Day 1:

• Sometimes 'Life' does not go as planned but the unexpected change becomes a pleasant surprise!


• We had our 3 Day Travel Leg planned completely and we got no further than 14 miles.
• Our rear tire came apart at the rim bead (a defect) and we had a SPECTACULAR BLOW OUT!
• We changed tubes, taped the tire, and rode until we saw a human with a motor vehicle.
• A nice lady gave me (Dennis) a ride back to Platoro where we last parked our transport vehicle.


• It does not end there, we arrived home just in time to catch a water valve leak and prevent major damage.
• Sometimes LIFE works in mysterious ways.

Day 1 - Platoro to Spectacle Lake
A Rear Tire Failure Will End Today's Ride

Above Left: The Bee is Loaded.

Above Right: This is Platoro, Colorado, but the access bridge was closed so we parked our transport vehicle in an empty field directly across from this sign. More notably, the old Platoro Inn is no longer a full time operation, which is too bad. When we were last here in July of 2011, we had met and dined with a few of the Tour Divide Racers.

Above Left: One of the last Lilies in bloom.

Above Right: We're following the Conejos River [Rabbit River] out of Platoro and the Platoro Reservoir. Sometime I say Cajones by mistake but my wife sometimes makes the same mispronunciation of the river name.

Above Left: An odd looking land slide.

Above Right: Riding south on NF-250 along the Conejos River.

Above Left: We could no longer parallel the river, so it is over the hills we go.

Above Right: A climbing break, Terry and the Bee.

Above Left: Wild Roses are aromatic.

Above Right: Heading south on NF-250.

Above Left: Cinquefoil.

Above Right: The view west.

Above: The view is grand southbound on NF-250.

Above Left: A climb ahead.

Above Right: We're climbing. I do not remember any guard rails from our last visit.

Above: Near the crest.

Above Left: This is the largest and most bountiful wild rose plant that I have ever seen in the wild (aromatic too).

Above Right: Heading downhill.

Above Left: Looking down to the SW.

Above Right: Heading down NF-250.

Above Left: Heading south NF-250.

Above Right: Thistle.

Above Left: Looking east.

Above Right: Heading south NF-250.

BOOM!

The Rear Tire Exploded and went Flat

Above: The Rear Tire Exploded and went Flat. The tube was torn with a four inch long flap; it was no longer usable. We inspected the Tire closely, looking for a nail or thorn, and nothing was found. We remounted the rim with the tire and a new tube and then Terry noticed a Tire/Tube Aneurysm (a tube bulge through the tire)!

We deflated the tube and we added Duct Tape to reinforce the Tire's bulge area particularly along the Tire's Rim Bead area. We re-inflated the tire and the tire still looked like it was going to come apart from the rim (as seen in these pictures). Notice the unevenness of the white reflector tape from the wheel's rim.

Above Left: To be safe, because we had to ride out, we added more Duct tape. The Duct Tape held up to the challenge.

We just wanted to be able to ride far enough to find a human with a car to help me (Dennis) get a ride back to our own motor vehicle in Platoro. We found a very helpful lady resort manager who understood what had happened very quickly (I don't think we were her first rescue). We did not have a spare tire (a learning lesson) and there were no bike stores around, in fact we did not even have a cell phone connection, so we just headed home.

When we arrived home, we discovered a water valve leak in the upstairs bathroom. Had we not returned home then, we probably would have returned a few weeks later to a very expensive disaster. God works in mysterious ways.

Above Right: Terry demonstrated the Tire Failure. The manufacturer sent us a new replacement tire.