Lately, I’ve been enjoying early morning pre-work rides out at Shelby Farms. There’s a lot of satisfaction to be had when riding along the Walnut Grove park boundary and watching all the desk jockeys on their way in to town…

Today, I am off work and had a 3 hour ride on the schedule. I was JRA…

…and a few miles later, found this:

No problem- I carry 2x tubes/CO2 cartridges (and a Clif bar/tire boot) with me. However, the CO2 air chuck was a weak link to my “uber prepped” system. When I stuck the valve of spare #1 into the inflator head in order to give the tube some shape, the tiny stem part of the valve core broke off and stuck in the inflator head. CRAP.
I tried to pry and prod it out using various pointy parts of my multi-tool, but no dice. Then, I tried to cram it in as far as it would go so I could try and use the CO2 on my 2nd tube. I thought I had it, but as soon as I stuck the other valve in, the other valve core broke.

Lucky for me, my parents are retired, so driving out a good half hour from town to rescue me was high quality entertainment. I just took the wait as an opportunity to work on my tan lines.

In other news, keep an eye on the next issue of Memphis Health and Fitness Magazine. I hear the next cover is going to be Brickhouse-a-licious…