Well, sometimes it’s just one of those days. But I count today a success anyway.
It all started out well enough. Another gorgeous morning. I decided a trip up past the Folk Village would be alright early enough, and it wasn’t bad. The traffic was light, and no one buzzed us too closely. We even got breakfast at the Yongin McDonald’s — a regular stop when we get out there. Egg McMuffin and a black coffee.
It started out all so nicely…and then, problems. A broken off pipe in an odd place almost got me. I swerved just in time. But Joon was not so lucky. It jumped up and bit both of his tires. In multiple places. And even though Joon runs tubeless, they just weren’t sealing. So he pulled out a spare inner tube for the front tire and got that up and running, then put a plug in the back and got that working.
But he didn’t, actually. The back tire had a problem with the bead. It just wasn’t sealing. Still, that’s OK — I carry a spare tube too, and we put that in his back tire.
Now, if you want to look on the bright side, at least I got to find out that my spare tube had a gaping hole in it before I really needed it. Not so good for Joon, though. Because he really needed it.
Fortunately, we were right under the elevated train, which connected with the yellow line, which went to Suwon, where he could transfer to Line 1 and get home. We said our goodbyes, but I wasn’t too optimistic, so I waited. Of course you can’t take bikes on the Yongin train. Joon came down from the tracks, and since there was a taxi right there, we gave it a shot. Of course not. No room for a bike. Joon’s just shy of calling his wife to make the hour drive to pick him up, and I start looking around. We’re right next to a bike trail that runs by a river, so I tell Joon, “Hey, go down on that trail, flip your bike over, take off the tire, and sit there, and maybe someone will come along who will help you out.” It’s worth a shot. In the meantime, I’m not giving up on a bike shop. I’d checked two, but around 8 in the morning, there’s little chance that any will be open.
If I find something, great. If I don’t, I’ll just keep going, cutting the ride short and turning toward home. Joon’s wife can come get him. But I do find something. About a mile down the river and off on a side street. An open store. A tube that fits. I grab one, head back to Joon (not a single person came by), and pretty soon we’re on our way. Not going to get the full 70, or get to see a new route (we’ll have to catch it later), but still topped 100km for the day.
So yeah, it turned out to be a successful day.
It maybe didn’t feel lucky at the time, but in the retelling it sounds quite lucky.
It’s always a great adventure.