Day 11

Tuesday, August 15th
Tralee to Lahinch
100km

What a difference a day can make.  Today was crap all around.

Frank has been snoring loudly the past two nights, and its kept me awake.  I need to buy earplugs somewhere, but have been using balled-up kleenex as a temporary solution.

There was a light "irish mist" this morning.  After days of bright sun, I suppose we were due.  Part of the Ireland experience.

At the B&B, Ryan's room key broke off in the door, so by the time we hit the road it was past 9:30am and we were already being "swept" by Ian as the last riders.

The first climb of the day was another long, steep one up to the top of a hill with a wind farm and radio towers at the top.  The decent was a rough one, with lots of potholes.

Next was a series of long rolling hills.  On one of the decents, as I sped down the damp road at 55km/h, I touched the brakes as I prepared for a sharp 'S' curve ahead.  Without warning, my back wheel completely locked up, leaving me fish-tailing wildly down the hill.  Somehow I managed to stay upright on the bike until it drifted to a halt.  What a nerve-wracking experience.  I had no control as the bike slid almost sideways down the hill!

Luckily, I wasn't hurt at all and Ian was right there to look at my bike.  Somehow, my rear wheel had gone completely out of true, and had two big warps in it.  None of the spokes were broken, but several were very loose.  As a result, the wheel wobbled so much that it couldn't spin past the brake blocks and locked itsself up.

As Ian played with the spokes to true my wheel, it started to rain heavily.  It was a cold, windy rain that lasted several hours.  I told Ryan and Jenn to go on without me, since we would be a while fixing the wheel, and there was no reason for them to get cold standing around in the rain.

Ian got the wheel in workable order, and we continued on our way.  He cautioned that the brake might not work perfectly, so I shouldn't go too fast on the downhills.  Easier said than done when the road is dropping away in front of you.

After 54km, we took a ferry across the Shannon River and into blue skies.  I rode with Cliff, Sue and Frank, who kept a steady pace all afternoon.  I'd fall behind on each downhill, and then catch up on each uphill.

Got to the B&B to find only cold water in the shower.  I decided to go for supper, and found hot water when I returned.  Ian had another go at truing my wheel tonight.  It looks good.  Definitely workable, but stil not perfect.  We'll pass a bike shop on Thursday that can hopefully get it perfectly true or sell me a new wheel.

Ryan and Jenn made out well without me.  Ryan was pleased to have found a short cut on a main road that cut off some distance when it was raining. His ankles are still doing well.  He ices them every night, takes ibuprofin throughout the day, and walks up the steepest hills avoid further injuries.

With all this said, I still finished the day with a smile on my face.