First it was in the parking lot at school. Then it was while I was out of town. The next one was in the garage. This time it was while I was on the road. If you have been keeping up with this blog for the last three months, you probably know what I'm talking about. I got another flat tire today. This is the fourth one in about three months.
The first three I discovered while the car was parked, but this one happened while I was on the go. Earlier this week my wife struck a deal so that our girls could take horseback riding lessons from a gal in town in exchange for me tutoring her son in reading. Since I kind of know what I'm doing in the reading area, it seemed like a good idea. The blowout happened on the way home. The horse lady and her son live about four miles from us and the temperature was only in the low 90s yesterday afternoon, so I rode my bike over there today.
There's actually a little bit more to the story than just the blowout. I haven't ridden much in the last week since my fairly new bike helmet met an unfortunate ending last Friday. It came about as a result of an encounter with the right front tire of our Suburban. Fortunately my head wasn't in it at the time, but I suspect that one of my sweet little children played a roll in strategically placing it behind the tire.
I really liked this particular helmet and in order to get a new one I had to order it from Amazon. We have the Prime account which comes with free two-day shipping, so it's pretty easy to buy things that way. When it finally arrived on Tuesday I went for a ride and then again on Wednesday. I was really feeling like I was in a groove yesterday as I was pedaling home from the tutoring session when I heard a loud pop.
I keep self-sealing thorn-proof tubes in my tires, so flats are rare. There are lots of thorns in our area, so I do have to add air every once in a while. That's why I keep a pump with me, but I don't keep a spare tube. The way I was figuring was that if I got a flat, it would be the result of a thorn which is easily remedied just by topping off the air in the tube and moving on.
This particular flat was much more than a thorn. It was caused by a two-inch nail that punctured the tire and popped the tube like a balloon. There was no recovering from this one. Fortunately I carry a roadside assistance plan, so I pulled my phone out and made a quick call then walked my bike over to a shady spot in front of Farmer Boy's.
Ten minutes later, the roadside assistance truck pulled into the parking lot. I wheeled my handicapped bike over to it, kissed the driver, and loaded up the bike. "Thanks, Honey," I said as I climbed inside. As soon as we got home, my roadside assistance plan kicked in again. This time the driver sat down in front of her computer, clicked on her trusty Amazon Prime account, typed a few words and ordered me a new tube with guaranteed two-day delivery. That means that by Saturday I'll be back in business. Anyone want to go for a ride?
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