With La Tour De Spruce only a day away, I figured I would nail down the "stop & regroup" points of the ride. I'd done a bit of drawing on the paper map, comparing it with the ride from Wednesday night, and came up with a stop every 4 - 5 km. Looked good on paper so I hopped on the bike this morning to map it out with the Map My Ride app but not before gearing Sadie out with a borrowed GoPro to compliment her existing Nike cell pocket. Such a leap forward in technology!And when I say "Hopped on the bike" I mean, threw it in the back of the Dingo and drove over to the start to hop on.
I arrived at the Superstore parking lot in Spruce Grove to find barely a soul stirring at 9am. This bodes well for Sunday as I've since driven through the lot in the afternoon and the top (south) end is still fairly empty. Plenty of room for cyclists tomorrow! Starting my app, off I went. I found the trails, that we had ridden Wednesday, fairly easily so anyone who is worried about getting lost, just stick with me or Mayor Stu. We both know where the heck we are going.
Although there was a race or fun run going on this morning, I saw few runners and, for the most part, had the trails to myself. The first spot that I planned for a stop was 4km in. Not a bad distance and plenty of room for bikes to congregate. Off to the next planned stop - not bad, falls in somewhere around the 8 km mark. Hmmmm, and makes sense to stop here as there is a bit of a "hidden" path to find. That will work! Off again towards the next stop. This one is dear to Mayor Stu's heart. We'll call it the secret park and I think you are all going to love it too. I never even knew it was there. This stop takes place at the 12 km mark. Heading east towards the next stop, I made it to Jubilee Park and something didn't feel right. Hopping off the bike, I heard it - PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Yup, a flat.
My rear tire was leaking loudly and was flat, flat, and flat. The thoughts running through my head went something like: "Huh! Now how on earth did that happen? What am I going to do? DRAT! My Dingo is all the way back across town at Superstore (my house is MUCH closer to Jubilee than Superstore is). MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! WHAT am I going to do? ERRRRR, I guess I can try to change it. I do have a spare tube & levers and I did get a lesson from United Cycle last year when they hosted the Enbridge Rider to Conquer Cancer riders for bike night. Can I do that? Well, why not? Okay, I'm going to change my tire!"
And so I plunked down on the grass and started to disassemble Sadie's rear axel and remove the wheel.
I have to say, I am quite pleased with myself. I remembered everything that nice young bike mechanic showed us and even checked for the source of the flat by running my fingers around the inside of the tire - all the time holding my breath that I wasn't going to impale my finger on something stuck in the tire. I didn't! :) It was a bit more of a project than I had counted on when the pump kept taking off the nib on the end of the tube spout and I kept having to blow up the tire again. Fortunately, in the end, I got enough air in to finish the ride and head back to Superstore to retrieve my Dingo and make a pit stop at Mud Sweat & Gears for a review of my work. THANK YOU GUYS!!!
I tracked the ride at just over 20 km (maybe 21) and now that the flat is out of the way, tomorrow should be a fantastic day! Don't forget to fill out your draw slip before we head out of the parking lot. I've got some great prizes for after the ride. :)
Sunday May 25th
Superstore Parking lot - Spruce Grove
110 Jennifer Heil Way
11:45 am meet time - 12:00 pm start time
20-25 km at an easy pace - suitable for kids
POPSICLES!!
We will be met by the NOW! Radio Trucksicle after the ride for free popsicles
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