Tools of the Trade

I should’ve listened to my friends Barce and Gabe a long time ago.

A few months after I started biking distances around the 10-mile range, they started asking me if I had the right tools around just in case something happened, like a flat tire.

Well, I remembered their surprised faces when I told them that I didn’t carry ANY tools with me at the exact same moment today that I noticed my front tire was flat, 14 miles in to a 20 mile ride. Unfortunately I had to cut it short and do the walk of shame all the way back to my car.

This flat tire incident was actually preceded by my rear brake falling off right before my ride. I drove around town for almost 45 minutes to find an allen wrench set so that I could get it snug again.

So, today, after my 1.5 mile walk of shame, I drove home, ate brunch, watched a little bit of the Ironman Championships, and then headed to a few local bike shops to stock up.

Some of the things I got:

Handheld pump by way of CO2 cartridges and nozzle
Tire patch kit (something I had and already bought to fix my wetsuit)
Tire levers (something I bought when I got my first flat tire)
Two spare tire tubes
A small seat post bag to store it all in

I figure that if I’m really going to give this half-Ironman thing an honest go, I’d better start acting like it. Being physically prepared is one thing, but mechanically prepared is another. Now I’m planning on another long ride tomorrow, hopefully to the tune of 25 miles so that I could make up for the distance I didn’t do today.

In other news, I also got a new pair of Brooks running shoes! Finally got fitted by a running retailer shop called Arch & Sole here in LA. They’ve even agreed to set up my charity team with a purchase discount. I’m so excited to break them in!