2021 mileage: 3712.2
This morning's ride could easily be captured by the word "problematic." I went out about 7:15 to air up my tires, as I always do on Saturday morning, but with the third and final one (the rear wheel), the valve would not screw shut after I had filled it with the air. I figured the valve must have developed some sort of issue, but I did the best I could with it, and reapplied the cap, hoping it would get me through the ride OK.
That hope was in vain. I set off to ride the Packard/Platt Square, and got almost 3 miles into the ride, by Briarwood Mall, when the back end began to weave. I stopped and checked, and sure enough, the back tire was way, way down in air pressure.
Assessing my options, I knew I could get an Uber, go home and get the car, put the rack on it, and come back for the trike. Another possibility was to text Michelle, but I hated to disturb her before 8:00 on a Saturday, when I knew she'd still be sound asleep for some time yet.
Finally I figured I'd haul out my little portable pump and see if I could pump the tire up. Amazingly, this worked! And evidently in the process of attaching and detaching the pump, something must have fixed itself in the valve, because now it closed OK.
Feeling pretty good about the state of things at that point, I was tempted to keep going with my original plan. But upon further reflection, I decided it would be more prudent to see if I could muster up some atypical (for me) conservatism and cut the ride short rather than seeing if I could do the additional 10+ miles. So I rode the loop around Briarwood, and then headed home, finishing with 5.5 miles in 44 minutes. I had wanted to try and spend more time on music today anyway (both piano practice for an upcoming performance at church on August 29, and also on composition), so this will enable that.
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