Today was the last day to test my gear and it was good and bad. The bad was that I got a blowout on my rear tire as I was making my way up OTR. I pulled over to see what happened, and I could see the inner-tube protruding out of the tire casing. I had two choices, take a chance by putting in a new inner-tube or call home. After closely inspecting the tire, I noticed that the bead, it had blown out. I probably could have replaced the inner-tube and barely make it back. Instead I called home, because I was so close. That’s what I did. In the meantime, I removed the tire, tube and Tuffy. I had time to closely inspect the problem. I concluded that it was the Tuffy that caused the tire to blow out. I think I had too much overlap. So, after the folks arrived, I removed the bad tire and swapped out a new one. I removed the Tuffy on the front tire as well. So, this means, no Tuffy for the GranFondo. My reasoning, better to risk having a puncture or pinch flat, then to have the tire blowout. So, the good news was that it happened today, and hopefully not on Saturday. I’m going to replace the front tire to match the back tire. Another issue… I noticed that my right cleat was loose. I’m not sure for how long. Nor, do I know how it had anything to do with my knee soreness. No telling, but my knee feels acceptable and should be ok, come ride day. Just ice and PT for the rest of today and tomorrow. Another gear issue, the cadence/speed sensor didn’t detect today. I’m going to swap out new batteries and be done with it. As far as the ride went, the temperature is great. Right in that sweet spot, of sun and cool air. The downside is that it was windy, to the East. If this is the case on Saturday, then likely will need to find shelter in a group of riders. Other than that, the bike feels good. My body feels lively, legs feel responsive, no serious ailments. I washed the bike yesterday and gave it a look for loose bolts and such. So, for the remainder of the day, I want to get my stuff organized in bags and containers as I’ve already made preparations. Other notes, the road markers are on the ground. I saw one other cyclist as I was fixing my tires.

Other notes... The smartphone with the new battery looks promising. I think it depleted by no more than 6 or 7% for the duration of the time I was outside, 1:51:59 Hours.