No likey flat tires

[njchopper87]

******Long boring story with no pics********

I had to get my bike towed for the first time today. I discovered the rear was flat on Thursday morning when getting ready to go do work. Kicked the kickstand, started to move and realized something wasn't quite right. I stopped, peered around and realized I had a flat. Well, that's no good. Struggled to move it backward -- who knew it would be so tough?! I filled it up and proceeded to call my supervisor for the second time this week (the first time my blinkers were stuck with the left signal on after breaking the lever while cleaning -- whoops). I filled the tire to ~36-37 psi to account for loss (normal 35).

I went about two miles to a local grocery store to determine if it was safe to go any further. PSI dropped down to 20. Fuck. Turned back around, called my super (again) and said I'll be even later. He was very understanding since he had two flats just recently (which makes me wonder wtf could be behind this even more). Plan B; grandpa's car. He quickly agreed, but I could tell he'd miss his baby.

Anyways, I'll wrap it up by saying I was scared shitless when it was time to ride up the tow truck's ramp, and rightly so. When I got it up a good amount I squeezed the break and proceeded to slowly slide back a bit. Not enough to cause me to lose balance, but enough to make me panic for half a second. Come to find out later he had a wreck on there not too long ago and I got the leftovers. I knew what to expect, so when backing it off later on I let the grease/grime do the work for me.

Yay for AMA roadside assistance covering the taxi fare. Overall a good experience. The worst part was the auto call later to follow up.

"Please say one or dial one on the keypad if the service is in progress or has ended."
"One."
"I'm sorry, I could not understand."
"One."
"I'm sorry.."
"ONE!"
"I'm sorry.."
*1*
"Please tell us how long the service took" -- I think I misunderstood at this point and gave the time the guy showed up, but I got the "I'm sorry" and just said fuck it.

The tow guy was pretty cool. I asked him if he ever towed a tow truck (I'm sure the joke is long dead to him, but it's new to me!) And he said no, but he had his towed before.

So ya.. here I have this heated gear en route to my house and I can't even make use of it until mid to late next week!

[azoomm]

Bummer about the flat, did you figure out if it's just a puncture that could be plugged?

I don't understand the bit about grandpa and losing it on a ramp... the rest of the story is lost on me. Sorry.

[njchopper87]

I didn't proof read at the time. I went over it bit just now, but honestly I'm too lazy to rewrite the parts that start to trail off.. especially since I know no one gives a damn. haha

My dad and I checked it out before I had it towed and didn't see anything, and since it's my only means of transportation I just decided to go ahead get the tire/tube replaced at a local shop. I don't trust a patched tire with the commuting I do. I was going to ask the shop if the tube was punctured or something when I go to pick it up.

[njchopper87]

It was a nail by the way.. a fucking 2" nail. The shop I took it to were very helpful and said they only had to replace the tube. Total cost was $70 including labor. I have to learn how to take the tires on/off myself.. it's too much of a pain to take the entire bike there. Especially if it can't move by its self!

[OneSickPsycho]

What? You mean you don't check your tire pressures in a 27-point inspection before every ride? You lazy fucker.

[njchopper87]

Haha nah.. fuck that shit. I'm all for safety and what not, but I just don't have the time in the morning. From riding it day in/out I can feel when something is off and kind go from there. Not to say I don't check anything ever.. just not everything all the time.

[OneSickPsycho]

Originally Posted by njchopper87

Haha nah.. fuck that shit. I'm all for safety and what not, but I just don't have the time in the morning. From riding it day in/out I can feel when something is off and kind go from there. Not to say I don't check anything ever.. just not everything all the time.

I don't do any of that shit either... Hell, the first thing I've done on pretty much every bike I've ever bought was a wheelie (or two) then a high-speed run... you know, just to make sure it worked... and that was always on the way home from buying the thing...