It's Like Raaaaai-aain...........
This morning my co-worker mocked me for not biking with essentials like a tire pump and a patch kit. “What would you do,” he asked “if you got a flat tire on the bike path?” Well, duh, I’d walk or ride the bus home, get the car and take it to someone to fix it.
Today I also decided I needed a front basket on my bike instead of just the saddle bags. My first reason for needing them was farmers market. One simply cannot bring plants home in saddle bags. My second reason became evident when I retrieved my birthday meal leftovers from my saddlebag and found that my Bang-Bang Chicken had all-but exploded. Fortunately, I had put it in a ziploc bag, preventing a much bigger disaster than a ruined lunch and yogurt.
So I picked up the boy and we rode down to Willy Bikes (confusingly on West Wash) to get a front basket for my bike. I went on a spending spree and bought a basket, a nifty little front handlebars purse for non-basket days, night front and rear lights, a bell/compass thingy, a Dane County/City of Madison bike trail map and a tire patch kit. And I discovered why bikers would want CO2 cans, but I didn’t buy any of those kits. I mean, really, who gets flat tires anyway?
So we decided to ride up to the Great Dane for dinner. My legs were a bit tired, but I was feeling the urge to go out again and we’re so close to downtown, it seemed like a great idea. When we returned to our bikes we discovered that my rear tire was completely flat. Completely, utterly flat as a freakin’ pancake. Seriously, universe, W T F?
Did I have the portable bike pump? Nope.
Did I have the patch kit purchased mere hours earlier? Nope.
Would I have even known how to use the patch kit had I been in possession of the first 2 items? Uh, no, probably not.
My bike is still parked up at 1 W Wilson waiting for me to return tomorrow to take it down the street to get repaired. I have NO idea how long it was flat, or why it was flat. I just know I have to walk it down the street tomorrow to get it fixed.
What. A. Pain.
Update
Inner tube blew out completely. Apparently someone *cough*Mike*cough* over-pressurized my tires by 10 psi. Inner tube replaced and an extra one has been purchased just in case another one blows out.
I didn't carry around a patch kit until a couple of years ago
I didn’t carry around a patch kit until a couple of years ago because I was incredibly lucky and because I …(I am such a girl)….didn’t know how to patch a flat.
Now, I decided I needed one, and bought one, with the CO2 cartridge, when I got one on the bike path and had to walk about 1 mile to a gas station for a fill.
I had to use it one day when I was easily 10 miles from home, in the middle of freaking nowhere, along the bike path. I seriously was freaking out as I pulled everything apart and put it back together again. IT took me 45 minutes, which is like 40 minutes too long.
Now, I’m better, and I usually just carry a spare tube around, with my C02 inflater thingy and a little tool to help remove a tire, but it’s still a long and tedious process to deal with it.
You all have me beat!
I hadn’t even owned a bike since I was 15 (as soon as I could drive, I’ve been driving). I did buy a used bike from someone on the side of the road last year, but I KNOW it needs a major tune-up and I have yet to take it somewhere to have it looked at.
I’m SOOOOO green in every other way! I need to get on the bike…..
who knew?
I certainly don’t own a patch kit. Brian killed a tube because he was trying to get our pump off the tire and ripped the stem off. We took my bike to the shop also because as long as I’ve owned it, I’ve had trouble shifting. The guy at the shop said “Do you own any chain grease?” and we were both like “Huh?” We’re such idiots. All it needed was a little lube – good to go.
At least we’re just recreational bikers. Although now that I think about it, it would suck to be 6 mi. from the car or from home and blow a tire.
I never bothered to even inflate my tires
When I was a kid, I used to ride my bike to piano lessons through the ice and snow with two completely flat tires. The rims ended up destroyed after a while, but the bike was exacly 1 billion years old and I found I got better traction on the ice and snow with flat tires.
God-for-f’ing-bid my mother or step-father would drive me 3 miles once a week for a 1/2 hour lesson.
Good for Ryan!
Whether you still play the piano or have an appreciation for music, I am SO proud of Ryan for having the will to get himself to lessons as a kid!
I DO still play...
… in fact I recently bought myself a grand piano.
I caused a bit of drama in the house when I did it without telling the other Ryan, but he kept telling me to put it off. He was a bit pissy about it but got over it quickly.