I was dog tired when I rolled out of bed this morning. I got very little sleep last night and that made me wake up with an angry stomach and feeling very cold. I was further disappointed to learn that the tape of the Tour of California hadn't recorded sound for some reason. I took longer than usual getting ready because I felt so bad, but eventually I did make it out the door.

I'm riding every day now with the intention of keeping my HR in Zone 2. Sometimes this task is impossible, but I'm managing to tone things down a bit. The weather this morning was bitterly cold. Without my entusiasm for the new bike, I doubt I would have made it outside.

About halfway through the ride, I started hearing my back brake rubbing on the rim when I stood up to pedal. This is probably my most hated sound. I can't stand the thought of wasting energy by braking when you're trying really move. I stopped several times and adjusted the alignment and clearance of the brake, but nothing seemed to work. I finally just continued on with the calipers open as wide as they would go.

It wasn't until I was about to turn into the Orbital parking lot that I noticed that my rear end was hitting the ground harder than usual. When I did make the turn, it slid a bit and I realized my back tire was nearly flat! I'd developed a slow leak at some point during the ride.

At lunch, I switched out the tube thinking that was the problem, and made the mistake of not checking to see what the cause of the flat had been. I hadn't been able to locate the puncture. When I rode home, I had to stop twice to pump up the back wheel because I had once again developed a slow leak.

Since there's no room on my handlebars for my light, I took the Custis trail home rather than ride on Wilson. It's not too bad because it doesn't get dark until I turn off of the W&OD and when I do, the Custis Trail is lit. When I got home, I found the cause of the leak. A small, but sharp thorn was lodged in the tire. I pulled it out with tweasers and patched the tube since I'd found the puncture this time.