How's this for a bad morning?
05-06-09, 12:35 PM
#1
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How's this for a bad morning?
To start with, I had to get up at the crack of dawn for a 7 AM meeting (I know, a lot of people get up at the crack of dawn or earlier everyday, but I am NOT a morning person). Then I have to go straight from my 7 AM meeting to a dentist appointment. 
It's raining, so I ride to the dentist in the rain (still better than driving).
I come out from the dentist appointment and discover that my rear tire is flat.
A small pebble (!) managed to work it's way through my tire! So I get to work changing the tire in the rain. I don't have a spare tube with me (a lot of flats lately), so I have to patch it. It turns out Park pre-glued patches are 100% non-adhesive if they get wet. So, I pull out my shop cloth, dry off the tube and hunch over it keeping it dry while I apply a second patch, which worked.
With tire successfully patched, I put away my tools, zip up the bag and get ready to go, only to discover....the front tire is flat too!!!!
On the bright side:
It's raining, so I ride to the dentist in the rain (still better than driving). I come out from the dentist appointment and discover that my rear tire is flat.
A small pebble (!) managed to work it's way through my tire! So I get to work changing the tire in the rain. I don't have a spare tube with me (a lot of flats lately), so I have to patch it. It turns out Park pre-glued patches are 100% non-adhesive if they get wet. So, I pull out my shop cloth, dry off the tube and hunch over it keeping it dry while I apply a second patch, which worked.With tire successfully patched, I put away my tools, zip up the bag and get ready to go, only to discover....the front tire is flat too!!!!
On the bright side:
- My dentist appointment was only for a cleaning
- The front tire only had a slow leak, so I was able to just pump it up to 40 PSI and limp to work
- My new Topeak Turbo Morph pump rocks
05-06-09, 01:34 PM
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Take it away, Jobst!
EDIT: Link now fixed. Thanks, Ian.
Originally Posted by Jobst Brandt
Glass is visible on roads by its shiny splinters and shards as well as not being the same color as the road. When wet from rain, these characteristics vanish and leave glass looking like any bit of gravel. Not only is it "invisible" but it is lubricated and cuts through rubber effortlessly. A convincing experiment is to cut a thick rubber band with a razor, first dry, then wet.
Last edited by Elderberry; 05-06-09 at 01:51 PM.
05-06-09, 01:39 PM
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i dont know, but my last flat happened when it wasn't raining, then when i was changing it started pouring.
also i will say that i wouldnt consider OP's morning THAT bad... i mean it sounds a lot like my everyday life lol
also elderberry ur link is typed in wrong i think
also i will say that i wouldnt consider OP's morning THAT bad... i mean it sounds a lot like my everyday life lol
also elderberry ur link is typed in wrong i think
Last edited by ian123; 05-06-09 at 01:47 PM.
05-06-09, 05:17 PM
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Marathon Plus
05-06-09, 05:32 PM
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05-06-09, 05:39 PM
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05-06-09, 05:55 PM
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I avoid flats in the rain by living in a place where it never rains. When it only rains a dozen or so times a year, the chance of getting one when its raining goes way down. Now if I could only figure out how to avoid flats in the sun...
05-06-09, 09:19 PM
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05-06-09, 09:26 PM
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So, work went pretty well, but then about 5 o'clock I remembered that I was supposed to leave at 5 o'clock to be home in time to take my daughters to Girl Scouts. So I rush through my clothes change and get outside to see a very visual reminder that I never bothered to fix the slow leak. Doh!
No time for a fix, I just pump it up again. I'm not 25 feet on the road before I discover that something has lodged in the caliper of my rear brake. At first it only makes noise when I apply the brake, but after a couple of times it starts making a continual noise like a slightly distant jackhammer.
I had to stop two more times on the way home to pump the front tire back up. The first time I broke the foot platform off my nice new pump. The second time the pump stuck on the valve and when I applied the necessary force to pull it off I gashed my thumb open on the brake rotor.
Thank you, sir. May I have another?
No time for a fix, I just pump it up again. I'm not 25 feet on the road before I discover that something has lodged in the caliper of my rear brake. At first it only makes noise when I apply the brake, but after a couple of times it starts making a continual noise like a slightly distant jackhammer.
I had to stop two more times on the way home to pump the front tire back up. The first time I broke the foot platform off my nice new pump. The second time the pump stuck on the valve and when I applied the necessary force to pull it off I gashed my thumb open on the brake rotor.
Thank you, sir. May I have another?
05-06-09, 09:34 PM
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When I was a senior in high school, I got an automatic F in my first period class for missing it more than 9 times in a 9 week period. I feel your pain. My advice to you: consider software engineering as a career.
05-06-09, 09:40 PM
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Andy, I've had similar mornings (minus the dentist) so I know the feeling. Thankfully they're few and far between.
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05-07-09, 07:00 AM
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The "Plus" is for the amount of time added to your daily commute because of ridiculously heavy tires. The 700 x 35C size weighs one pound for each tire! Marathon Racers FTW. 
I'd bet that, for my situation, the time saved by the faster commute far outweighs time changing flats amortized over all commutes. Seriously, flats are very rare on the racers (haven't had a single one -- watch me get one tomorrow).
I'd bet that, for my situation, the time saved by the faster commute far outweighs time changing flats amortized over all commutes. Seriously, flats are very rare on the racers (haven't had a single one -- watch me get one tomorrow).
05-07-09, 02:30 PM
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Bad things happen to good people.
05-07-09, 02:48 PM
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05-07-09, 02:51 PM
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05-07-09, 02:58 PM
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05-07-09, 07:21 PM
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Sorry to hear about your bad day.
I oversleept a bit, and was 2.5 hours late to work. Not cool, being as I'm in training at a new job.
-I miss Oregon, take care of her...
I oversleept a bit, and was 2.5 hours late to work. Not cool, being as I'm in training at a new job.
-I miss Oregon, take care of her...
