…being annoyed.
This morning’s ride was going well until I had an “event” – something that seldom happens in cycling, and has never happened to me: a double flat. Even worse – pinch-flats on each of my wheels.
It was about fifteen minutes before sunrise and I was in Osan city with my BCFB ride partner Chris at a spot about 7 or 8 miles ride from my apartment when we needed to dip down on a seldom-used river trail to cross under a busy highway. The sky was growing light, but not enough for me to be able to see a steel grate partially covering a culvert in the bike path – partial in that it was propped up so a two-inch steel edge faced me in the early-morning dimness. A two-inch steel edge that I didn’t even realize was there until my back tire was hitting it.
I yelled a warning to Chris (riding tubeless) who was following close behind, but he was only able to get his front tire up. His back tire hit, and I was turning around under the bridge just in time to see a cloud of sealant dissipating in the dim light of the background sky. This was unfortunate because I only had one tube with me and he was carrying a latex tube as a backup. If his tire hadn’t gone, I could have used his backup tube and we would’ve been home free.
Even then there was hope – he had a patch kit with him. But after going through two patches on my tubes, it just wasn’t working out. So after he put in his latex replacement he got on his bike and high-tailed it home while I walked on to the Osan Sports Center where I sat and fumed as I waited for him to get his car and come back to pick me up.
Lesson learned? Should I carry two tubes with me, one of which could be a super emergency latex tube (which is significantly lighter…but much more expensive)? I really should have had my own patch kit with me, but ran out of patches a while back and never picked up a new one. And really, how often is one going to have double pinch-flats?
Pinch-flats are notoriously hard to patch because they happen when you hit a sharp edge and the flex in the tire forces your tube up against the rim and pinches two small holes into the tube on either side. Hitting a nail or screw is much easier to patch. So there’s a better chance of using a tube on a pinch-flat and being able to repair a nail or screw hole with a patch in a ride than having to repair two pinch-flats. Especially knowing after one pinch-flat that you can’t afford to get another. Wakes you up to a little more caution on the remainder of the ride.
I’ll figure it out I’m sure…
Saw John get a double flat once…we were riding through wine country and started sampling at around 25 miles. Around mile 40 he rode into a rock slide and took out both tires (and tubes). That was some expensive wine.
Sounds about right though, if it was more about the sampling and less about “staying upright.”