Goatheads

John, our camp host, invited us to the Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition’s Friday morning ride. This is a conversational ride that begins and ends at a coffee shop and is mainly made up of   a bunch of retired folks with various kinds of bikes: recumbents, road bikes, mountain bikes, etc.  And they ranged in age from the 50’s to the 80’s. They only ride 12-16 miles and there is a slow and fast group. We rode with the fast group and Debbie stayed with the slower group.
It was a beautiful day for a bike ride, and we forgot how much we missed our Saturday morning rides with the Blackwater Cyclists when we were living in Pensacola. After about 12 miles we stopped to regroup and use the restroom at the Cottonwood airport. Several people noticed they had “goatheads” in their tires. We quickly learned what they look like, and why they can so easily puncture a tire. We had stayed on pavement the whole time, so we weren’t sure where we got them.



We checked ours and sure enough I had one in my front tire, which I pulled out. Jim pulled out a couple from his, and when he got the last one out of his rear tire, air hissed out. Not a sound you want to hear.  As it turned out, I think 5 or 6 people had flat tires, so we changed and patched tubes.

Turned out mine was leaking slowly but I made it home before it went flat. They ended up cutting the ride short in order to get back to the cafe for some food and socializing, which is an important part of their ride. They also do some hiking together and invited us to meet them Sunday morning at 8, which is a bit too early for my dear husband.
It was a really nice group of people and  we enjoyed the lovely scenery. Coming down the long hill before the airport we had a great view of the heavily snow covered San Francisco peaks in Flagstaff.  Also enjoyed talking to a guy named Dennis, who actually designs and builds recumbent bikes. What a fun morning, in spite of all the flat tires!