28 days - Leanderthal

North of Austin is a small town, Leander. We rode 33 miles in the country around Leander today on the ride called Leanderthal. Very nice weather, great ride.

Had my first flat tire. My how things have improved in *that* department. Easy off, easy on, and I used this CO2 cartridge thingie to inflate the tire fast. Wow! Good thing I had a companion who showed me how to use it though, I could easily have exploded the tire. I cannot believe how much pressure that thing had in it.

Found the offending bit of metal, a piece of wire about an inch long. Nasty flat.

The next interesting bit, we headed (careened?) down a steep hill and just as we came around a corner, we were confronted with a low water crossing of the South San Gabriel river. Took the opportunity to take off my shoes and cool my feet, and yup, the water was ICY. Nice rest break though. Washed up a bit and took it easy for a few minutes.

A pickup driver waiting to cross told us about the really tough hill we faced on the way out of the valley. He was right on about how hard it was. I really thought it was the end my ride that day.

Since the monitor system was now working right, I turned on the altitude and temp sensors (yes, this watch does have everything!) and the hill profile I saw when I got home really told the story. Straight down and straight up out of that river valley, with a near maximum heart rate effort on the way out. Nice.

If the weather is good (and probably even if it isn't), tomorrow I am going to attempt a hilly ride in Dripping Springs to see what it's like to do two long rides in two days, with the second day full of hills.

After all, it's only 4 weeks left until the MS 150.