I never tire of this episode from XTERRA Richmond Virginia 2009. “Tire” pun intended…

Dan Hugo and I  pre rode the XTERRA Richmond course shortly after our arrival from XTERRA Northwest Cup in Coeur D’Alene, where I had a 4 inch nail puncture my tubeless tire in 2 places. See previous blog.

My replacement tire was in the mail, so I rode the tire with the 2 nail holes, and just put in a tube. Of course it flatted. I changed the tube. It deflated faster than I could pump. Before putting our last tube in I carefully inspected for sharp objects.

It also deflated faster than what I could pump.

We still had a lot of riding to do and I wasnt going to call it quits.

I was going to make that tire tubeless again- no matter what!

First I used a bottle cap to scoop the sealant from the healthy front tire and put it in the rear. With the 2 huge holes.

Hoping the front tire seals up, (since I took out almost all the sealant) I poured energy drink in the tire…

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Got this new toy from the good folks at Specialized. Quarq power meter which I run through a Garmin Edge 500 ANT+ unit. I’m new at using these tools. All I really need is Watts and interval time, but this thing is loaded with info- easy to get lost. Disappointed in the vagueness of the power curve on “Charts”. The “Splits” page has so much info- can one edit out items like speed, temp and calories to make space for the important stuff?  Was perplexed by the ghosting of the “Lap” button- it pressed itself a few times- hence the random intervals in warm up and cool down…  I’m using the free Connect Garmin software.  Suggestions welcome- Facebook is easiest way to communicate.

Coach Ian Rodger cooked up this session:

Workout: 8x5min hills at 440-450 W.

Actually it was 10 reps, but it was 93Deg F (34C) and 1500m altitude (5000ft) – instead of the 1100m (3500ft) where I was supposed to do this session- always leave a rep or 2 in the tank- didnt want to blow a gasket.