Sunday 23 September 2007 - LCNP

Ah, once the wusses had pulled out (Mark sms'd around 10.25pm saying he'd been out too long, (about 4 1/2 hours before Stephe got to bed before the ride), and T-Bone is studying (again!)...), Whisperer and Stephe decided to change course this morning, and rode from home through Chatswood to LCNP.

The day started inauspicously, when Stephe (perhaps short on sleep?) managed to ride all the way to Whisperer's house with his bottom bracket coming apart, and no helmet... A quick "whisper" on the bike, back to get the helmet, and finally underway.

The ride was going fairly well (it's amazing just how good those little sections of single trail are -yee ha!), until just short of the mid point - when Whisperer's rear tyre succumbed (despite all the Stan's No Tubes in the world) to a sidewall tear.

Much amusement (for Stephe) followed, as Whisperer discovered that (a) there was no rim tape, (b) he therefore couldn't fit the spare tube, (c) the Stan's wouldn't seal the leak, (d) the hand pump was a disaster in trying to get the tyre to re-seat as a tubeless affair in any case, and (e) life was grim... Much 'whispering' followed, with ultimate success (he's clever, that lad!).

Taking off for the back section a little more gingerly (it would be fair to say Whisperer was a little dubious about the longevity of the repair), Whisperer then managed to do a serious bar/groin rock impact injury - so we had another little pause while he regained his composure.

At that point, we decided it was probably best to generally trend towards home - and, perhaps, Whisperer and Stephe might just give the ride another chance, another day....