It was last week. I was making my way from Portland to
Vancouver, Washington, my legs pumping strong and powerful, cruising over the
pavement. I was behind Delta Park, the last section of road before the exchange
to the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River. I felt the crisp fall day coming to
a close as the sun set. I heard the familiar
Zzzzzhhhh of my tires on the
road.
However, I did not see the
cafeteria tray-sized pothole in the road.
The front tire went in,
klunk-pop, and due to my speed, the
back tire followed right in,
kerchunk-pop! Two flat tires. And quite jarring to
boot. I hit the pothole hard.
Every biker is bound to encounter a flat. Here's how to be prepared, cope, report the pothole, and continue on.
In all of my time biking, I have never had to fix a flat
tire while on a ride. Never. Well, last week I made up for that stretch of
luck. It was bound to happen. And happen it did. Three times.
There is this road, Schmeer, that connects together two
otherwise great bike routes. The road is often used by people who want to make
the
Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA commute using the I-5 bridge. As a road, Schmeer
is as bad as it sounds.
Schmmmmmeeeeer. This road is poorly paved, has
an abrupt edge, and that edge is often cracked and pocked.
I know where the potholes are. But this was a new one. (If
you see a patch of bright new cement on the road later this month…it
was not me.)
Carry a Kit
And so it happened on this road,
this Schmeer, that I should
get two flats. But I took it in stride. I was prepared. I was vindicated in my
preparation for just such an event. And hopefully I can pass that preparation
on to you. Here is my first bit of wisdom,
BE PREPARED. I carry a repair kit,
neatly shoved in a plastic box I found at
SCRAP: a bike multi-tool, patches,
patch glue, extra chain links, zip-ties, glow stick, and Duck Tape (I wrapped a
length of it around a pen to reduce the size). I also carry two inner tubes.
And, I do not ride without a cell phone.
I pulled over to the grass and got to work, fixing the
flats. A big thanks to every bicyclist that stopped to check if I needed
something.
Know Your Wheels
The second nugget of wisdom is to KNOW HOW TO CHANGE A FLAT.
True, it is easy. However, you do not want your first time changing a flat to
be on the side of the road, at dark, in the rain, without a cell phone, miles
(thousands) from home. Learn to change a flat on your bike. Your local bike
shop will be happy to show you how.
The pothole was deep and it shredded my tires, tearing
thumb-sized holes in each tire. I stuffed a piece of cardboard on the inside of
the tire to help keep the inner tube from popping out, then Duck Taped the cardboard to
the inside. Not quite Mc Gyver, but it was the best I could do and I had
to do something as I was on my way to teach a night class in Vancouver.
If you are keeping track (aren’t you?), you may be thinking,
where is
the third flat? Well, the third flat came midway over the I-5 bridge. It was a
sudden pop, quite loud for an inner tube. I was now without a bike.
Plan B
Time for the third morsel of wisdom,
HAVE A BACK UP PLAN. I
called my co-teacher and she picked me up, on the other side of the bridge, on
her way to the class.
File a Report
The next day, I headed on down to
Cascade Cycling and Dan
helped me choose a stronger, wider tire as well as checking if there was any
damage to the rim. And I was on my way. On the way home, riding my Schwalbe Marathons (just like on my bakfiets), I
called to report a
needed repair to the road.
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