A flat is bad enough. Having to stop in the middle of a great downhill is worse.

Just before we reached Ticonderoga there was a long, steep downhill. We normally kept a lot of space between us on steep downhills. After Brian started I took a picture over my handle bars of the steep hill sign and headed down hill.

It was quite steep at the top and I was riding my brakes a lot to keep my speed around 35 mph. About a mile and a half down the hill, my rear tire went flat. I was able get the bike stopped. Off came the panniers and the wheel. While I was pulling the tube off, a car stopped and Brian got out.

I may be slow but Brian claims that when I wasn’t right behind him at the bottom of the hill,he locked his bike to the guard rail and started to walk back up. A car stopped and gave him a ride up the hill to me.

When he realized that I was ok, he grabbed my camera, took a picture, and started to walk back to his bike. Almost immediately he was picked up by another driver and taken back to his bike.

By the time I caught up with Brian he claims to have called his wife, ate a snack, and took a nap.

You would think that with six previous flats on this trip I would be faster at this.

Wes