I had a bad feeling. But I went out for a bike ride anyway. That damn back tire of mine has been fighting with me for a few weeks. I took it off and checked the tube and put it all back together again and finally got some decent air into it the other night. All was good.
Up today to go out for a couple of hours before work. I have learned that it only takes me 14 minutes to get to highway 5 where we have a couple of hills. They are not even decent hills but they are all we got, that is close so I like to go out there as much as possible. It was actually a gorgeous morning...the mist over the fields just as I turned onto the highway from McKercher was really pretty. And it was quiet and peaceful. The sun was about to come over the horizon and I was feeling like the rockstar up early getting my ride in.
I got just past the drive-in...as in not even to the base of the first hill and I hear the dreaded...pffffssst.
Oh Shit.
I look back and sure enough, FLAT. Off I get and my first instinct was to just call home for a ride. But then I thought, quit being such a fool and change this thing. This will be GOOD for you!! So I got the wheel off and the tire off without any trouble...the mosquitos were horrible. HORRIBLE!!! I could not stand them. I felt like i was in a sci-fi movie and in an hour someone would just find my bike and my bones at the side of the road...everything else eaten alive. GROSS!!!
I LIKED the semi trucks going by as they would create some wind and push those little bastards away!! I struggled and struggled to get the tube into the tire. I had bought these tubes a few years ago and had never actually used one before...well...I won't use another one. It was like they were too wide to go under the tire (?). But I tried stuffing it in anyway. Honestly, the bugs were so bad...I ended up calling Shaun to come and get me...I could not figure the tube out and I was getting super frustrated. And running out of time.
And then wouldn't you know it, I kept at it while waiting and sure enough, got that stupid tube in and inflated it and got the wheel back on the bike just as he was pulling up!! But boy, oh boy was I in a foul mood!! Some practise needs to be done with getting that back tire sorted out. I could just take it to the bike shop and let them do it....but I want to do it!! So I will be on my new deck tonight, with some beer, sorting that damn bike out.
A side note....I asked Justin about buying a new bike. I am feeling like I should just buy a new bike...He says the cheapest way to improve my riding is to actually ride MORE....and maintain my bike BETTER!!! Hahahahahahahhaa!!!
6 comments:
Fill the bathtub with a bit of water. Take the flat tube and using your pump, pump it up nice and big. Then, hold sections of it underwater until you see streams of air bubbles coming out of the hole. Mark this spot.
Take your tire and hold up the tube against the tire to see where the flat occurred. You can use a cotton ball to run along inside the tire to make sure nothing snags -- and no tiny metal bit is causing your flat. You might need pliers to remove any bit of metal, etc.
Rim tape has to be replaced eventually too...if you take your tire and tube off the wheel, you'll see there is rim tape covering the spoke holes of the wheel. If this stuff wears out, a spoke can poke through a teeny tiny bit causing a flat too. The bike shop can sort this out for you!
Props to you for battling the mosquitoes and getting your flat fixed! :) :):)
Except that sometimes, a slow leak won't show up even under water. I had one tube like that. It would take a couple days to go flat, but flat it would go. I spent speveral hours trying to find the leak and never did. Sometimes puting some dishsoap in water and smearing that on the tube finds the leat. Eventually I threw that tube away. I had another tube where the leak was on the valve stem threads. Threw that one away too.
If you want to match up the tube leak to the tire to find what caused the leak, you need to mark the tire with some chalk or something to mark where the valve stem is, and remember which way the tube was. You'll get frustrated looking for a wire at 3 oclock, when you turned the tube over and the wire is actually on the tire at 9 oclock.
I, too, have had the very occasional thought about new bike stuff (don't tell Estela!) but it always comes back to me. I'm the least aero, weakest part of the setup.
One thing I've started to carry in my tool kit is the mosquito repellent wipes. I hate wearing repellent to ride, but that way I have it if I need to fix a tire in conditions such as those you faced today.
Congrats on getting the tire fixed under such adverse conditions. Have fun practicing on the deck tonight.
I hate flats and mozzies even more but I am envisioning you on the deck, beer in hand, covered in bug spray getting it done quickly. If it makes any difference - my new bike doesn't make me any faster and right now my spiffy new seat is a pain in the ass (sit bones) to the point where I might be walking period.
Also, carry a little pair of finger nail clippers - great for getting the little metal or glass out without your finger getting cut.
Ick. That is about the last place I'd want to be while changing a flat.
Yeah, riding more would make you faster quicker....but riding more on a new bike would be even better! ;-)
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