It was the standard spring ride, a little drizzly, a cool 57 degrees, and on-and-off fog as the clouds settled over portions of the trail.
I did my usual ride starting at home, out through Oak Creek, up to the top of Dimple Hill, out the road to Lewisburg Saddle (descending Upper Horse along the way), and coming back to the top of Dimple Hill.
I decided to go down the face of Dimple Hill as a bit of a challenge because it was pretty wet. I knew the trail would be slippery, but since it's rarely used, it wouldn't be very muddy. I did stop a couple of times (front tire side-slip is still very scary), but rode it all. The plan was to then ride out the roads to MLK Jr. park, and back home along Walnut. You can check out the forest map here.
As I was descending Dimple Hill, my bike sounded a bit funny, but I was pretty focused on just getting down in one piece. Once I hit the gravel road I did a quick check... and the rear tire was going soft. drat.
I rode it a little further to see how much distance I could make before I had to pump it up.
Not much further I pulled over and got out my trusty pump. You see, the last time I had a flat, I didn't have the right spare tube. And I wasn't crazy about the pump I'd brought. So when I got home from that, I ditched the "new" pump for my trusty old pump.
Tonight I pulled it out and tried pumping it ... it was stuck. I finally got it to go, but the pump just felt weird. So I opened it up to check it out, and the gasket was stretched out and had a ton of crud built up... Long story short, I swore loudly and packed the pump back in the bag (so I can throw it away when I got home), and began the walk out.
My lovely wife came out to get me (a friend came over to make sure someone would be home if Simone woke), and I made it home only about an hour later than I would have w/out the flat.
So... the next time I switch to a "trusty old" whatever, I'm gonna triple check that the trusty thing still works.
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