Rode with the Gliders this morning. One dude got a flat. I was going to offer him my bead jack but of course he put the tire on using his bare hands with the ease of a clown making a balloon animal. Dammit, what do I have, kitten strength, super tight tires? I give up.

To add insult to injury since everyone had been standing around for the tire change, they ramped up the pace big time in the last couple of miles. I am not good at riding really fast. I am better at long sustained efforts. We were about a mile away and going 26mph. The lead guy dropped back and I was next in front. I couldn't keep up that pace leading so I dropped back after 30 seconds or so. The hard part about dropping back is reattaching to the group. You've been up front and your tired. The key is to not to slow down to much, let the group pass and slide right in behind the last person in line. It's tough though. If a gap forms then you're in no man's land working like a mother to catch up facing all the air resistance.

So I was dropped, but by that point we were near the finish anyway.