Bicycle Exploring

Today's Variegated Tracking

As usual, it has been several days since I've made time to get out and get some enjoyable exercise riding the Catrike.
On Friday last, I actually saddled up and rode .......   Maybe a hundred feet.  As soon as I got up on the pavement out of the parking spot, I noticed an unfamiliar grumble noise coming from the rear.  As I slowed down to see if I could find anything amiss, I realized the rear tire was almost completely flat.  BAH.
I loaded it back up into the trailer and took it home to repair the flat, where the big Craftsman compressor awaits such duties.  Upon disassembly of the tire I found a tiny pinhole in the tube, but no corresponding nail or thorn to blame the puncture on.  I patched the tube but hung it up in the storage shed for emergency use only, since I have new unpatched tubes on hand.  Since this tire was almost bald, (though still intact with no cracks or rips or flaking) I opted to install a new tire along with the tube.  Got it all put back together and then was out of time for riding, and today I finally got to try out the system.
The weather was not at all promising this morning.  It was cold and damp and socked in with fog and mist, and walking around outside resulted in getting at least mildly wet since the fog was "splishing" as I walked around in it.  Around noonish the soggy mist had mostly burned off and the clouds opened enough to allow some blue sky and sunshine to penetrate.  As I piddled around loading things up, I worried the weather would cut loose with rain, but it held off and I was finally able to get rolling.a little after noonish.
I planned to do a twenty-miler roundabout but the weather looked so unpredictable I stayed closer to home instead.  I did take some twists and turns I had not done before, so that added a bit to the mileage and a lot to the enjoyment factor.
The chain has been getting noisier recently and even more so today, so when I got home I spent another half hour oiling and wiping the chain and idlers and gears.  We'll see if the next ride comes with less chain rattle.
One of the unexplored streets led to a steep downhill which I chose to turn around from rather than coast down and have to fight my way back uphill.
As I passed the halfway point of the route I was struck with a sudden blast of cold damp air and realized a large mass of blackish clouds was gathering not far distant.  Thus re-motivated, I pedaled with renewed effort in order to hopefully get back to the Ford Exploder before it started to rain.
By the time I got back and loaded the trike back into the trailer it had actually cleared up a bit more, so I made it home in fine style.  In about 15 minutes it really started to rain, so life is good.

Ride Started: 12:39 PM    Ride Ended:  2:48 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.1  Ending Voltage: 12.9  Lowest:  12.3 
Beginning Blood Glucose:  129   Ending BG Reading: 88 
Lowest Temp  52F      Highest Temp:  75F   
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  12.08 
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed  
5.6 MPH                                7.4 MPH                  29.0 MPH 
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time 
2 hours 9 mins                      1 hour  38 mins          30 minutes