A more exciting day than expected

[tiger_spot]

I hopped on my bike this afternoon to head to City Hall to drop off my mail-in ballot, and promptly ran over a pin and exploded my rear tire.

So I went to the bike shop instead, and got two new inner tubes (one for backup!). Then I dropped off my ballot and changed the tube. This is the first time I've changed a tube on a bike. It wasn't difficult, but it required more strength than I was expecting. Also I had a little trouble getting the wheel properly seated when I put it back on (I've not removed the rear wheel before, either), but it is all better now.

I don't think my hands have ever been that dirty before.

Comments

[ianhickson.livejournal.com]

You should at the very least get kevlar reinforcements inside your tires. Personally I recommend just going all the way to hard case tires. They're more expensive, but I've never had a flat, or had to change an inner tube, in the last 8 years, which includes at least 3 and a half years of bike-heavy car-free life in the bay area. I've picked out glass shards, nails, and sharp stones from the rubber, without any problems, and the pot holes and round spiky organic things that litter the ground around here are no risk at all.

The bike shop in Sunnyvale is especially good for hard case tires; if you're interested let me know and I can get you more details.

[chinders.livejournal.com]

*suspicious* You've never gardened or worked on a car before? Or were they actually just THAT dirty?

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm, women bike mechanics...

Oh, sorry.

Um, yay, you!

[elissaann.livejournal.com]

That's awesome!

I still haven't changed my own tire. I'm a little afraid of it, as I was afraid of changing my harp strings. What if I can't put the bike back together again?

[pyrzqxgl.livejournal.com]

I'm so low on time these days that when I had a flat rear tire recently I just walked my bike to a bike shop a few blocks away and had them change it for $10 while I was getting groceries next door, instead of spending more time wrestling with it myself.

I do want to get around to going to one of the free women & transgender bike workshops that a local organization puts on, one of these days ...

[(Anonymous)]

Well clearly your first problem was deciding to hand-deliver your MAIL-IN ballot, silly girl.

The dirt is merely karmic punishment for half-heartedly procrastinating. (A whole-hearted procrastinator would have put off thinking about the ballot until after the results of the election were announced.)