Frustration

Photos
This is the closest I can come to depicting Chaos…tangled bittersweet vines at different times of the year. At least in the fall there is beauty in the yellow/orange/red berries. My Chaos yesterday did not have much beauty, but I guess, perhaps, it was bittersweet. Why so many lessons about “being” lately? Maybe it’s because it’s so difficult for me to do?

What is going on?
Yesterday was the first day I had a chance to ride my bike since REI made all the upgrades. As I wheeled it over to my car I could not help but notice the back tire was flat. WHAT? It’s a brand new tire and tube! So much for my early morning ride. AND to heap insult upon injury, REI doesn’t open until 10 a.m.

So I wait (all the while reminding myself that “in chaos I can only be.”). At 10 a.m. I start dialing their number…over and over and over again. Finally at 10:19 someone answers. What’s with opening at 10? I never mentioned it because I need help and help usually does not come from people you’ve ticked off. Yes there is a mechanic on duty on Saturday. Here I come!

Hey! It’s Bill. The same one who finished up my bike last Wednesday night. He couldn’t believe I had a flat. When he took the tire apart he could see it had blown at the base of the valve stem. That was a new one for him. He put in a new tube and I was on my way after kidding about they need to offer roadside assistance.

So I go to East Hartford’s Great River Park (the river is way higher than it was 2 weeks ago), and begin my ride which I have now decided will be from East Hartford to South Windsor and back. I got ½ mile down the road and I heard it…poooofffffff. Yep. Flat. Roadside assistance where are you? (In chaos I can only be…repeat as often as necessary until the urge to smash things subsides.)

Back to REI. Bill is beside himself. The same problem. The tube blew right at the valve stem. In desperation Bill put in a new rim liner and a tube from a different manufacturer. I’m on my way again. I restricted my ride to all the side streets around REI. I’m not going to be very far away this time if it blows. So far so good. The tube held up.

As I was riding around I felt that pedaling was harder than with my old tires. Now the new ones have a good plain surface in the middle, which should give me effortless rolling. I don’t think today was a good test, so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I really need to ride fully loaded to see what it’s like. I know the panniers will offer more wind resistance, and I need to know how much.