As if there is ever a good time.

It was midnight on Friday coming back from an 8 mile pub detour and movie. I was 3 miles out from the pub and just getting to temperature. The moon was full and shining on the snow covered fields which was reflecting so much light I had to check a few times to make sure my headlight was on. It was a great ride home and I was thinking how lucky I was to have the river trail to myself on such a beautiful evening.

And then the gods of irony noticed I was happy.

So the front started to feel pretty smushy, and I stopped and got out my mini pump and pumped up the tire, which seemed to take a long time. Went about 50 yards and it was flat again. Out came the spare tube and the tool burrito. I dont have quick releases on the front tire of the torker but it comes apart fairly fast and I have all the right tools. about 10 minutes later I was on my way again before my fingers started to get cold. 10 minutes probably sounds like an eternity for some but that isn't bad for what goes into that kind of tire in the dark and my mini pump does not like the cold.

When I got home and checked the weather it was 18F outside.

What I did right: I had my full commuter bag on the bike which I had almost left at home so I wouldn't have to carry it around the movie theatre with me, glad I brought it. I was also dressed for the condition. I had light, it was handy to be able to pop the headlight off the handle bars to use as a flash light.

What I did wrong: Used my gloves to pad my knees while kneeling. The gloves soaked up the cold from the ground and when I put them back on my hands went from being kinda cold to dang that's cold, but with the wind on them while riding I knew I would have to warm them back up. I also thought at one point that I would put the valve cap in my teeth so I wouldn't loose it on the ground in the dark, I almost choked on it.

So what is your worst flat tire experience so far.

My worst was getting a flat on the way to work in February 2009 on a wet, snowy morning. I ran over a shard of glass that cut right through the casing. Getting a cold, wet tire off by the side of the road in the dark is a much harder exercise than doing it in a well-lit, warm, and dry garage! I (stupidly) ran my fingers inside the tire to make sure it was smooth so the new tube wouldn't get cut too and gashed my finger on the glass shard that had punctured the casing. So on top on repairing the tire, I got blood on my clothes and inside my gloves.

There are "good" flats, though. The kind that make a slow leak which doesn't get discovered until after you get home. Those are easy to deal with.

I can relate, I got my last flat last Monday in the wet and cold about 2 miles from home.

I can't say I have a flat tire experience as bad as yours, but I am reminded of when I was climbing up The Oakmonster (a steep hill on Oakmont Blvd.), trying to outrun a thunderstorm, and the low pressure area of the storm was sucking all kinds of air into it, creating a stiff (25-30 mph) headwind. The perfect storm, literally... that's when I broke my first spoke.


Wait... now I remember a flat experience... I was cutting through the barrio at about midnight, a route I often take. SSSSSSSssssssssss....... I've never felt unsafe going through that neighborhood, but I was always mobile. Stopping to repair a flat there was a little intimidating.

I decided to ride the flat Schwalbe Marathon Plus a few blocks until I could get to the well-lit parking lot of a small college on the edge of the barrio. Thank God those Marathon Pluses are so stiff; it was actually a decent ride flat tire.

Id say you did really well considering the conditions. There is no substitution for being prepared, honestly it can save your life in the winter. I've fixed a lot of flats on the road and the trails in my career, but I dread the day that I get a flat at night in the deepest part of winter. Thankfully the Nokian studded tires are pretty hearty and a lot of the things that cause flats are frozen safely under the ice. I'm ready at least.

Worst flat I've had wasn't so bad. Went on about 15 miles down a rail trail, and about halfway back I noticed mushiness in the front tire. It was a pretty slow leak. Unfortunately I hadn't planned on riding that day. I got off work early and just hopped on and went for a ride. No tube, no tools, nothing.
I rode about 5 miles on a flat by leaning back, hands free, and putting all of my weight on the rear tire.
It took a while.

1) Amen.

2) Every f*****g one of them.

Try a headband type headlamp for hands-free roadside repairs. Use a Topeak Road Morph w/Gauge instead of a mini-pump.

About two weeks ago I'm riding down on Snell Island. My back tire starts making a "thumping" noise. Before I can dismount to investigate my tube doesn't just flat it blows, and blows with enough force to blow the rubber off of the tire as well as blowing a rather large hole into my tire.

Sadly, I didn't have a spare tube with me, but given the damage that the tire sustained even if I had had a spare tube there isn't anyway I could have safely ride the tire.

I did have the good fortune that a friend of mine who owns an LBS was leaving the island and was willing to give me a ride home.

I had a flat in the pouring rain. The worst part was the lack of visibility on that cloudy late afternoon in October, made worse by my poor vision (didn't have reading glasses with me).

Okay, I've got one that I actually enjoyed.

June of this year, coming home from a club ride, warm day. I'm riding past a park near home and notice a soft front tire. Pull up and walk the bike into the park to a bench beneath a huge shady pine.
I sat down, pulled the wheel off and changed the tube. As I reach over to the bike for my pump I see a little girl in a party dress standing about 10 feet away.

"Would you like some lemonade?"

"Huh?"

"Would you like some lemonade? It's my birthday and that's my party over there and we're swimming in it."

"Well in that case, of course and happy birthday. How old are you?"

"I'm six."

"Excellent age and very good lemonade, thanks again."

"You're welcome. I have to get back to the party since I'm the guest of honor."

So, off she went. I finished the lemonade, pumped the tire and finished the last mile home.
Best flat ever.

Two ring a bell for me:

1) On a beginngers ride with my mentor and we got a flat in Philly. It was rainy and I changed the tire but it went flat again. Didnt know what to do. Tried to patch it with self adhesive patches and not luck. Walked.... in my road clipless shoes.... and fill the tire up but it was not enterchangable for my tires. She had to call her boyfriend to pick me up.

2) last sunday on an organized ride with people faster then me and got a flat. We all stopped and they were looking at me like a dumb ass. I just told them to go without me and I would fiund my way. Thank God for GPS.

Last month, I rode up alone from Corvallis to Portland, about 80 miles for an evening meeting/event (had lots of time, so I thought I'd get a couple rides in). I packed light (everything in a camelbak) so I could use the road bike. Cold, but had a little tailwind and it was dry, so it was a nice ride.

The next day, I left a little later than I wanted in the morning, and a new front came in making it rainy and super windy from the general direction I was heading. First third of the ride the wind was mainly to my side and I could go about 14 MPH on the flats. Then I had to head into the wind and it was a struggle to maintain 12. Stopped for dinner (getting dark now by the way), with about 20 miles to go. Decided to keep my head down and power through it. I was hurting bad.

3 miles from home, 77 miles into the ride, dead tired but just a little ways to go, thinking I can handle 3 miles no matter what, then... goddamn rear flat. I was done, physically and mentally, and had someone come get me.

Most scary was a front flat while descending (at speed) during the Alpine Challenge.

The tire got soft so fast and just folded over as I leaned the bike into the corner, actually slid on the rim as I sailed over/across/through the shoulder (gravel) and into the side of the mountain. When I got up to put in a new tube (yeah, all bloody) there was gravel (from the shoulder) in the rim! Huge mess.

Rick / OCRR

I have been lucky with the flats. They all happen right after a ride. So, I am able to change the flat indoors. Isn't there something like fix-a-flat for bicycles. You can shoot the solution in, pump up, and ride it home.

My worst, nothing too bad really.
I flatted on a very narrow two lane steep mountain road on my daily commute. There was absolutely no shoulder, just the white line at the edge of the lane and a steep slope going straight up on my side of the road and on the other side, just the white line and a slope just as steep going down into a creek. It was also in the middle of a blind right hand turn. I scramble up the slope and laid back on it as I changed the tire, all the time trying to keep stuff from falling, rolling down the slope to the road. It was really comical…… after the fact.

Well, for me they pretty much all suck since they are always rear flats. That means taking off the panniers and everything that will fall off the bike when I flip it over to get the rear wheel off.

The worst, however, was about 2 1/2 years ago. I left work to start my short ride home at 8:00 pm and it wasn't just raining, it was pouring. I slipped my poncho on and left as I have done many times before. Less than a mile from work I heard a loud bang and soon discovered that my sidewall had blown out. That was it for riding. So, I started my journey home in a downpour on foot pushing a lame horse.

I decide to stop by the grocery store on the way since I was already soaked at this point. When I reached the store I discovered that my panniers were full of water and everything in them was soaked. I then headed off taking what I thought was a shortcut only to find that the road was closed due to high water. I had to turn around and go a mile out of my way to get back on track. As I was approaching the turn-off to my house I saw a car switch lanes on purpose so they could splash me with a giant puddle of water. I never even flinched, I just wished horrible things on the driver as they drove away. I finally reached home and was soaked from head to toe. I think that may have been when I decided that I need to live in a desert.

That was a great story, well done.

Stories like this make me grateful that my only two flats have happened inside of a garage! (I kid you not, had two bell tubes deflate only minutes after putting them on...haven't had any trouble with other brands..)