The First Flat

Necessity is the mother of learning to fix your bike. I got my first flat tire only a few miles after landing on the Washington mainland. So much for my dream of riding miraculously flat free all the way to San Francisco.

Arriving in Port Townsend from Whidbey

Luckily it was still early in the day, the sun was shining and there was a turnout nearby where I could work.  A quick look at the tire revealed the source of the flat - a sharp piece of wood poking through the tire. I found the hole in the tube, patched it, replaced the tube in the tire, pumped it up and was starting to feel a little bit proud of myself when I picked up the tire and noticed it appeared to have lost some air. For a second I actually debated ignoring this rather obvious sign that my patch job had failed - ignorance, after all, is bliss.  I soon realized, however, that ignorance in this instance was just a tire still flat. Since I didn't want to spend too long on the side of the road (and I knew I would soon lose my patience) I used my spare tube the second time around, with success. I may have looked like a coal miner (another cyclist actually said this to me!) but I was back on the road.

If only life were so simple. Once again, I was faced with post-tire-removal brake trouble. Apparently brakes without a tire between them are like body piercings without studs - the hole quickly fills in. Okay it's probably me and not the brakes, but nevertheless, I noticed that my back brakes were rubbing against my tire. I decided to give a little more slack in the cable, which led me to the unfortunate discovery that there was hardly any slack to give, and what there was was frayed like my hair first thing in them morning.

At this point I ran into another cyclist from Sweden, who very helpfully told me I should probably get that fixed, and to avoid using my brake. Never mind the fact that we were ten miles from biking over a mountain.

Another 15 miles down the road and I arrived in the town of Quilcene. I had planned to go over the mountain and into a state park, but it was getting late, and after some debate I decided to stay at the campground in town. This turned out to be a good decision. I happened to catch a pretty decent show at the annual Quilcene Shindig, got myself organized, and was able to think much more clearly about my bike situation in the morning.

Locus Street Taxi put on a really fun show

First, I noticed that my brake pad had popped out - hence the rubbing. I did my best to jam it back in and also trued the wheel to ensure it fully cleared the brakes (I'm slow enough without my brakes dragging on my wheel, thank you very much). I also discovered that my original patch job didn't work because there was actually a second hole. Another patch plus a few more minor adjustments and I was in pretty good shape. The back brake cable still needed replacing, but would hold out for the time being.  Maybe I would take a side trip to Olympia to get it fixed as I've always wanted to go there...


Lesson learned: the most important resource for solving a problem is a clear head. It's amazing what a good night's sleep will do. 

hello highway! we are going to be spending a lot of time together...

Until next time (or "a hui hou," as my new friend Li Anne - a one-time Hawaiian local - says),

Dana

P.S. I added pictures to all of my previous posts. Check it out!!