Tale of the Two Part Ride and the Magical Multi-Directional Head Wind

Sunday Group Ride w/ Cyclepath and solo ride - 45mi total
Total Time: 2:31:19
Avg mph: 17.7

Sunday morning I went out with the Cyclepath group to ride mines road/Del Valle but about 9 miles into the ride I got a flat tire. I had a feeling it was coming because we were on a section of road that had several large rocks on the shoulder and I couldn't move over to ride into the road because there was someone riding next to me on the left side. I tried my best to avoid most of the rocks but ended up hitting a few. Sure enough, I eventually had the wobbly feeling of a flat and I pulled over to the side. I told the group not to wait for me since I figured I could have it changed in a few minutes and I knew the B group was coming up behind us so I could always join up with them then catch back up to A. I got the tire changed and was pumping it back up when I noticed a thumbnail sized split in my back tire. I put a dollar bill inside between the tire and tube but even then I was a bit nervous about riding further out away from town with the split in my tire. I called Jen and asked her to come out and pick me up because I didn't really know exactly where I was and like I said before, I was worried about the split in the tire.

As I rode to find an area to wait for Jen to arrive I came to a road that I knew would take me to the LBS so I called Jen and asked her to meet me there. I figured I could get the shop's opinion on the tire and at least have them check the pressure and add more air if necessary. When I arrived at the store they said I "could" keep riding on it but it would need to be replaced in the near future so I just decided to buy a new tire and have them put it on so I didn't have to worry about it coming apart on a future ride. Once they had the tire on Jen had arrived so I put the bike on the car and rode with her to the grocery store at which point I headed out on a solo ride.

For the first two or three miles the going was great then I turned onto Dougherty Road and hit a monster headwind. This continued for the next few miles as I rode along and even kept up as I turned from North to West on the road (it has a long bend in it where it changes directions). I finally came to a junction and turned North again and the wind was still in my face. I knew that in about a mile I would hit another junction and would be able to turn East and hopefully out of the wind, but noooooooooooo that was not the case. I made the turn and the wind changed with me. I rode into a headwind for the next 10 miles, even after making a couple more turns. Finally the wind ceased and I finished out the ride with no wind to speak of.

Overall it was a great ride and I'm glad that I just replaced the tire so I don't have to worry about it when I'm 20 miles out of town and don't have any cell reception.