Bicycle Breakdown

Since the weather has been cooler and we therefore don't need to drink as much water, a few weeks ago on one of our weekend rides we'd headed out without our Camelbaks, figuring it would be nice to be unhindered for a change. Unfortunately, our Camelbaks are also where we carry our tire pumps, tire irons and patch kits... Of course, that outing sans tools was the first time in at least a year that one of us got a flat tire. That one of us was, of course, me. Since then, I haven't gone out without my Camelbak and tools.

So - today when I got another flat tire we were prepared! Well - mostly. With any kind of regular flat, we would have been back on the road in a quarter of an hour. However, Fate must have it in for me because this flat tire was the result of a faulty valve on my tube. And of course, I was not carrying a spare tube.

Here, Brian, who'd wisely been carrying a pocket knife, is cutting a small hole in an old-fashioned rubber patch.



This patch he then slathered with glue and slipped over the valve, in an attempt to stop the air from seeping out of the base.


Brian tried valiantly to repair the gap at the base of the valve, but to no avail. I couldn't ride the bike back home without shredding the tire (a fabulous Little Albert) or, worse, ruining the rim. So, after five kilometers of slogging uphill, we turned back and began the long walk home.

Oh, and at the beginning of what we had intended to be a Very Long Ride we saw these ducks chilling out in a "river" (I use the term loosely!).