I took off on the F-5 at 6:15 this morning and rode 70 miles. I did a modified version of my State Highway 19 loop, again skipping the construction on CR2938. It occurred to me that I hadn’t checked the condition of CR2938 in a while, so near the end of the ride, at the point where CR2938 dead ends into US175, I turned onto CR2938 and rode a mile of it before turning around, just to check the condition of it. It’s still very rough.

My 16.2 mph average on the bike today is faster than what I usually average on my solo rides. I’d like to claim it was because of my hard work and expert training leading up to Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred, but the fact of the matter is that it was more about light winds and a faster tire. I had been trying to make an old, worn out Conti Gatorskin last a little while longer on my rear wheel. I have a new Conti Grand Prix to install on it, but am wanting to wait until just a couple of weeks before HHH to install it. But, last week, the Gatorskin started to fall apart, and I dug out an old Grand Prix to run for a few weeks until I’m ready to install the new one. A Grand Prix is plainly faster than a Gatorskin on my bike.

But an old Grand Prix flats more easily, and sure enough, I had a flat today. I had bought some new Park inner tube patches that don’t requre separate cement. You just put the patch on and go. So, for the fist time, I didn’t take the rear wheel off at all. I just popped the tire off on one side, pulled the tube out and patched it, then put the tire back on. In the past, I’ve always just replaced the tube, then patched the old one at home. I wasn’t especially fast at doing it this way for the first time, but it was certainly cleaner and easier than removing the rear wheel. And it’s holding so far.

It was 73 degrees at the start of the ride, much cooler than mornings have been lately, but after last night’s rain, it was humid. I was finished at shortly after 11:00 am though, so I missed the heat of the day.

Today’s route: