
We met George in Batsto Village and we rode for a few hours, covering perhaps 25 miles. Martha and I used the ride as training for next week's tour. Martha started getting tired a few miles from the end, but otherwise did very well. I got a good workout pulling the trailer.
The eternal question (one of them) is whether to tour with panniers or a trailer. To help us make that decision, we took the trailer on Sunday see how it handles over this kind of distance. I'm pleased to report there were no problems, at least with the light load I had. I've carried heavy loads of groceries in the trailer, but for no more than the five or six miles from Shop-Rite.
Along with lunch, extra water, and tubes, I brought along a floor pump. I figured, why not? A few miles into the ride, George pulled over with a flat tire - his first flat, ever. He didn't find anything sharp inside the tire, but Martha found a pinhole leak in the tube. He put in the new tire and we got back on the road.
10 miles later, we were pulling out from our shady roadside lunch spot, and I noticed that Martha's rear tire was flat. That one had a small shard of glass speared through the 26" tire, and we had to dig a bit to get it out. We installed a makeshift patch and moved along. I was wondering if I was next to get a flat. George pointed out, "the day is still young."
My right shoulder started hurting perhaps half an hour after Martha's flat. With the help of two allen wrenches, Martha, and George, I raised my handlebars a bit. It did actually help my shoulder a little.
On the way home, we got fresh white NJ corn, and had it for dinner with butter and lots of garlic.
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