I went out to check the air pressure in my tires and a couple other things.
It looks like I picked up a hitchhiker on my ride yesterday. Stuck right there in the sidewall of my tire was a LONG thorn from a Mesquite tree. It was the same tire that had all the thorns in the tread a couple weeks ago. That tire must be a thorn magnet!
Here's what Mesquite thorns look like...
...when they aren't sticking out of my tire!
I thought to myself "Uh-oh" and then pulled the thorn out. Unlike when I pulled the goat head thorns out of the tread a couple weeks ago, this time I heard that distinctive "TSSSSSSSSSS" sound as the air rushed out of the hole and my tire went flat real fast.
Oh well. It was bound to happen sooner or later with all of the thorny vegetation out here in the AZ desert. BTW, there are two Mesquite trees in my front yard, so I'm blaming this mess on them.
I got 360 miles before my first flat. My friend looked at it and said "I guess you'd better take it to the bike shop to get it fixed."
I told him I can't take it to the shop every time I get a flat. If I can't fix a flat at home, how the heck am I going to do it when I'm out on the road?
Just FYI, I haven't changed a flat tire in over 15 years and I'm certainly not what you would call "mechanically inclined", but I sure as heck can fix a flat tire!
I went out and fixed the flat. The hardest part was pumping it up with that mini-pump! I really need to get a good floor pump to use at home. I think I'll get a better one to take on the road, too.
I'm glad I wasn't planning on riding this morning, because finding that thorn in the side would have really ticked me off. Instead, I just fixed it and went back in the house and relaxed.
I'm ready to roll as soon as Monday at 5 a.m. gets here!
THE END
