Wheels - good and bad news

Speedy's (my bike's name) back tyre had deflated yet again Monday late in the evening.   I've had the rim tape changed, tyre changed and countless tubes replaced, yet it persistently pinches itself.  Angry!

Had to rush to Rodalink before the ride yesterday, Mickey wasn't on duty, dang.  Herman checked it perfunctorily, pronounced it pinched, then proceeds to pull a new tube in.  I saw red.  Started whining about how many tubes I have spent on this back tyre - enough to have funded an entry level wheelset which is still better than the stock wheels I currently have on.  So Herman was nice enough to offer me a spare wheel while he tried to pinpoint the fault with the errant wheel.  Incidentally that spare wheel is much lighter than my own.  As it turns out, I will need it :)

Just setting off on the ride, I already felt ominously sluggish.  At the end of Coastal Road, I was broken from the peloton by traffic lights.  Dragging the remaining guys behind me, with great effort I chased and slowly closed the gap but it was not until that last steep slope before the Shell petrol kiosk rest stop did I succeed.

On the return, again, I found myself with only JC.  Swinging turns to drag & holding 33-35km/h.  Not sure if I was tired or hungry or the headwinds too much, but I started to see stars - literally.  Fearful of falling off the bike dizzy, yet reluctant to give up the partnership, midway through Coastal Road, I had to give up - gasping at JC to go ahead.

And then like a Godsend, from behind came a train of Weeli dragging Paul, Zi & Roger.  So glad to see them, I immediately joined in the drafting all the way back.

Soon I can practise dragging on my Ultegra wheelset (yeah, I did it finally! Prompted to action by anger that Monday night).  Perhaps swing turns to drag as JC suggests.  I learned last night that drafting is not only mental, but physical!  My legs were burning, I could barely hold myself upright, I was mashing away, forget pedaling technique!  I was so tired, I was dizzy!  Yet the next instance I was back drafting, I could almost immediately recover yet keep their pace.