The thought had occurred to me, now that I'm back on the road, that having a mechanical or a flat tire would bum me out more than usual since I lack full usage of my right hand. On Saturday, I found out just exactly how much ...
After procrastinating all morning, I finally turned off the Tour coverage and donned my lycra. Did one lap through Patapsco Park and started to head down the trail to pop out on Ilchester. If all went well, maybe I'd take a spin up the hill. All did not go well, so I never made it.
About 3/4 of the way down the trail, I realized my rear tire was going flat, quickly. No problem... Pulled off to the side and dumped out my seat-pack. Tire levers, cO2 cartidge, tube - all present and accounted for. I grabbed the levers and got to it - still holding onto my fairly sunny outlook on the ride. About 10mins later, I lost that sunny outlook. The levers were sh*t; wouldn't hook under the tire bead to save my life. My lack of a right hand didn't help. A few riders sped past, not slowing a half-second to see if the clearly disabled chick needed help.
Another 10mins and I finally get my hands under the tire to pull it free from the rim. Out comes the tube, where I discover that it was the valve that failed. Good, at least my tire is okay. Now to the new tube, all put together - time for air and I'm home free. Still annoyed that no one bothered to ask if I was okay.
Then I realized that I had the wrong cartridge. I had a threaded inflation-thingy but I grabbed a non-threaded cartridge. It wouldn't work no matter how hard I tried. After pondering the idea of walking 4miles home, I flagged down two kids on MTBs. They begrudgingly stopped, gave me what I needed (thank you) and rode away before even seeing if it worked.
It almost didn't work- I lost a bunch of air because I'm not that adept with my left hand. I managed to get enough air to get home, where I promptly emptied the tire (did you know that cO2 cartidges carry traces of oil that will weaken your tubes if don't drain out the air ? Thank you for the insight, Josh!) and refilled it with my floor pump. Having wasted a good 45mins on this little escapade, I hooked up to my trainer and finished my ride while watching the rest of the Tour.
If I see a rider on the side of the road, I always - ALWAYS- slow down, take out the earphones and ask if they need anything. Am I really the only one who does this ? I understand that I'm an odd sight right now in my bright green cast, but c'mon- I'm a cute (if I do say so myself), fit female in lycra. WTF ? People suck.
Take away lesson: Chivalry is dead.
12 comments:
is there no end to your complaints? we already gave you the vote, "equal pay for equal rights," and (god forbid) driving privileges. man up.
oops. please substitute "complaining" for "complaints" in my previous post. kthxbye.
I find that showing a bit of boob helps on occasion...
Question...is that for butyl tubes or only latex?
Chivalry isn't dead, you just didn't run into the right person. Don't get me wrong, stupidity is alive and well, especially where you live. My wife works in retail by where you live and she complains about the people over there versus when she was working in Gainesville, VA. Out in the country, everybody is helpful. Ran out of gas once on Route 67 and the first person to come by stopped, went back to his house, came back with a gas can, and refused any money from me. I was SOL there too because I had no cell phone signal and no bike.
FYI - every time I see somebody stuck on the side of the road, I offer to help. Only once has somebody took me up on the offer and then he didn't have the tools for the repair and I ride tubulars so he was still SOL.
As far as the oil in the CO2 cartridge, even if there is any, how would letting the air out of the tube get the oil out of the tube? I don't know about this one. Even if the oil were suspended in the CO2 somehow, which I find hard to believe, the centrifugal force of the tire rotating would put it all along the tube walls.
the oil in the tube thing is redonkulous. i would of helped you for sure... mainly cuz your smokin hot.
after some research, i find that different manufacturers use different "formulas" in their CO2 cartridges - depending on which ones you have, you could wind up with propane, butane, isobutane etc in your cartridge ... as most anyone knows, propane will begin to decompose organic materials (ie rubber/latex)but I haven't found detail on how long that'll take. Given my one-handed approach right now, I'm unwilling to find out. Also, there is conflicting info out there that says the air molecules are a different size than regular oxygen - some say it will permeate the rubber in the tubes faster (ie go flat faster). I'm an accountant, not a scientist ... I opt for minimizing the risk of being stuck on the side of the road again !
Anon #1 - if you're so tough, why do you post anon ?
Anon #2 - you had me at redonkulous ...
because the internet is for safe, anonymous flaming. well, and pr0n. also because i don't want to get beaten up by a one-handed girl.
Ah, when you said oil I thought you meant something like greasy oil, not an oil derivative like propane that is a result of refining. I'll readily believe that propane, butane, and isobutane could be in those cartridges and will completely agree that they are not good for rubber. I have also heard that CO2 will permeate a tube faster than air, but I think that is because nitrogen, which if found in air, is a larger molecule than CO2. I don't think oxygen, O2, is larger than CO2 since it lacks the carbon atom.
Hey anon, if you think she could kick your ass with one hand, you are in for a pretty good surprise when she hits you with that cast. LOL
I'm with Karen
Sounds like this instance was the exception and not the rule. Having helped, and been helped by others, I have to wonder if the guys you encountered weren’t just a bit immature. Not to mention gay, cause for a hottie like you, I would so totally stop.
I always ask people if they are alright also but i dont take out the ear phones so that way i cant hear them,the mouthes are moving but have no clue what they are saying but at least i asked,cant believe no one stopped
Post a Comment