GadgetGirlIL

I need to revise my original response to this thread. I had my first brevet DNF (200K) this past Saturday after getting a cut in my sidewall at mile 34. I was able to repair the flat using a $20 bill (smallest I had) as a temporary boot and a new tube. That lasted until around mile 49 when the paved road turned to gravel. Apparently the grit worked its way into the hole, shredded the $20, and gave me another pin hole in the tube. I had one remaining tube so replaced it and the boot, but 2 miles later while still on gravel I got another flat, same spot. It was apparent at this point that the only real solution was a new tire. The nearest Walmart was 12 miles to the west at Tomah, WI.

I sent my riding companions on as there was no point in 3 of us getting a DNF and I got back to the main (busy) road that paralleled the gravel road. After about 2 miles of walking (thankfully I had my SPD recessed cleat shoes), I came upon some women at a church packing up from an earlier rummage sale. I asked if they could help me get a taxi to take me to Tomah, WI. The one woman was kind enough to drive me. I bought a new tire and new tubes and a mini hand pump (they didn't sell CO2 cartridges). Of course the tubes didn't have long enough valve stems for my rims. So after much fussing about on my part which was getting me nowhere, she drove me 2 miles to her house where her husband had an ATV tire patch kit and I got my old tubes fixes. Then it was back to the church where I had to take off my rear fender since the new tire was 32mm not 28mm (my frame can only do 28mm with fenders). She stashed my fender in some bushes so I could claim it this morning on my drive home. I gave her $$ for her time which she didn't want to take, but then I suggested she donate to the food pantry her church runs and she was good with that. It was the least I could do for all the time she spent driving me around.

Now that I had lost about 3 hours of time, there was no way I could complete the rest of the ride (it was a loop) so I just rode back the way I came staying on the main highway to avoid the gravel. While I didn't have enough psi in the rear tire (crappy tire pump) it was sufficient to keep me from getting a pinch flat. I made it back the ~50 miles to Wisconsin Rapids finishing in the dark. So I had ~101 miles of riding for the day and ~2 miles of bike walking.

I had a LOT of time to think about how lucky I had been with all my previous rides and flats. And I had a LOT of time to think about what I will now carry with me: a tire, a real tube repair kit, a tire boot, and a better mini pump. And a LOT of time to be extremely grateful for the kindness of the woman and her husband.

I was successful at completing yesterday's 100K as the new rear tire and patched tube held up fine. I had a floor pump at my hotel so had the right psi. But at mile 44 the front tire got a sidewall cut. I did have a fresh tube with me as I had brought a spare that I had left in my backpack when I set out on Saturday. The $1 bill boot worked just fine and we completed the ride without incident.

The tires involved were the originals that came with my All-City Mr. Pink and I've only ridden about 1,000 miles on that bike. I've now ordered Continental Gatorskins which I've been using on my other bike and have been very pleased with.