First Flat Tire

There's a first time for everything. For my rear tire, the first time for getting flat was today... after rolling from the Oregon coast to Missouri, covering over 3200 miles. Even after carrying myself and all my gear such an incredible distance, it was not the rubber itself that failed: upon inspection of the flat, the culprit was revealed to be a 2inch long nail ... something that not even a brand new tire could survive without puncture.

I've been blessed to meet 5 other fabulous cyclists on the road over the past 2 weeks, and we've formed a happy, motley crew of 6 riders, all headed east. We'll have to split in just a few days, as I'm heading south along the Mississippi River, and the rest of them are eastbound through Kentucky. I've had such fun belonging to a group, after my time solo riding... I know that I'll miss them when we part ways.
There's Joey and Jessica, mentioned in a previous blog, and Marie & Cindy, two amazing women riding from Colorado, and then a great guy from South Korea, whom we call "O". :)

The flat happened just a mile from our destination, on an overpass. Everyone else was cycling on ahead, without knowledge that I'd gotten a flat. O and Marie stayed back with me. Just when I'd gotten the wheel off, the clouds decided to dump the rain that they'd been holding over our heads all day. "You guys can go on", I kept saying. "I'll catch up". But they just smiled and got out their rain gear. They remained throughout the patching process, helping me get the tire back on and pump up the new one. How nice, to have a pair of friends there to cheer me on through the downpour.

Now we're staying in a WONDERFUL hostel, specific for cyclists, called "Al's Place Bicycle Hostel" in Farmington, Missouri. It's pretty posh, especially for a raggedy crew of cyclists who've been sweating up these 8% grades for 2 days without showers... and laundry was badly needed for all of us, as well. :)