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So, the last few days have been reasonably good. Friday was totally shitful, a day I don't care to revisit any time soon. Rather than rant about that, I'll just move on. I turned 35 on Saturday, an event I would not have otherwise remembered were it not for MaxBabe and my mum making a fuss

My friend Andrew took me on a ride from his place to Toowong, to stop at the Coffee Club for a birthday breakfast, then back to his place. I've done this ride before, on the bikeway that runs parallel to the Centenary Motorway. It's not an easy ride, but it's not a killer either. But on Saturday, I found it tough. That's what a single week off the bike will do! I got cramps in my calves for about half the ride. When we stopped at the CC, I went to the local 7-11 and got some isotonic powerade. I've used powerade and gatorade in the past to help alleviate cramps. I recently read an article that explained that isotonic powerade is absorbed osmotically (ie almost immediately) rather than being absorbed after being processed by the stomach etc.. so I went with it. I have to say I felt rather good after drinking it but couldn't say if that's because of the isotonic properties, the powerade itself, or just having a big drink.

When we got back to Andrew's place, I put the bike on the carrier, and he said to me, "Maxxxie, what's that??", pointing to a small hole in my front tyre. Hmm. He started inspecting the rest of the tyre and found another small chunk of rubber missing, and a crack around one inch long. Exasperated, he half-screamed, "I can't BELIEVE you!!!! If that'd been my tyre, I would've had three flats by now!!!!!" For background: in all the time I've been riding -- around 30 years -- I've never once suffered a puncture. I've used this as a point of pride and also to gloat with, particularly as Andrew seems to be a puncture magnet. So for him to see my tyre in such a state, without so much as a hiss of air from the tube, frustrated him no end. I thanked him for pointing it out, hugged him goodbye, and went home.

I'd told MaxBabe I wanted some more knicks for my birthday, so she dutifully took me to Epic Cycles. +1 to these guys, the staff are really good. We looked for knicks, and of course they didn't have the ones I wanted in my size. But I found a women's equivalent, and they actually fit me. They're quite a bit shorter than the men's ones I normally wear. So I call them my short-short shorts. This is the sort of thing that makes me laugh, and makes MaxBabe roll her eyes

I took the opportunity to get a new tyre for the front. John, the sales dude, asked me what sort of tyre I wanted. I announced to him that I hadn't once suffered a flat in 30 years and he was absolutely astonished. So I then told him I used this as a means of gloating to my poor friend Andrew, and that I had a record to maintain - so whatever he recommended had to be able to cut the mustard. "Talk about putting the pressure on!!" he joked. I got a GatorSkin tyre (as recommended to me by my mother), and some tubes. I also decided I'd best get some tyre levers. The rest of the conversation between me and John revolved around buying stuff to tease the puncture gods. "New tyre? Who needs a new tyre? C'mon, Puncture Fairy, do your worst!!!" I wanted to get some green goo for the tube, but they didn't have any, and we decided that it really would be torturing the Puncture Fairy to use it, so I left it at that. After that, we went to Tom Wallace Cycles (+1 to these guys, too) to use the rest of an outstanding gift voucher balance to buy some more gloves.

I got home and changed the tyre (and tube). I was pretty proud of myself, but think I could improve the time it took (guessing 30 minutes). In the process, I returned the wheel to the front dropout somewhat out of alignment, resulting in the front brake dragging. Instead of using my brain and thinking.. gee.. the only thing I changed was the wheel alignment, perhaps I should just fix that... I decided to frag around with the brake adjustment. I really should've used my experience from last time (ie the back brakes) to realise that these cheapie brakes just aren't open to much adjustment. I gave up in frustration, having subsequently realised the brakes weren't the problem, and decided to ask my mum for help the next day before our ride. She un-fragged the brakes, and fixed the wheel alignment, and we were on our way.

I'd been looking forward to this ride for ages. It's a 30-something Km round trip through the Currumbin mountain areas. It's very rural, lots of cows and horses etc, with little country road-side markets. I really enjoy the ride. It's peaceful and the traffic is generally respectful of our presence on the road. It's also quite hilly. The last time I did this ride, I felt challenged but did well overall. Yesterday was a different story. I got some calf cramping (though not as bad as Saturday), and generally felt like there was no wind in the sails. The whole thing was a bit stop-start and I felt disappointed with my performance. Still, the ride itself was enjoyable in terms of scenery and company, so it's not all bad We stopped at one of the country markets and had a mango ice treat (mango and banana and passionfruit all frozen together to form an iceblock) and also an incredibly decadent toblerone mud cake. Oh. My. God. It made my head spin.

Anyway - mum took me out for a light meal after that, then gave me my birthday present - a tyre for the rear wheel!!!! So I'll be installing that sometime soon.