No longer a tire changing virgin

In spite of all the miles I have ridden, I have never had a flat tire, and so have never had to change a tire, until day before yesterday. I did change one once during a one night maintenance class, with the shop guy/biker standing right beside me talking me through it, but I don't think that counts. I have also observed other people, including my SAG guy change tires with the ease and familiarity of repetition. That obviously doesn't count either.

Flat tires and riding seem to go in odd and unpredictable cycles. On the Mississippi Ride in 2007, my sister had several flats a day for the first 5 or 6 days, even when she borrowed the guide's bike. Others, myself included went the whole distance without every having a flat. The same thing happened on the Underground Railroad Ride. Several people seemed to be flat prone, while others, again myself included, had no problems whatsoever. It all seems very random.

Although I am very conscientious about checking my tires for nicks and scrapes and checking the pressure before each ride and also tend to scan for and avoid debris, rocks and road trash whenever possible, I am very aware that I seem to be exceptionally lucky in the arena of no flats.

So Thursday, as I was chugging along in resistance mode against the headwinds, it finally occurred to me that the regular thump, thump I had been feeling for the past 500 yards or so, was not lousy road, but somethingelse, like a flat tire.

Having found a safe place to get off the shoulder I checked the rear tire. Nothing was visible, but it was definitely flat. I tried reinflating it, only to discover that the frame pump I have faithfully carried on my bike for years, doesn't have a fitting for a presta valve. I flipped my bike over and started to remove the rear tire, figuring that I would put in a new tube just to be safe and then use the pressurized air cannister I also carry to inflate it. After several minutes of trying to get the deflated tire and wheel out for the fork and through the brakes, I remembered that I had to loosen the brake lever and drop the chain. Once I did that I got the tire off easily enough. Another 45 minutes passed while I struggled with tire levers to get the tire off the wheel.

The toughest part was trying to get the new tube back onto the wheel. I got it levered in almost all the way around under the one rim I had managed to free and still had about 8" of tube left. I admitted defeat and gave my SAG guy a call to ask for help. He suggested inflating the tube slightly. We also decidedd that since I was within a mile or so of the coffee shop, that if all else failed, I could walk the bike over and use their phone book to call a cab. I got out the compressed air and give the tube a squirt. it filled up and promptly went flat. I had pinched it or punctured it during the hour or so I had been trying to feed it under one side of the tire rim.

Nothing loath, I got out the second tube, and then it suddenly occurred to me that I had to remove the tire entirely, partially inflating the tube around the rim and then replacing the tire. All of this went smoothly and needless to say I was delighted when I added air and the pressure held.

As I was staring bemusedly at the rear derailleur trying to remember if there was a trick to replacing the chain, a big old Texas HumVee pulled up on the road about 50 feet away, and a Texas good old boy complete with hat, boots and a drawl asked if he could "be of assistance." When I looked doubtful , since Texas drivers are usually less than friendly, he said that he rode a lot too and I looked like I might need some help. By this time any delusion I might have had about expertise, or basic knowledge of tire changing was well and truly destroyed so I admitted defeat and asked him if he could help me seat the rear tire.

As he easily remounted the rear tire, the road knight mentioned that everything would have been easier if I had remembered to shift into the lowest gear before I started the whole operation. Even as he said it, I remembered being told that several times. Sigh.... I do so miss my brain sometimes.

He stood by as I rode the bike off down the highway and back to make sure everything was balanced and assembled and then drove off with a cheery wave. I gathered up the contents of the tool bag and rode off to the coffee shop. It was just as I tried to slow down for the stop light that it occurred to me that I had forgotten to tighten my rear brake. Fortunately I was going so slow that I could just step down and reach back to tighten them while I waited for the light to change.

The rest of the ride was uneventful as was the ride on Friday. I am relieved that I managed to stumble through the tire change almost all by myself, and determined to practice a couple more times at home so that I really can feel confident that I sort of know what I am doing. But it definitely was a good learning experience which will be put to good use, probably sooner than I would like.