Training Report

Today I did a half hour or so of easy running during track practice, and then went home.  When I got home, Dad and I  loaded up our cycling gear, and went of to Fanshawe Lake for a trail ride.

When we got there, I set my tire pressure, and did all the normal pre ride stuff.  Shortly after I got out of the parking lot, I crashed.  There was a sandy corner that I took too hard, apparently.  When I fell I got some road rash on my hip, some minor scratches on my right calf, and a fairly deep inch long gouge in my chin.

I immediately began bleeding all over everything.  I got blood on my bike, my shirt, and my pack.  Naturally, since I couldn't see how bad it was, I made a joke about hardcore cyclists using blood as chain lube.  I also apparently said some bad words.  We got the first aid kit out (its mandatory gear for life you know), and he patched me up.  He did a fantastic job actually, except that he used my helmet straps as anchors for some of the tape.  This meant I could not take my helmet off.  It kinda sucked.

The bleeding stopped quickly, and we continued our ride.  Things were fine until I got my first (of many) mechanicals.  During the crash my derailleur had become slightly out of tune, which drove me crazy for the remainder of the ride.

The next issue was going over a log, the nose of my saddle dropped.  I had been messing with a new seat position, and I had failed to tighten the bolt adequately.  I corrected this, and continued to ride.

There is a short road section linking parts of Fanshawe's trail system.  I locked out my fork for this section, and forgot to open it later.  As I rode a root garden, the shock was compressed, but not allowed to spring back up.  This became apparent when the tire started buzzing the bottom of my head tube.  I fixed the issue by opening the shock, which sprung back nicely.

My fourth mechanical was a flat tire.  I run tubeless, and the valve in my tire had become clogged with sealant.  So, as recommended by the bike shop, I applied alcohol.  This worked great, and freed up the valve.  It also spilled onto the tire, and dissolved a spot where the sealant had done its job.  This caused me a slow leak, which resulted in a flat which became un-ridable a few hundred meters from the car.  Instead of bothering with a tube and C02 cartridges, I just got picked up by Dad in the car.

The moral of the story is, always be prepared, and never make jokes about Lance.  He has some sort of cycling power that he will use against you, and your bike.

Anyway, here are some slightly gory pics.

Not a happy camper

This looks worse than it is.  

Some fun road rash

It almost looks like lips, doesn't it?  (insert joke about kissing the road)

All stitched up

There were mixed reactions at school.  Some people thought it was cool, some people mistook it for a goatee, and one person immediately asked "hows the bike?".