First ride out in my gear ends in disaster :( lol

[Kieran Taylor]

All the housework was done, it was 11:00, sun was shining and i decided to go for a ride in my new lycra. Armed with 1 spare inner tube, pump, water bottle, phone, keys and a metal spoon in my back pockets I set off. All was going well after 40 minutes, i was 8 miles from home, the sun was out and I was on country roads surrounded my fields. Then it happened. I took on a puncture, which i happily sorted out and merrily set off again but back home this time. Then it happened again. 5 minutes later another puncture still about 7 1/2 miles from home the wind picked up and the clouds covered the sky. Brrrrr it was cold. With no money i had to call my friends and family up to come save me. Luckily my partner came to save the day after being let down by all my busy friends who were all working lol I managed to warm up and shower before narrowly clambering into work just on time.

What did i learn? Stay in the housing estate and do laps next time :P Haha

 

[Nearly there]

something similar happened to me last year however I didnt even have a spare tube on me that day I gambled and lost had to phone home now i travel with spare tube and patches.

 

[MontyVeda]

patches.... never leave home without em

 

[snorri]

warm clothing....never leave home without it

 

[Paulus]

warm clothing....never leave home without it

Seconded, this time of year, no matter how bright the sun is always take a wind/waterproof with you in your back pocket. You can always take clothing off if you get too warm, once you are cold it can be miserable.

 

[jamsarnie]

Check the tyre for whatever caused the puncture before you put it back on the bike.....
I managed 2 tubes and a patch on an early trip this year before I worked that one out!

 

[biggs682]

local laps are a good test and easier if problem

 

[Arjimlad]

What was the metal spoon for ?

 

[Aiden_23]

old school tyre lever!!!!

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

What was the metal spoon for ?

Crack?

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

I've had three punctures on my usual 30 mile circuit.
All during weekday evenings ... in the dark, cold, windswept fens.

First thing i do is pull my lightweight rain jacket from the backpack and put it on, as its surprising
how quickly you can cool down when you stop too long.

Then its the routine of placing the helmet a few feet from the bike to use my helmet light to illuminate
the bike, then if its below 10 degrees i'll fit a new tube, as rubber glue takes ages to "go off" when its
too cold. Otherwise i'll do the usual thing with glue/patches/chalk.

My best time to turn a puncture around = 3 minutes 20 seconds, but that was a front puncture on a cheap
chinese rim that only needed hands to pull the tyre off to fit a new tube!

 

[mattobrien]

I never go out without patches and a spare tube. That way, it will take quite a few punctures to impede my progress.

The last time I was properly halted was down to a faulty pump, which made getting any air into the tyre once patched up almost impossible. A slow ride back to the car at around 10psi.

 

[briantrumpet]

Check the tyre for whatever caused the puncture before you put it back on the bike.....

+1. Learnt the hard way. Now I always check the tyre carefully by squeezing it all the way round while deflated: my multiple-puncture incident was caused by a tiny flint that I couldn't feel from the inside and couldn't see from the outside, until I did the squeezing thing.

 

[Kieran Taylor]

Thanks guys for the help. I didn't want to carry a load of stuff with me so i tried to be as minimal as i could get. I guess i should stay closer to home if im going to do that in the future. Haha.

I fixed my tyre this morning but it seems to have gone down again. I'll have to check the patchwork and for other punctures tomorrow. Then have a root round to see if there are any odd bits sticking out that could puncture the tyre. I did check on the rim where the puncture was and there was nothing there. Maybe i'm being a bit to forceful when putting the innertube back into place lol

I suppose i will only learn with trying and practice

 

[snorri]

Thanks guys for the help. I didn't want to carry a load of stuff with me so i tried to be as minimal as i could get. I guess i should stay closer to home if im going to do that in the future.

Stay closer to home? No, get yourself a pair of panniers and fill them up, never did understand this minimalist thing. A bike without panniers looks naked, incomplete.