3am start for a figure of eight 200km DIY today. Warm start but plenty of mist and some light rain. Passed a police car before 4am and wondered if the driver would be interested in a cyclist out that early, but they drove the other way. Memories of the 2014 January Sale and 2015 PBP around 80km in when my left foot started pulsing, followed by the hollowtech 2 crank coming off the axle, and dangling from the pedal still attached to my shoe. Stopped three times, each time with better results at kicking and stoning the crank back on, then tightening the offending bolts. Left foot soft pedalling became the routine until I arrived home for breakfast after around 115km. The bolts were tightened with a much longer allen key before the second loop. Less than 10km into that, my rear tyre went flat, due to a thorn/piece of hedge the length of my thumbnail. It took a while to push it out the way it came in. Plenty of cyclists went by, the majority asking if I needed help. I worked it out 😁 and there were no more puncture fairy visits. The crank had stayed in place, so I’ll leave it alone until the bb wears out (like after PBP).
