Puncture Is Worse In Winter

Submitted by Bill on Wed, 12/13/2006 - 7:53am
Good morning! It is raining outside and it looks like I hit the "ride your bike" window by going out on a road bike ride last night. What are the difficulties? Well it is dark for one and of course it is dangerously cold.

I finally shook off all the stress to head out on my ride around 6:30 last night. I was feeling great with the weather slightly warmer than usual. The roads were OK but if it got a little colder would freeze up. That is another caveat in the winter. You could go out on a ride and the weather may just hut you down 20 miles out of town.

As I turned around to head back into town for the Tuesday Night Online Meeting I flatted. I was just getting over a riser and sat down to buzz down the other side when I got that ever familiar squishy yet jarring sensation from the rear wheel. I not only flatted but I hit a object that sliced up my tire.

I was able to use the old tube as a tire patch and a new tube with an extended valve (learned from the last walk home) to fix-er up. I was off but since I was going over time my light system went dead.

Not to worry! I had a back up battery pack and that got me home safe and sound. Well now it is time for work. On top of it all I have to scrounge together my change to purchase a new tube. I will use a patch kit to fix my tire for now. Safe riding to you all!

Comments

dluck2 (not verified)

Thu, 12/14/2006 - 1:11pm

Flats, everyone hates them. Patch kits are for tubes, what about tires. Everyone should carry some cash when they are out for a ride, never know when you'll need to replenish liquids or food. That money is the perfect patch kit for the shredded tire too! Just fold a dollar bill in half twice and insert it between the tube and inside wall of the tire. Bingo, you can fully inflate the tube and you should be able to ride 30+ miles to get home.

Bill

Thu, 12/14/2006 - 5:53pm

I have done the cash trick and even this summer we used such technology to get RB home although we ended up using about three dollars. Hey RB did you ever pay Alden back? Anyway my problem at this time is a lack of cash so a good idea is Duct Tape. I have used a duct tape trimmed tube apparatus with great success and I just realized that I had some duct tape with me last Tuesday.

The best idea is to take an old tire and cut it up. Keep a 3X6 section strapped to your tube. When the opportunity arises just place the tire piece within the ripped tire. I remember a racer (John Funk) that used to race with a piece of tire in addition to his repair kit in some of the bigger EFTA races on the East coast.

For tonight it looks like a ski night as the weather has turned nasty.