My First Flat Tire

I knew that I'd have plenty of flat tires on this trip,but I didn't expect that the first flat would come during my "test ride."

I'm staying in Orlando with Carter and his wonderful family in their nice home in Maitland, Florida, just outside of Orlando. I spent the morning putting my bike together, then this afternoon, decided to take it on a 10 mile spin, just to see how it was working.

I was riding along on the Cady Trail, a nice 'rail to trail' path near their house, when all the sudden, my front tire exploded. There I was, no repair kit, no spare tube, just me, my bike and my cell phone! After a short wait, a young man with a pick-up truck stopped to see if I needed any help. Damin gave me a ride back to Carter's house with the bike in the back of his truck. How lucky is that? I hope that all my flat tires are so easy to fix.

Tomorrow, Carter is planning on taking me to Daytona Beach, about 50 miles from here, and I'll start my ride towards St. Augustine so I can start the Southern Tier Route. It should be an easy ride up the Florida Coast to St. Augustine. It's been really nice staying here, and Carter's family has been friendly and helpful.