4 flats on one (road bike) ride!

From yesterday's almost-daily diary entry
You may view it with photos & more information at
www.ChainReaction.com/sixflattires.htm

12/09/04- SO WHAT REALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU WAKE UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE
BED? I think I know now. It causes you to make a wrong decision, the
consequences of which seem way out of proportion. This happened to me today,
as I woke up for my regular Tuesday/Thursday-morning ride, looked out the
window and saw that the roads were still wet. It hadn't rained in several
hours though, and the sun was making an effort to come out. So did I really
need to ride my rain bike? No way. Besides, what's the worst that can
happen? My 5900 needed an excuse for a good cleaning anyway!

What's the worst that can happen, indeed. Nice company today, with Rob,
Karl, Kevin & Ueyn showing up... and I even felt like I was up to the
challenge, probably because I was on my 5900, which feels so much faster
than the Iron Pig (my Cinelli rain bike). And I was doing fine, until, just
past the park entrance, I'm riding on my rim. 8:09am, first flat. So we stop
and replace my tube and continue on our way. The adrenalin kicks in a bit
(from what?) and I'm feeling pretty darned good until... 8:25am, second
flat, near the open section on King's. OK, I don't get flats (Ueyn's
probably ridden with me over 50 times and never seen me get a flat), maybe
I'm due and this gets them out of the way for awhile?

So I put in another new tube and we're on our way again. Sort of. At the top
of King's, Ueyn has a flat! Ueyn actually got two flats on this ride, but I
don't recall if this was his first or second; they all began to blur into
each other. In the photo, you can see his remarkable using-teeth-as-3rd-hand
technique to keep his tube off the ground. It's now 8:42am, and we're
thinking that maybe doing the Old Lahonda loop might be a bit risky, so we
opt for one of the dead-end drop-into-hell roads that heads west from
Skyline. Until 8:58am, when I get my third flat on Tunitas Creek (as we were
heading towards Star Hill). You've got to be kidding, I'm thinking
not-entirely-to-myself as I deal with replacing yet another tube in the gray
misty muck. But I replace it and gamely move on, making it up over the small
grade on Star Hill and heading down towards Native Sons Road when, at
9:15am, flat number four!!! At this point I wave the rest of the guys on
(it's an out-and-back road anyway, so if I'm stranded for some reason
they'll be coming past again on the way back) and, with Ueyn staying behind
to make sure I didn't lose my marbles, I removed the tube and found that it
had probably been damaged before it ever got into the tire and, in one of
those strange guy moments where you have to show an inanimate object who's
boss, I repaired it instead of replacing it with a new one.

From there Ueyn & I rode back up to Skyline and down into Woodside, without
any further incident. I'm not sure, but I think I've gotten my flats out of
the way for some time... and also learned a lesson about why one has a rain
bike, with heavier, tougher tires... and why you'd ride it when the roads
are such a mess, even though it's not raining out. Irrational acts of
defiance, particularly against the forces of nature, rarely seem to pay off!

We've put up a temporary web page with more exciting flat-tire-changing
photos at www.ChainReaction.com/sixflattires.htm

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

cogita tute

From yesterday's almost-daily diary entry
You may view it with photos & more information at
www.ChainReaction.com/sixflattires.htm

12/09/04- SO WHAT REALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU WAKE UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE
BED? I think I know now. It causes you to make a wrong decision, the
consequences of which seem way out of proportion. This happened to me today,
as I woke up for my regular Tuesday/Thursday-morning ride, looked out the
window and saw that the roads were still wet. It hadn't rained in several
hours though, and the sun was making an effort to come out. So did I really
need to ride my rain bike? No way. Besides, what's the worst that can
happen? My 5900 needed an excuse for a good cleaning anyway!

What's the worst that can happen, indeed. Nice company today, with Rob,
Karl, Kevin & Ueyn showing up... and I even felt like I was up to the
challenge, probably because I was on my 5900, which feels so much faster
than the Iron Pig (my Cinelli rain bike). And I was doing fine, until, just
past the park entrance, I'm riding on my rim. 8:09am, first flat. So we stop
and replace my tube and continue on our way. The adrenalin kicks in a bit
(from what?) and I'm feeling pretty darned good until... 8:25am, second
flat, near the open section on King's. OK, I don't get flats (Ueyn's
probably ridden with me over 50 times and never seen me get a flat), maybe
I'm due and this gets them out of the way for awhile?

So I put in another new tube and we're on our way again. Sort of. At the top
of King's, Ueyn has a flat! Ueyn actually got two flats on this ride, but I
don't recall if this was his first or second; they all began to blur into
each other. In the photo, you can see his remarkable using-teeth-as-3rd-hand
technique to keep his tube off the ground. It's now 8:42am, and we're
thinking that maybe doing the Old Lahonda loop might be a bit risky, so we
opt for one of the dead-end drop-into-hell roads that heads west from
Skyline. Until 8:58am, when I get my third flat on Tunitas Creek (as we were
heading towards Star Hill). You've got to be kidding, I'm thinking
not-entirely-to-myself as I deal with replacing yet another tube in the gray
misty muck. But I replace it and gamely move on, making it up over the small
grade on Star Hill and heading down towards Native Sons Road when, at
9:15am, flat number four!!! At this point I wave the rest of the guys on
(it's an out-and-back road anyway, so if I'm stranded for some reason
they'll be coming past again on the way back) and, with Ueyn staying behind
to make sure I didn't lose my marbles, I removed the tube and found that it
had probably been damaged before it ever got into the tire and, in one of
those strange guy moments where you have to show an inanimate object who's
boss, I repaired it instead of replacing it with a new one.

From there Ueyn & I rode back up to Skyline and down into Woodside, without
any further incident. I'm not sure, but I think I've gotten my flats out of
the way for some time... and also learned a lesson about why one has a rain
bike, with heavier, tougher tires... and why you'd ride it when the roads
are such a mess, even though it's not raining out. Irrational acts of
defiance, particularly against the forces of nature, rarely seem to pay off!

We've put up a temporary web page with more exciting flat-tire-changing
photos at www.ChainReaction.com/sixflattires.htm

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member



That many flats *is* a drag, luckily I haven't experienced that lately ...

--
Rob Fruth - Houston, Tx
http://www.rfruth.net

1981 Raleigh for errands & fun ____ __o
1997 Trek 2300 for real fun ! ____ _ \ | _)
2000 Civic hatchback (_)/ (_)

cogita tute

From yesterday's almost-daily diary entry
You may view it with photos & more information at
www.ChainReaction.com/sixflattires.htm

12/09/04- SO WHAT REALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU WAKE UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE
BED? I think I know now. It causes you to make a wrong decision, the
consequences of which seem way out of proportion. This happened to me today,
as I woke up for my regular Tuesday/Thursday-morning ride, looked out the
window and saw that the roads were still wet. It hadn't rained in several
hours though, and the sun was making an effort to come out. So did I really
need to ride my rain bike? No way. Besides, what's the worst that can
happen? My 5900 needed an excuse for a good cleaning anyway!

What's the worst that can happen, indeed. Nice company today, with Rob,
Karl, Kevin & Ueyn showing up... and I even felt like I was up to the
challenge, probably because I was on my 5900, which feels so much faster
than the Iron Pig (my Cinelli rain bike). And I was doing fine, until, just
past the park entrance, I'm riding on my rim. 8:09am, first flat. So we stop
and replace my tube and continue on our way. The adrenalin kicks in a bit
(from what?) and I'm feeling pretty darned good until... 8:25am, second
flat, near the open section on King's. OK, I don't get flats (Ueyn's
probably ridden with me over 50 times and never seen me get a flat), maybe
I'm due and this gets them out of the way for awhile?

So I put in another new tube and we're on our way again. Sort of. At the top
of King's, Ueyn has a flat! Ueyn actually got two flats on this ride, but I
don't recall if this was his first or second; they all began to blur into
each other. In the photo, you can see his remarkable using-teeth-as-3rd-hand
technique to keep his tube off the ground. It's now 8:42am, and we're
thinking that maybe doing the Old Lahonda loop might be a bit risky, so we
opt for one of the dead-end drop-into-hell roads that heads west from
Skyline. Until 8:58am, when I get my third flat on Tunitas Creek (as we were
heading towards Star Hill). You've got to be kidding, I'm thinking
not-entirely-to-myself as I deal with replacing yet another tube in the gray
misty muck. But I replace it and gamely move on, making it up over the small
grade on Star Hill and heading down towards Native Sons Road when, at
9:15am, flat number four!!! At this point I wave the rest of the guys on
(it's an out-and-back road anyway, so if I'm stranded for some reason
they'll be coming past again on the way back) and, with Ueyn staying behind
to make sure I didn't lose my marbles, I removed the tube and found that it
had probably been damaged before it ever got into the tire and, in one of
those strange guy moments where you have to show an inanimate object who's
boss, I repaired it instead of replacing it with a new one.

From there Ueyn & I rode back up to Skyline and down into Woodside, without
any further incident. I'm not sure, but I think I've gotten my flats out of
the way for some time... and also learned a lesson about why one has a rain
bike, with heavier, tougher tires... and why you'd ride it when the roads
are such a mess, even though it's not raining out. Irrational acts of
defiance, particularly against the forces of nature, rarely seem to pay off!

We've put up a temporary web page with more exciting flat-tire-changing
photos at www.ChainReaction.com/sixflattires.htm

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member



That many flats *is* a drag, luckily I haven't experienced that lately ...

--
Rob Fruth - Houston, Tx
http://www.rfruth.net

1981 Raleigh for errands & fun ____ __o
1997 Trek 2300 for real fun ! ____ _ \ | _)
2000 Civic hatchback (_)/ (_)

On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 00:20:09 +0000, Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction
Bicycles wrote:

From yesterday's almost-daily diary entry
You may view it with photos & more information at
www.ChainReaction.com/sixflattires.htm
.
.
.
12/09/04- SO WHAT REALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU WAKE UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE
BED? I think I know now. It causes you to make a wrong decision, the
We've put up a temporary web page with more exciting flat-tire-changing
photos at www.ChainReaction.com/sixflattires.htm

generic expression of disbelief!gracious!

How many spare tubes do you carry on a normal day? I thought I was
paranoid with two, but it looks like you had at least four.

On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 00:20:09 +0000, Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction
Bicycles wrote:

From yesterday's almost-daily diary entry
You may view it with photos & more information at
www.ChainReaction.com/sixflattires.htm
.
.
.
12/09/04- SO WHAT REALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU WAKE UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE
BED? I think I know now. It causes you to make a wrong decision, the
We've put up a temporary web page with more exciting flat-tire-changing
photos at www.ChainReaction.com/sixflattires.htm

generic expression of disbelief!gracious!

How many spare tubes do you carry on a normal day? I thought I was
paranoid with two, but it looks like you had at least four.

I sympathize. In the summer of '03 I shortened a road ride after five flats in
30 miles or so -- and had a sixth flat coming home. Amazingly, after that, I
didn't have another flat for 8267 miles! Go figure.


Mike Yankee

(Address is munged to thwart spammers.
To reply, delete everything after "com".)

I sympathize. In the summer of '03 I shortened a road ride after five flats in
30 miles or so -- and had a sixth flat coming home. Amazingly, after that, I
didn't have another flat for 8267 miles! Go figure.


Mike Yankee

(Address is munged to thwart spammers.
To reply, delete everything after "com".)

generic expression of disbelief!gracious!

How many spare tubes do you carry on a normal day? I thought I was
paranoid with two, but it looks like you had at least four.

I carry two spare tubes, but borrowed a couple from others on the ride. Big
mistake, as each of the two tubes I borrowed had... issues. Normally, if I'm
not in a rush, I patch the first flat, and replace the second (in the rare
event there is a second flat). My rationale on the first one is that it
doesn't take a whole lot more effort to patch a tube than it does to find
the leak, and you've got to find what caused the flat so you can be sure
you're not going to get another.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

generic expression of disbelief!gracious!

How many spare tubes do you carry on a normal day? I thought I was
paranoid with two, but it looks like you had at least four.

I carry two spare tubes, but borrowed a couple from others on the ride. Big
mistake, as each of the two tubes I borrowed had... issues. Normally, if I'm
not in a rush, I patch the first flat, and replace the second (in the rare
event there is a second flat). My rationale on the first one is that it
doesn't take a whole lot more effort to patch a tube than it does to find
the leak, and you've got to find what caused the flat so you can be sure
you're not going to get another.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

I sympathize. In the summer of '03 I shortened a road ride after five
flats in
30 miles or so -- and had a sixth flat coming home. Amazingly, after
that, I
didn't have another flat for 8267 miles! Go figure.

Normally I get 3,000 miles between flats, often more. And more often than
not, the few flats I do get are ones that aren't noticed until a day after,
when I find my bike sitting on the floor with no air in the tube.

The goofiest thing about all ths is that it hasn't changed my attitude that
"I don't get flats." Such arrogance may prove costly as the universe uses me
as an example of things eventually evening out. If it's determined that I'm
to make up for lost time (the many tens of thousands of miles in which I got
so very few flats), I'm in serious trouble!

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member