Pogwatigue Perambulations: Tribulus terrestris

I've been out on my bike twice since last Monday's ride around Boulder. Like that ride, both ended prematurely with flat tires. Over the last several years, I've only had to replace a flat tire once or twice per season. Today, I learned the blame for my recent spate of bad luck lies with the seeds of a common weed known as goat heads. I probably picked up a collection the spiky little nuisance toward the end of my Boulder Ride. They were small enough to escape inspection when I replaced the tubes after each ride.

The first the two abbreviated rides meandered south as far as Chatfield State Park. I had hoped to continue the ride through Highlands Ranch, but ended up walking six miles to the nearest light rail station to take mass transit home. I did ride by the memorial to the late 1990s Columbine Shooting tragedy and make it across the Chatfield Dam trail before my technical difficulties.

This past Monday, I optimistically set out again for Highlands Ranch. I made it as far as Aldenbrooke Park, which is to say four or five miles before my problems returned. The leaks were slow enough that I was able to, perhaps unwisely, continue the ride by pumping up the tires every so often. I wanted to at least follow-up on a suggestion to ride across the Dakota Hogback into the town of Morrison and eat lunch at the Blue Cow. That's as far as I made it.

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The tires are now repaired, with 'thorn-resistant' tubes and 'puncture-proof' lines, but I'm skeptical of the efficacy of those defensive measures and am debating weather to risk another ride before I head back to Michigan this weekend. On a positive note, my recent travails didn't stop me from surpassing 6,000 miles ridden on my bike, the same one I've had since 2006.

Trip Statistics (both rides)
Length: 61.3 miles
Total Time: 8 hours 58 minutes
Avg. Speed: 9.8 MPH
Max. Speed: 27.2 MPH
Max Elev.: 6,205 ft.