to go, I had a flat front tire. During the replacement of the tube, I got drenched. Believe it or not, I was still in good spirits. I replaced the tube, inflated it (with a CO2 canister), packed up my things, and headed for home. Two miles later, with heavy rain still pelting me, the front tire blew. I heard a small explosion and felt air rush over my right shin. I brought the bike safely to a halt and began walking. I still don't know why the tire blew, but there was nothing I could do about it, since I had used my only tube and canister. Luckily for me, the rain had stopped by this time. I walked the bike the final 2.25 miles to my house. The image in this post (click to enlarge) shows the threatening sky, before it unloaded on me. I know it sounds crazy, but I love adversity. The more difficult things are, the more I relish them.
