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On the Road Again |
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Dan S, Sir Mr. Dr., and I met at Weston Center (WC) and joined a group of 5 coming in from Newton City Hall (NCH) to ride a MacLong yesterday afternoon.
Despite Pete L not being with us, we were moving along the John S Memorial Gutbuster at a pretty good clip when Dan flatted. I stopped to assist.
What happened next was a comedy of errors that nonetheless ended well. So, some good spring reminders as we knock the cobwebs off our outdoor legs and brains. Of course, since winter appears to be back ... Dan was riding his 'cross bike with what looked like fat bike tires. Okay, so they were really only 33s, but they seemed huge. Too huge, it turns out, for the spare tubes that we were each carrying. [ERROR 1] LESSON: Be sure your tubes match your tires (and while were on the topic, that your valve stems match your rims). In the process of working on Dan's tire, I had my saddle bag (with van key) open. Despite having suffered a multi-hour, multi-hundred dollar open saddle bag mishap in the Phoenix desert in 2010, I apparently hadn't learned. Having concluded that we couldn't get Dan riding again, the plan was for me to head back and get my van. With saddle bag open. [ERROR 2] Fortunately, I only made it 100 yards or so before I remembered.' The key was already half out of the bag. A quick zip and I was good to go. LESSON: Always rezip saddle bags and other enclosures as soon as you've stowed or removed the desired item. It wasn't until the end of the Nashawtuc run that I realized that backtracking to 117 to WC would have been the faster route. The sun was getting lower and it was starting to get colder, and Dan was far enough from civilization to duck into a store for warmth. [ERROR 3] LESSON: Think about the objective (getting back quickly), not the original plan (riding the MacLong route). At about this time, it also occurred to me that I should have taken down Dan's phone number and given him mine. [ERROR 4] I had it in an old phone, but not my current one. I had email, and assumed that Dan did too, but we hadn't coordinated on that. LESSON: Check to be sure that you have appropriate contact information. As I passed LSRHS (planning to go Plympton to Water Row to 27 to 20, the most direct route I could envision now that the backtrack to 117 option was out), I realized that I was vulnerable to my own flat. Dan still had my spare tube. [ERROR 5] LESSON: Take a quick inventory before you head off on a rescue mission. Don't let the rescuer become the rescuee. When I got back to my van, I stowed my bike and checked my email. Dan had managed to sufficiently inflate the tiny tube and was heading back. He didn't share his route, so I had to guess in order to backtrack and check on him: skip Oxbow and turn south on 126 before heading east on Glezon. Wrong--Dan, in true Mac fashion, chose to ride the full MacLong, and we missed each other. [ERROR 6] LESSON: Map out contingency plans in the event that the stranded rider becomes unstranded. No harm, no foul. Dan made it back fine, and I had a topic to start the spring writing season. |
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