When all else fails, ride the river...

I had thought I might get in a longish ride today, maybe to a lunch spot, but it was not to be. When I did my "ABC Quick Check" as I was getting ready to leave, I found (a) my rear brake was rubbing on a not-quite-true rim; and (b) there was a 3/4" gash in my rear tire, that I should not continue riding with.

So, off came the tire, and the wheel went into my newly acquired truing stand for some tweaking. I found a couple of seriously loose spokes, tightened them, and then tried to get the wheel as straight as I could and still have time for a ride. It ain't perfect, and still needs a little work...

Next, it was off to Scotia to pick up a new tire, a $40.00 Bontrager RaceLite Hard Case, an exact replacement. Considering I got over 5,000 miles on the originals, I really can't complain (much) about the cost.

When I got home, I didn't seem to have my wallet. Since I have a nasty habit of putting things on top of the car and driving away, I was understandably concerned. Called Bill, and yes, I had left it at the bike shop. Stopping back later to pick it up pretty much pre-ordained my day's ride route.

Put the new tire on, (mostly) got it correctly seated, readjusted the rear brake, and headed out. Quite a bit of spoke pinging from somewhere, but it seemed to improve as I rode. The rear brake is a little looser than I'd like, because of the remaining wobble, so that needs some work, along with the wobble itself and the almost-seated tire. Probably won't get to any of this tonight, and may or may not ride tomorrow. Rainy weekend ahead, so plenty of time for this kind of stuff.

Stopped in Scotia and picked up my wallet, and headed back to the car at SCCC, after an easy 21 miles up and down the Mohawk.