Owned

In previous posts I've talked about all sorts of people and things getting owned, today it was my turn. Perhaps most gallingly, I could (and indeed should) have prevented it. With the bushfire smoke still covering much of the area immediately to the west of here, I headed south for the Tweed Valley, with the intention of producing the 200km day ride for August. The weather conditions were just about perfect (despite dropping to 5 degrees C early), the air was clear in the NSW side of the Macpherson Range, and I was feeling pretty good.





58.8km into the ride -- "Pssshhh!". Not a problem, in went the spare tube, well, hang on, there could be a problem, I left my repair kit at home. Another flat and I'd be in trouble. Figuring this was unlikely, I pressed on regardless. 85.1km -- "Pssshhhh!". This actually happened in the section between Brays Creek and Uki, probably the prettiest of the entire ride. On a side note, I've heard there is a possibility that area could be flooded in the next 10 years to build a new dam. Surely a better option that destroying a beautiful area is to simply teach people who to conserve and recycle water.

For the moment, however, I was left with more problems. I managed to hitch a ride with a local to Uki, the hardware store (well, that section of the general store) was open, but no repair kits. The only other option I now had was Murwillumbah, 15km north, and I'd probably have to walk the whole damn way. Now the temperature was rising -- 27 degrees C, and so was my temper! It's amazing that for the one person who had assisted me earlier, hundreds of others seemed to have no interest in my situation at all, and several even felt like shouting abuse.

Then an angel came down from heaven (or at least Murwillumbah, from where she'd cycled). She didn't have wings or a halo, but she had the repair kit I needed. The 200km ride wouldn't happen, but at least I'd be able to make it home in a reasonably timely fashion. I patched the two tubes and we said our goodbyes, I headed north, half expecting to get another puncture along the way (incredibly I didn't). Murwillumbah, Urliup (where I paused for food and sunscreen), toward Bilambil, and the last of those beautiful green meadows with those exquisite yellow flowers before heading back into suburbia.



And now I'm left to reflect on a situation that I simply treated too lightly. On a multi-day (or multi-week) tour I would have made absolutely sure I was kitted up to the max, but for some reason I just didn't show this ride the respect it deserved, and it bit me. Even though I finished the day with a respectable 145km, I'm viewing this as a failure. I'm unlikely to get another chance to do a 200km day ride this month, so effectively the challenge to ride a 200km day ride in every month of 2005 is over, and I have failed. I did, however, learn a lesson, and perhaps that is all we can hope for. From now on, I will treat all day rides with the respect they deserve.