Well it was bound to happen and it finally did. I got stranded on my Amerimaster.
For the second time in just under a year i didn't get to ride her home.
The first time was because i wrecked near Deals Gap, and with broken bones and broken bike i simply couldn't ride home. This time it was a "simple" flat tire.
I did a turnaround in the dirt on a rural road and shortly thereafter i noticed she was handling kinda funny. I stopped and looked at the tires and sure enough the rear was going down quick. So with my girlfriend holding on tight, we took off for the convenience store a mile back down the road.
Just as we pulled into the parking lot, i felt the tire come off the bead. Doh! In an instant things had gone from bad to worse!
So i run in the store and grab two cans of fix-a-flat and go through the motions. No luck with can #1. Duh... the tire is off the bead.
With no ratchet strap or other device to try to squeeze it back into position i started looking for something to use as a makeshift bike lift. Nothing to be found.
My last-ditch effort was to turn the fuel off and lay her on her side, then tried to pull the tire onto the bead and shoot the second can of fix-a-flat into it at the same time. Of course the result of this monkey-humping-a-football kind of exercise was that the tire came off the other bead. Ugh!
Did i mention that the temperature was 90 degrees and the humidity was too?! So you can imagine my attitude was beginning to scare my girlfriend, especially when i said i was thinking seriously about throwing a match to the gas that had now trickled from the gas cap.
Instead, i went back into the store and grabbed a six-pack of my favorite ice cold beer, slammed three of them down really quick, then made the call... My trusty steed was gonna have to ride on a trailer!
So my buddy shows up two hours later and we load her up and get on the road. Oh the humility! At least it was after dark by then.
Well we get back to the shop where i could re-seat the tire and air it up only to see a half quart or so of fix-a-flat come spewing out of a one inch slash right in the middle of the tread like the tire was taking a whizz. Dang! That tire had served me well for eleven months and 8000 miles. I hated to see that all that good tread that was left was gonna go to waste. It's just too big of a hole to risk using a patch or a tube.
The good thing is i have another new Kenda on the way for $73.98 to the door, and it should arrive tomorrow. Oh, and after sitting overnight the tire is holding air. That means i get to make another (hopefully better)burnout video.
I know, this is a really long post just to say i had a flat tire, but i'm really bored at work today...
