Serious cyclists learn not talk about things like how long it’s been since you last had a flat tire. It’s a certain jinx. I don’t even like to think about it while out riding. Even thinking about it seems to bring on a flat.
And you don’t want to be tempting fate when it’s trying to prevent you from riding in the first place.
The day had started out with me slicing my lip somehow while shaving. I had to drive the whole way to work pressing a tissue on my lip to try to stop the bleeding. But then the sun came out, I had worked a lot the previous couple days, and I wanted to get in a ride before the 4:30PM darkness here.
Leaving work at 2:00 usually means no traffic. But this day, because I wanted to ride before dark, it was a mess. The last 2km to home took me 30 minutes because the bridge to Oberkassel was completely jammed with cars for reasons completely unknown.
I finally made it out on the road by 3:15, and thought I would just ride hard for what little time I had. Not too long into the ride I passed a guy who was changing a flat. He said something as I went by, which is unusual, so I turned and went back. His pump was not working, so I let him use mine. He was quite grateful.
I set off again, trying to calculate the route that would get me home before dark.
Then I made the mistake of thinking about helping the guy with the flat, and thinking that I had not had one flat tire in the 5 months I’d been in Germany. That’s a long time without a flat.
A couple miles later, I could feel my front tire getting soft. Since front flats don’t happen as often as rear flats, this particular wheel had not had a change in a very long time. As a result, the inner tube was fused to the tire, and I could not pull it loose. I had visions of walking home 10 miles in my bike shoes. That was enough to give me a Popeye-like burst of strength to pull the tube loose.
The tire was now deformed and had a flat spot I could feel on every rotation of the wheel. I hammered the rest of the way home, riding the last 10 or 15 minutes in the dark. Fortunately there was a bike path adjacent to the road, then streetlights close to home.
I’m going to carry 2 spare tubes with me for a while. As we know, these sorts of things happen in groups of three. Not that I’m superstitious or anything.
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7 comments:
We certainly have all had experiences much like that one. I recall one fall day while attending school at Miami U. it was raining out but a friend and I decided to go for a short ride anyway. Since it was raining we decided not to take equipment to repair a flat (pre-CO2 days), besides it was only going to be a short ride. Anyhow to make a long story a bit longer I flatted about 10 miles out!!! After trying to call everyone we knew with a car to no avail, there was only one thing to do...ride it flat. This worked for about 200 meters before it was too dangerous (clincher). I took the tire off and lined it full of corn stalks and put it back on the rim. This allowed me to keep from having metal to pavement contact and we were able to ride back at about 10 miles per hour. It was a bumpy, lumpy ride and the short ride ended up being a lot longer (timewise anyway). Better load up your jersey pockets with tubes because they do usually come in 3's. Murphy's law says it you don't have em you will need them, just be glad that the guy that you helped out didn't need your tube!!!!!
This past Monday, I was off work so - of course - I went for a long ride in the middle of the day.
After about an hour, I (for no apparent reason) realized that I had forgotten to put my mini-pump, tire levers and spare tube in my jersey pockets.
Well, I wasn't going to head home at that point, so I kept riding.
Amazingly, I rode for about 2:30 without incident. Great day.
I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!!!
Tris you are now jinxed.
Merry Christmas to you guys too!
(back in the US having survived the tortuous trip home)
this just reminded me of a winter ride a couple years ago, where I had forgotten my tube & pump and had to ride 12 miles home on a rear flat. Being winter, the only riders you pass you're likely to know. Sure enough, here comes Stefan Kadar the other way. I'm thinking ... cool, I am saved. Only he is carrying neither a tube nor a pump -- on purpose. I remember telling him he deserved to flat on the way home.
I remember telling him he deserved to flat on the way home.
That's too funny.
well the 2 spare tube decision was a good one. I only had a deep-dish rear wheel to use, and realized I did not have a spare tube for it. Rode down to the bike shop and got one just in case ... and don't you know, I had to use it. I am so paranoid now.
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