Labour Day Weekend on my S-Works Amira.

Race season is pretty much over for me at this point, and I'm taking the opportunity to get some longer rides in (I love those), and just play around on the bike. 

Traffic was off the wall getting out of Montréal to head to Mauricie this weekend.  I made it though, with just enough time to ride a Century out and back into the Parc.  The leaves are slowly starting to change colour, and I could have sworn that the trees had gotten a bit redder as I doubled back on the path I took earlier in the day.  I was fueling off of eload gels for my 5.5 hour ride.

A picture I took once from the belvedere in the Parc National de la Mauricie.

The next day back in Laval, I got a flat on my training wheel.  It's moments like those that make me really, really miss my Roval race wheels.  It's a royal pain in the neck getting the tire dismounted from my training wheels.  I managed just fine though, after almost breaking another set of tire levers. 

On holiday Monday, I decided to ride up north on the Petit Train du Nord.  I'd heard about it in 2006, but had never been before.  (Next thing to check off my list: see the Bonhomme Carnival, it's been 15 years now that I've wanted to see him, good grief!)  I decided to swap the training wheel that I had flatted on for my race wheel, exceptionally. 

I managed to get another Century in the bank.  I was thinking about how unlucky it would be to get a flat and not have the right equipment to repair and get back home, that far away.  Lo and behold, at 140km I got a flat.  The valve stem on my spare tube was too short for me to inflate the tire on the deep-dish Roval race wheel though.  I put my McGuyver hat on and, went to the church that was across the street.  I wanted duct tape, but they had Scotch tape.  I taped the hole in my old tube, carefully.  I won't go into details, but I was wise about how I went about it.  It got me home.  And believe it or not, the tube is STILL holding air.  It's a miracle. 

I love bike riding.