Tony's Day on River Mtns Loop

Tri Misadventures
Sub Title: Monday’s Tri Practice: Cycling River Mountains Loop Trail by Tony Taylor (an 68- or 69- years old tri guy - see endnote #1)

19 May 2008

It started out o.k., except for the should haves: I should have got all my stuff together the night before; I should have used my cycling checklist Monday morning.
On Sunday (the hottest day to date of this year) I decided that Monday was the day to cycle the full River Mountains Loop Trail for the first time this year; I wanted to get an early start before it got too hot and it wasn‘t too windy. Since I live in Boulder City, this would be a door-to-door, solo ride.

I got up and was out the door before 0600. I was trying a new-to-me, but not new bike helmet. I jury rigged a visor on it, and my sunglasses wouldn’t go all the way up; it was a bit annoying, but I wasn’t going to go back home and get my regular helmet.

I was o.k. for the first 2.10 miles; then going downhill by the Nevada Welcome Center (at about 35 mph), I hit a rock that went ping-clunk. At 2.11 miles, I realized I had a flat (later determined to be a pinch flat). Hey, the good part is that I didn’t crash. The bad partS are: my computer blew off (see endnote #2) AND I forgot my bike bag with spare inner tube. I muttered to myself, "OK, Go find your computer before a car runs over it." I took off my cycling shoes and jogged dejectedly UP the hill. I found a nice shiny cell phone - and attached the battery cover … it works and the first entry is "Mom’s cell phone." (Curiosity question to self: How does loose a cell phone while driving?) As much fun as this was, I was still frantically looking for my bike computer. I chucked offending rocks off the road, turned around and went back to my bike. Lo and behold, I find my computer! It works, but looks the worse for wear.
I phoned "rescue one" alias my wife (who is NOT a morning person and it‘s now 0640). I nicely ask for pick up and told her I was at the same place she picked me up before when I had two flats a few years before.

In the mean time a "Lady in Black" (she was wearing black cycling clothes) asked if I needed help. I must have looked funny ‘cause I got bored waiting, so I took the bike’s front wheel off and skinned the tube out. There I was: tire laying there, helmet off (I tore the offending visor off), shoes off standing in stocking feet, and since my water bottle fell over, there was water spilling on hissing asphalt … get the picture? (I wasn’t mad, but kind of fatalistic … I hadn’t had bike problems for quite awhile so it was my time.) I think I said I was beyond help and my wife was coming. The Lady in Black circled me on her bike and said, well it’s MONDAY (that didn’t sink in real fast since I’m retired and have a legitimate reason not to know what day of the week it is). We chatted, she continued circling (she was in training and I guess stopping wasn’t an option, or I looked dangerous and she wanted to be prepared to make a quick get away). You’d never guess what she is training for - water ski racing! (See endnote #3 as I don’t want to sidetrack this story line.)

I was gallant and offered to take my rescuer out to breakfast (we usually have exciting things like toast, fruit or cereal at home) - she surprised me and said no thanks (she’s polite … and remember, she’s not a morning person). Well that took away my excuse of not continuing my ride saga.

When we were home, I gave the "found" cell phone to my wife (she likes to solve problems) and asked if she could contact the owner.

My next plan was (still trying to beat the heat) to continue on my back-up bike, on which I had just re-attached my aero bars and test rode around Boulder City. (See endnote #4.) I drug it out of the shed only to find it had a flat rear tire!

O.K. back to my original bike - put in a new tube. Bathroom break (yeah like you want to hear this) and hit the road again (not the best choice of words!).

This time it all turned out well. I completed the 38.24-mile loop in 2 hours 53.48 minutes, with a maximum speed of 40.9 mph, and an average of 13.2 mph (those who know: 3 sisters are in this route). No, the loop is not complete (so I used road shoulders when I have to), but it’s getting closer.

On the plus side:
-I completed my mission.
-I didn’t loose my cool.
-My wife found a happy mother of a daughter who lost her cell phone (See endnote #5 for more fascinating details!) and I took my mountain bike (green energy/anti-global warming) to the post office and sent the cell phone on its way to Georgia.

All in time for lunch!

Endnote 1: I’m short (5’ 8"), slight, and have grey short-cropped hair (not bald). I’m 68 in human years; 69 in triathlete years. Triathlete have their own culture: age is based on how old you’ll be on December 31 of the current year. This is the easy part of tri culture, the terminology took me a while; for instance, T1, T2, bricks, intervals, fancy bike names, gear ratios, swim jargon, triathlete celebrities, sprint, Olympic, intermediate, etc. I’m low tech, low cost, local tri guy. With a few exceptions, I don’t invest in far away exotic trips.

Endnote 2: bike computer. The doohickey (note my hi tech tri language) lock/release tab that holds the head to the holder broke off. I phoned Cateye’s 800 number and got a free replacement holder. Hah (if you are an uninformed bike computer person), you think this is easy. I’m old fashioned and have a wire computer, which means taking all the wires off that were held on with band aids, electrical tape, zip ties …, including the cadence sensor. Yuk - I put off replacing it correctly, so it fell off.

Endnote 3: My friend, the "Lady in Black" is training for a water ski race in the Belgium Canals this July!? How does one do that? How wide are the canals? How fast will you be going? (I got some answers on 23 May: 60-70 miles per our, depending on conditions; they will rent a ski boat and her husband will drive it; it’s a diamond race [sorry no explanation] and is probably a European championship, but is open to international entrants; and doesn’t know how wide the canals are.)

Endnote 4: I was very aware that switching from one bike to another would test my brain cells … as it did the other day when I rode my old bike with the shifters on the down tube (see I threw in fancy bike terms to impress you) and I was trying to shift like I was my newer bike where the shifters are on the brake levers. When I got back on my newer bike, I couldn’t find the shifters.

Endnote 5: The lost cell phone owner. My wife tried to use the "found" cell phone to call "mom," but it won’t connect, so she used her cell phone. The happy, excited mom said her daughter was traveling alone cross country from California to Georgia, but didn’t know where she lost her new cell phone. We got the daughter’s address and sent the phone that day.
* I’m usually curious about a writer who’ve I read, so if you don’t know me, this may help (or confuse) you. If you don’t care, quit reading. I help out at tris (read volunteer/work).
If I do a good job, I may get freebies or talk my way into complementary competing in the tri (thanks Brogg Sterrett, Frank Lowery, Eddie Carlin …). I really volunteer for the athletes and for the excitement. Tris are logistical - they consist of three different sports (swimming, cycling, and running) with basic challenges: guts, stamina, patience, and over coming mental, physical exhaustion. It’s fun to facilitate, watch, and participate.

The end.