Day 15 – Staycation in Cameron
November 3, 2011 Filed under Tech
When I woke up after ten hours, I observed that my front tire was flat. It hadn’t been when I rolled the bike into the room, so it must be a slow leak. Time to see what caused it…
Merrily changing a front tube. Only the second flat in ~1000 miles of riding, some of it pretty rough.
I detached the wheel and cleaned it off, then used the tire levers to remove the tire and tube. I drew out the tube and disposed of it, then ran my fingers slowly along the interior of the tire, looking for any sharpness. Oho, look at this! An ugly thorn punched clear through the kevlar.
During the usual tire inspection, I found this. Time to bust out those little pliers I keep for such occasions.
There's the thorny bastid what did it!!
As I did the repairs, I had a long, introspective talk on speakerphone with Erika. It was nice to reconnect, and to work further through some of the myriad things that were distilling in my brain as I rode along.
I only left the warmth of the motel room to walk across the highway and eat at the local restaurant. Other than that, I monkeyed with pictures, surfed the web, and watched episodes of The Daily Show all day! Quite restful.
I have a lot of riding to do if I’m to stay on schedule. The good news is, the weather outlook has changed and now I’m promised two days of sun. Thank goodness!
It was indeed lovely to talk with you! So proud of you and the aplomb with which you’re handling the ups and downs of your adventure! <3
May today be thorn-free. :)
Were you shaken by the earthquake? The weather here is just like Oregon!
Nope, no earthquake happened here in Illinois, as far as I can tell. :)