Oops, I forgot to shut off recording my route. I rode 97 miles, and apparently walked 8 more! Today was a stretch. Probably my biggest concern in riding alone was getting a flat tire and not knowing Cliff would be coming along behind me. But from about 10:30 a.m. till noon I was in the direct sun working on removing a tire and replacing the tube for the first time ever. My first thought was to call AAA l, yep they do that🤗, but then I thought, “I don’t want to lose more miles to a bike repair, I want to try this!” I’ve practiced removing and replacing the wheels, but I’ve never taken a tire off, have only watched. These bigger tires are so hard to break the bead (seal) that I begin to think maybe I couldn’t do it. The amazing thing is that my bike tech, Moses from Oregon, is on vacation in Maine. He got my text asking if he had time to walk me through it, and called me, just as I was realizing my shop wouldn’t open in for another hour and a half! I broke the bead on my tire all by myself, my hands were black, and finally someone stopped 15 minutes after I had flipped my bike and started working on it. We both worked hard and found the glass that was the culprit. Tiniest little shards! I think we got it all because I rode 40+ miles beyond that. I ended up talking with Moses 3x, my FaceTime wasn’t working half the time because my phone was overheating in the sun. Neither of us on my end knew what we were doing, and things went wrong, but we got it! I topped off the air in the next town, and had a fun trail for the next 30 miles, incl a tunnel! While I was working on my bike, I saw a tick on my tire. I checked my water pack and there were about six on it. I didn’t see on my any on my saddle bags, but checked everything over very well before I put them back on. Lots of pictures today! It was good to get back together with my team at the end of this today’s ride! We are staying at the church and they have a shower, laundry, kitchen, and it is so nice! I’m tired but feel so good about today.😊