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After completing
out-of-province brevets, Ken Bonner reports his results to database
coordinator Cheryl Lynch, and CCs the web site re the o.o.p.
brevet results page. Ken often gives a brief account of his adventures
and this is one of these - from the Portland 600, May 15 &
16, 2004. [Title added later by Eric F.]
Black Cat
by Ken Bonner
Hi, Cheryl!
Just a note to let you know that I completed the Portland 600k
this past week-end. 31h 52m. (Portland-Bremerton-Portland --"PBP"!)
The plan was to take it easy, in anticipation of a strong ride
on the Fleche Pacifique this coming weekend. I managed that part
of it, but did not anticipate the black cat that ran across the
road in front of me (I'm not superstitious though) .... shortly
thereafter I had a pinch-flat in the front tire after hitting
some gravel on the road; I was ok until just short of Bremerton,
when I made use of the outdoor facilities .... coming out of
the bushes I found I had a flat rear tire.
I started with 2 spare tubes, one with a hole in it from the
previous puncture. I managed not to get the 1st tube seated correctly
and it exploded .... shredding it! So I now had 2 tubes left
with punctures, but with so much traffic speeding by, I could
not determine where the holes were. Fortunately there was a house
across the way and the kind lady inside provided me with a bowl
of water to find the punctures. Patched the punctures .... hooray,
the patches held!
Patched tube number one is installed correctly ... only to have
the valve fail within a couple of minutes! Now on to the last
patched tube. With kind lady watching, we both crossed our fingers
as I pumped up the last patched tube. It held!! Yahoo!! Many
thanks to the kind lady!
Now comes the question .... do I call it a day .... it's only
a few hours until darkness and 300k back to my car, so if I puncture
again, I will be stranded in the middle of the cold night. Being
a single-minded randonneur I determined that I had not driven
all the way to Portland just to "dnf". So, I proceeded
towards Bremerton, only to miss the turn-off to the control (about
8 miles later, I found it). Challenging my weary mind about what
to do if I "flatted" again, the time & miles passed
in the darkness. 150k later, I arrived in Centralia & decided
to stay in a motel until daylight, so at least I had a better
chance of avoiding glass & rocks. The only available room
was one for handicapped persons .... at 1:30 am, I am sure I
was not operating with all my marbles, so probably fate determined
my room for the night.
I am hoping that I have used up my annual quota of punctures
& that the Fleche Pacifique ride will be uneventful for all
of us!
I am now going out to do some measurements for Stephen for the
VI 600.
..... Ken
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