Late Afternoon Ride Along The Arkansas
Flat Tire Will And His Fair Weather Friends
Hauled my bike to the big city late this afternoon to ride the river path. While unloading my bike I made the acquaintances of Will who had a flat, and his friends who were taking advantage of the fair weathered day to go for a ride (thus the name I gave them). Will had a spare tube in his pack but no pump. I had a pump but we couldn’t get it to work with his Presta valve (yes we flipped the little insert thing around). I ran Will to the nearest bike shop where he was able to get air and get back on the path again.
To Will and his friends who were concerned about me not getting my ride in… No problem. I still got a nice ride in before the sun disappeared. It was nice to meet you all.
At one point during my ride I stopped to take in the scenery pulling my bike off the path and on to the grass. Before I got back on I checked for thorns in the tires and pulled them out. Next was getting them out of my fingers. The last one was stubborn and when it came out it left a small barb in my finger. I then made the (poor) decision to pull it out with my teeth since my other hand was gloved. Now thorns in my tires were the least of my problems. Somehow this thorn ended up stuck under my tongue. I spent the rest of the ride with my finger in my mouth trying to get the irritating thing out. Good grief!
Geese on the Arkansas River. Cowtown in the background.
More photos from the ride.
