Left Brain here.
I actually accomplished a full bike ride today. This week that has been quite an accomplishment. Up until earlier this week I had put over 900 miles on my Electra Townie bike with no problems. However, at about 9 miles on Monday I noticed the front tire going soft. I managed to get home before it totally went flat. Now I did notice an unusual amount odd glass, metal and other debris on the highway shoulders so I wasn’t too surprised.
I took the tire off and inspected it inside and out and promptly found the offending small piece of wood. I removed it and inserted the spare tube I carry as well as patched the old tube to use as a spare.
The next day I wasn’t as lucky as I was only seven miles out when the back tire went flat completely. I did manage to get home by pumping it up several times. After a trip to Wal-Mart to purchase a new tube and another patch kit I attacked the tire. This time I found multiple offending pieces of wood like material which I removed, replaced the tube and inflated.
The following day I didn’t get very far at all when first one tire than the other went flat. However, I did discover the cause. Under trees with shiny leaves I discovered a pine cone looking thing covered with thorns that were very strong but detached from the stem easily. The street was covered with these thorns that had been run over by cars but were still strong.
Luckily THE Queen was able to find a Townie dealer only 7 miles away. I walked in and told the man I needed two tires and two tubes. He asked “thorns?”. I answered “thorns”. He said welcome to Hemet.
He told me how to beat them by using tubes that are shown on the box as “Thorne Resistant”. They are three times as thick as usual tubes. AND, for a price, he filled the tubes with sealant! He also said not to try to remove thorns from the outer tire because you will only force them in more. They are supposed to come out themselves. All I know is I made 14 miles today without a flat.
Welcome to Hemet!!!
woo hoo! lessons learned! :)
ReplyDeleteSo this could be quite a business!
ReplyDeleteL.B., Happy to see you do a guest post! Wow...I am so very impressed. I hope to put some miles on my Townie next year, but I seriously doubt I could match you!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you did not get stranded. Thankfully you were safe and able to get back to the RV. Those thorns are something out of a horror movie!
My goodness, that was really scary about those thorns. You could have been stuck way out, but I'm glad you made it back okay. I probably would have given up after the second flat. We had a light dusting of snow last night, and rain on and off thru the night. It's supposed to rain most of today. The Weather Channel says that it has been raining pretty heavy in California. Hopefully, the flooding is not near where you are. I know they need a lot of rain out there, just not so much all at once.
ReplyDeleteMy little guy is barking that he is hungry, so that's my clue to get in the kitchen. lol. You have a beautiful day, hugs, Edna B.
So fun seeing Left Brain appear with his own misadventrue story. I like knowing THE QUEEN has a partner in her traveling endeavers. pond lois
ReplyDelete