Sometimes, I'm not supposed to ride

My weekend schedule was free, and I was hoping to do something a little different. The forecast was looking rather nice. So the idea of a bike ride came to mind. After all, I have been one lazy biker this year. Getting some miles under my tires sounded like a good plan.

Then I thought, why not do a self-supported camping trip? I have the panniers (like saddlebags) and lightweight camping gear. So last night I packed it all on the bike, including food and clothes for a day. It fit into the panniers rather well. I took the loaded bike for a spin around the block, to test it out. The bike handled a little awkward, but that's to be expected with all that weight on the back.

So this morning I hopped on my loaded bike and headed north, towards Cross Ranch State Park, forty-some miles away. My plan was to camp overnight in a primitive campsite, then ride north to Washburn and back home tomorrow.

Good plan, right? Well, sometimes I get the feeling I'm just not supposed to be on a bike.

A few miles out of town, I hit a bump. Within seconds, I heard the disheartening "hisssssss" of a deflating tire. But upon removing the tire, I could not find anything that had punctured the tube. I started to wonder if my lightweight tires, tubes, and bike just weren't up to the task. I found the hole in the tube, and I was worried that I had simply blown the tube. It popped under the weight, I thought.

So I replaced the tube with my only spare. Concerned about heading farther from civilization with no spare and such a heavy load, I turned around and headed home.

Mere blocks from home, I heard what I thought was a spoke snap. Luckily, that wasn't the problem. The noise was caused by a nail scraping against the rim as it punctured my rear tire. With the nail stuck in the slowly-deflating tire, I made it home.

Some days I wish I had a touring bike - a road bike built for endurance and efficiency. I love my Schwinn Fastback Pro, a road "race" bike. But I'm not confident it's up to the task of loaded touring. It handled my lighter load when I road across Arizona and New Mexico without camping gear. But throw in a tent, sleeping bag, and pillow -- no matter how light, and I start to get worried.

So here I sit, wondering how else I can spend my weekend. First, I was going to go home to visit the parents. But they're busy, so that plan was ditched. Then I was going to go to Cross Ranch. Now that's scrapped.

Maybe I'm just supposed to stay home?