Headwaters

We left Friday afternoon to take part in the Headwaters 100 bike ride on Saturday. Joel and I were hoping to tackle the full 100 miles, while Jennifer and Carrie were going to try the 45 mile route. The morning started cool and cloudy, with a little breeze. The boys headed north to Itasca State Park, while the girls took a meandering route closer to Park Rapids. The one thing that surprised all of us on the route was the hills - there's just no way to train for them in Fargo. We made it to Itasca in good time, but the route through the park took a lot of work. I escaped a mishap after the bead of my front tire slipped out of the rim - luckily it held until the rest stop where I was able to reseat the tire and the on-site mechanic filled it with air. After we left the park, we made our way over to Lake George, then south toward Emmaville. At about mile 60, I was trailing behind Joel when I heard a loud bang - Joel's rear tire blew out. A sag wagon pulled up within 30 seconds - impeccable timing - and helped with the tire change and we thought we were on our way. Within a few yards Joel realized something wasn't right and I spotted a bulge on his tire. The gash was so deep on the tire that the tube was poking through. Sure enough, it blew right away and Joel was out. I forged on to the next rest stop and called Jennifer to let her know. She said that was kind of funny since she got to ride the sag wagon as well. After 35 miles, her knee started to act up, and rather than aggravate an injury, she very wisely caught a ride with the ride organizer back to the school. Shortly after I called her Carrie made it to the school, and I decided that I would cut the ride a little short as well. I took a cutoff to rejoin the 75-mile route after Emmaville, and made it back to Park Rapids after completing 85 miles total. It was a fantastic ride, and will definitely be on the schedule for next year.