Inflation - Deflation

This is how today's ride ended - with a loud pop and a quick pffffttt.

Makes for a sudden stop and then a reach for the cell phone (whatever did we do before they came along?) for a pick-up. 

Just so you know, on my 10 speed travels I carry stuff I think I'll need in a cinch bag on my back and travel light, without things like an inner tube or repair kit.

In this case, even those things wouldn't have helped (if I had them along) since the actual tire burst. 

Letting the air out of the trip ended it almost 15 miles before I expected, but I'm thankful the blow out came in Cottage Grove (not all that far from home) and in a town on a highway instead of along the isolated Glacial Drumlin trail where I may have had to walk the bike for 10 miles or more to civilization and a cross road.

Yet, the ride up until then was great - with wonderful views of the countryside - the picture (near right) was shot near Deerfield.  It went more smoothly after I added some air in Lake Mills after lunch.  It may have contributed to the tire blowout - but the tube and tire were pretty old and I had a feeling it would happen at some point.


The Glacial Drumlin trail stretches to the western edges of Milwaukee from the small community of Cottage Grove (just a few miles east of Madison).  Today's trip covered less than half that, after I rode my bike south from Watertown to join the trail north of Jefferson, Wisconsin. 

It was my first time on the trail, but won't be the last - I'm looking forward to riding the whole trail at some point.   If it's going to be next weekend, I have some work to do!


Hope your weekend had more inflating moments than deflating ones.