Everything it it's Place

My mom called last night. She had borrowed some DVDs from the library for Zadie to watch and after Zadie left one of them was missing.

She had looked everywhere and as a last resort she wanted me to check the diaper bag to see if it might be there.

It wasn't.

Not quite seriously, I asked Zadie where she put the DVDs...she pointed to the cabinet under the tv where we put ours. I joked to my mom that they were probably in the cabinets by the tv.

A few minutes later my mom calls back. Indeed, the dvd was in the cabinet under her tv.

Even if it's not her house, it seems Zadie will put things back in their place :)

Armadillo power

So...the tire saga continues...

Last Friday my back tire suddenly went flat halfway home. I didn't remember the bike shop at the nearby complex so I called Zeb to pick me up. Then I rode again on Monday, and about 3 miles into my ride home the back tire went flat again! Argh. It was in the same location on the tube...the place where the screw had pierced the tire back in March. Must be a hole big enough to let particles through...or something.

Both times I managed to change it by the time he arrived. On Monday I even had the tire remounted (practice does make a difference!) but it was still faster to get a pick up than to change it myself and ride the rest of the way.

I was next to a gas station Monday and even though I had successfully patched the tire and remounted it...I realized I had no clue how to pump it with the gas station air pump. I asked Zeb on the way home...apparently presta valves are not easily pumped with the gas station pumps...and this was the one advantage of the shrader valves...grrr

Anyway, after Monday Zeb put his foot down. No more riding (i.e. no more saving of the Jen) until I got new tires.

Since Mikes' was having a sale, I stopped by Tuesday afternoon and got a pair of the 25c version of Armadillo tires:


They were very difficult (for me) to get on...I finally gave up after 40 minutes of wrestling that culminated in a pinched tube, and asked Zeb to put them on.

Who needs a NBM when you have a Zeb?

My first ride on them this morning felt a little sluggish (it didn't help that my bike computer was out of whack so I couldn't tell what speed I was going), but also somewhat smoother than my stock 23c vittoria tires.

"Bike tire saga" or "Why Friday sucked"

The first time I tried changing my front tire myself was a few months ago.

It took me 20 minutes to even get the tire off the rim.

Then after another 20 minutes wrestling the tire back on, I popped the tube trying to pump up the tire.

The second time it took maybe half the time to get the tire off, the new tube on, and the tire back on. The tube popped again when I tried to pump it up.

At that point I felt very defeated and I only had one spare left, so I gave up and asked Zeb do it. He was somehow able to change it and keep it from popping in less than 10 minutes.

My inner Bike Maintenance Guru wept and hung its head.
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At the beginning of March I ran over a screw on the way home and popped my back tire.

After waiting two weeks for Zeb to fix it, I finally gave up waiting and tried it myself. This time I use the normal plastic tire levers instead of Zeb's super metal tire lever.

It worked the first time!

My inner BMG cautiously lifted its dejected head and began to hope.
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Last Friday starts off as a difficult bike day. There are 10-20 mph head winds on the way to work in the morning. Not a happy commute.

About an hour after I arrive at work, I hear this "pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh' from my bike.

The front tire had gone spontaneously flat.

So, in order to make sure I can leave on time, I change the tire over my lunch break. I take off the tire and the tube. I find the slit (apparently made by a metal shaving I find in the tire...) and get out my patch kit to patch it. I follow the patch kit instructions and apply the patch. Then, I put everything back on and try to pump it back up. The air keeps leaking out. Crap. So, I take it off again. It pumps up just fine when the tube is outside the bike. WTF? I put it back on. Again, it fails to pump up. Grrrrrr. At this point, I'm get somewhat frustrated. I take it off again, and pump it up outside the tire a bit more and play with the patch site. I discover the patch is leaking. Double crap. I direct some colorful sayings at the patch company and whoever wrote their retarded instructions. I give up on the patched tire and use my spare. This goes on fine and I'm able to pump it up part of the way with the hand pump but the floor pump at work doesn't have the right valve for my tube. I find out from MyHero that I can go to the local bike shop to borrow their pump to finish it.

At the end of the day, I leave a bit early to give myself enough time to stop by the bike stop and pump my tire. I ride the block and a half to the bike shop. When I get there, Mr. Nice Bike Mechanic offers to pump it for me. He comes back out a few minutes later a bit upset. My tire had popped when he started pumping it up. I find myself defending my bike changing technique and reviewing my day of bike actions.

NBM explains to me the first possible cause of my terrible bike tube luck:
The tube can get caught or folded either around the edges of the tires or around the pump valve opening, causing it to pinch when pumped up to pressure, and ultimately causing it to pop. This is why the tire should be partially pumped (which I had done correctly) and why there should usually be a bit of adjustment around the valve area when pumping up the tire. Apparently riding on a partially pressured tire can cause this to happen as well.

Since at this point my confidence in my tire changing abilities is completely shattered and Zeb has refused to come pick me up from work, I pay NBM $12 to change it for me.

At this point we find the second possible cause:
The tape on my rim was torn in a few places. Especially suspicious was a tear at one of the spokes. He also mentioned that the ends of the tape were not done very smoothly. NBM tells me since he already has taken the tire off, I just need to pay for the cost of the new tape and he'll replace that as well.

45 minutes after I left the office I am finally on my way home.

My inner BMG is now hoping the new tape put in by NBM at my local bike shop will mean there is hope for the future.