Dirty Flat

I was very excited Wednesday night. The forecast for Thursday called for sunny skies and plus ten degree weather. Whooot! Conditions were going to allow for my second out-of-doors ride in three days. With my day off I was going to try and get in a long'ish ride.

Crossed the border and headed over into La Belle Province for some scenery and some hills.

Mine Rd.  More like Land Mine Road.

Was on my way into Wakefield when my rear end (not my arse) was getting soft (yes, my arse is also soft) and wiggly (again, yes, my arse is also wiggly).  Flat.  Phooey.  Nothing worse than changing a rear tire in dirty, salty conditions.

Filthy. Should have taken a pair of rubber gloves this early in the season.

Did I say nothing worse than changing a rear flat in dirty, salty conditions?  Wait . . . there is something worse: having long horizontal dropouts and running fenders.  Had to take one side of the fender off in order to get the wheel off. 

As I was changing my flat I realized that I had forgotten my repair kit.  It must be early in the season as normally routine stuff isn't that routine yet.  I had a spare tube, but no patches in case I got a second flat.  I decided to cut my losses and turn for home so that if I did get another flat I wouldn't be so far away.  Despite not getting in a long'ish ride and getting totally dirty it was so nice to be out and about in the sun. 

Be prepared if you are riding on the Quebec side, there is lots of melt run off on the roads making it tricky to tell if there are big pot holes that you're riding into.  Keep your head up.