At Least the Sunrise Was Nice

I decided to start riding my Tour Easy recumbent bike to work I call the bike Big Nellie.  Big Nellie is fast an comfortable. I hadn't ridden it in a while so the tires needed some air. I pulled out my floor pump and it wouldn't work.  Arggg!  Fuss, fuss, fiddle and I finally got it to work right.  Yesterday went fine. Today was payback.
 
It started off as a pretty good day.  I left home a bit early and timed it just right.  As I arrived at the Potomac River, the sun was just beginning to peek above the tree line as I looked to the east.  Sunrise pictures are hard to take but I think these came out okay.  I was a little surprised how much more of the sun appeared by the time I took the second shot. 

First Shot

Second Shot Just a Few Second Later

So, having enjoyed a bit of natures beauty on the way to work, I was looking forward to a productive day.  And. as it turned out, it was productive.Then came the ride home.

Big Nellie's tires have to be a couple of years old. Maybe three.  Let's just say that I have been thinking about replacing them for months but that chore just didn't make it to my to do list.  I did manage to destroy a pair of pedals on this bike a few weeks ago. The left pedal was making an annoying click with each rotation of my foot.  By the time I got home, the pedal had nearly fallen off.  Kaput.  I replaced them with a pair of pedals I had from an experiment with PowerGrips a few months ago.  I was feeling like Joe Bike Mechanic.  I had reached the limits of my mechanical expertise.

On the ride home from work, the replacement left pedal began clicking. Very annoying. It didn't seem to be falling apart but the sound was bringing back bad memories. About 4 miles from home I heard another sound that was even worse. BANG! from my rear wheel. The sidewall of my rear tire had failed.  This is a known problem with Panaracer Pasella tires, of which this was one. The upside of these tires is that they are relatively inexpensive and do a good job resisting run-of-the-mill flats. The downside is, well,....BANG!

Umm...That's Not Good

I began changing the tire, pulled my pump from my tool bag, only to find that it had fallen to pieces. I found several pieces in the bag, cobbled them together, and hoped for the best.  I got the tire up to 20 pounds per square inch of pressure before the pump gave out.  (It normally takes 95.)  It was getting dark so I decided to make do with what little air I had.

Long story short, I made it home, but not without having my camera fall out of my pocket on the way.  It seems to have survived the fall.

I think it's time to back away slowly and go to bed before something else breaks.

This weekend I'll be playing Joe Bike Mechanic in the driveway.