Wow...is it "that time of the month" already?

What a day I had today...

Ever had one of those days that features a perfect dovetailing of misfortune AND serendipity? You are left hanging in the middle wondering "what next?"

Lessee...

Woke up late. Slept thru the #1 alarm and was awakened by the Not To Be Ignored #2 alarm. Spent 20 mins on the pot enjoying severe cramps and rampant trots. Showered just after 5:30 and still somehow managed to make my departure window at 5:50. Sky was dark and foreboding, so I wore my shell and used the cover for the A.W.S. Was still dry at the time tho'.

My rear tire popped halfway down 84th.

I didn't even try to pump it back up this time. I confirmed that there were no holes in the tire, and walked quickly back to the Shell at 112 & 84th. I used the hi-pressure air hose to confirm what I already suspected: that slit someone put in the tube stem with an X-acto knife had finally worked its way thru and the valve stem had delaminated from the tube nipple. Air was rushing out just as fast as the hose pumped it in...

...things like that just make ya wanna BEAT on someone, ya know??

Nyway, I swapped the (sealant-treated) tube for the spare, and rode back home. Took the car to work (6:31 departure) and arrived in sufficient time to clock in at 7AM precisely.

I ran out of patches yesterday while trying to fix all the holes in the treated front tube...had to call on Greg K at 10:30 PM to borrow some more! Note about slime sealant: you still have to patch the holes...you just don't have to patch them right away. Note II: holes in sealant-treated tubes tend to accumulate over time. Arrgh...to spend all that effort shoring up the front tire and then have the back one let go on me. That valve stem cut nonsense is the WORST sort of tire sabotage you can pull on a bike...worse even than slashing the sidewall (and I've had that happen as well). It renders the tube USELESS...sealant-treated or not. Also, it's SNEAKY. The tire won't lose pressure all at once, and the damage is such that most cyclists (even savvy DIY wrenches like me) won't notice it at first. This is the second tube I've lost to this vandalism...and on a different wheel, as well.

--Some of the wrenches in the audience will claim the slit in the valve stem came from abrasion against the hole the stem passes through in the wheel rim. Wrong: first, the slit was cut at an angle; second, the slit was a few mm above the base of the stem...abrasions occur further down; third, this has happened on two separate wheels. One wheel can have burrs near the hole where the valve passes through; but wheel #2 doesn't...I made certain.

Anyway...I got to work on time. IT RAINED THE REST OF THE DAY. Ever feel like life is trying to tell you something? Tomorrow or Friday I've got to try to fix the window on the car, and I need it to not be raining when I do.

I may ride tomorrow...rain or no. I need to develop some more cohones when it comes to braving the elements.

Work was weird too...lots of hassle, yet things automagically seemed to work out anyway.

Laurie has decided, in usual Laurie style, on a unilateral move into Granpa's (former) suite downstairs. We CANNOT actually move any of his stuff out of the house (yet). So we're moving it into the back corner of the downstairs TV room. About where the "office" I've been dreaming of would have been if we were going with the "landlord" plan. Apparently we aren't going to be renting out the suite any time soon. The kid's toyroom is moving into the downstairs TV room and Colin will be moving into the former toy room (actually our third upstairs BR). My computer is already moved downstairs and I am enjoying an internet connection that DOESN'T pass thru a flaky wireless dongle with poor signal pickup. I need to ask Keith if connecting directly to the modem is a good idea, or if I should hook up the router and connect thru that. We'll see...

This is gonna be soooo embarrassing if Granpa actually makes a miracle recovery and gets sent back home for a while...