The long holidays have not been good to my cycling. The Christmas break on Thursday and the New Year on Monday does not mean that it is easier to go cycling. the holidays also means more weddings to attend, and more places to visit. It is also the best time to visit immediate and distant family/friends/shopping complexes/etc... you get the drift.
It has been a week since I last cycled. So I planned (need/want) to put in a ride tonight, and invited the usual suspect. CH and Lei says yes, Big says maybe and Warimad is still on leave. No worries, even if its three people, we'll still ride. Tries to coax Big to commit, but he says he is still tired from the journey last night. Sure, no worries. Take a rest mate.
Go back home early and cook something to eat. CH asked if we could meet a bit later, while Lei is still on his way home and will confirm his coming later. In the end, Lei could not make it and I SMSed CH to meet at 915pm at the usual place. Felt heavy though. It could be the nasi goreng agaknya... malas betul rasanya nak kayuh!
Am not wearing my usual long cycling pants so I felt a bit 'exposed'. The night is cool, and my legs is cold, and it took such a long time to warm up. I only felt better after Alamanda, climbing that incline and continued to crank it up going down towards PICC. The new RD seems OK but there is still some problem with shifting. Nothing too big except for the fact that CH overtook me before the top. Must be my leaden leg.
Decided to do a double loop so before long we are away from PICC towards Alamanda sprinting away when disaster struck. I suffered a puncture. No bang, no sound, no fireworks whatsoever. Just a sudden wobble of the back tires and that spells the end of my ride. I was stopped by a small sharp rock. Ceh!
The problem tonight is that my rear tire is on a deep rim, and the tube that I brought along has a shorter valve. Not to mention I did not bring my patch kit lest I could have patch the offending tire there and then. thought that the front tire has a long valve, swapped the tubes but to no avail. So, after the futile attempt to repair the puncture, I asked CH to ride back to the RV point and get the car. 'Come rescue me'
The moral of the story is : Make sure you have the basic cycling survival skills. At least you preferably know how to change your tubes. Bring the right sized tubes. And patch kits (if needed). Or have the numbers of the taxi service hotlines, hehehe... They could come and rescue the stranded cyclist. Like me. Or maybe you.
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