Chapter 27
Oct. 18th, 2010 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pecuniumIn which we have an adventure, and are grateful to the kindness of strangers.
As I was leaving school today I recalled that I have been a bit lax about checking my air pressure. So I took the seat off, pulled out the pressure gauge and discovered I was a few pounds below what I think is the bottom of ideal (I'd been keeping the tires at 2-up pressure, which is a bit above what I need; but this was a bit below what Metzler recommends).
So I swung by the 76 station, popped the tires up to about 55psi, and bled them down to what I wanted.
Took the shorter way home, though it's a bit longer, and rolled some side-streets to Embarcadero.
The left onto Bayshore is a fun turn, if there is no traffic. This was just shy of 1730, there was traffic, so I pulled through the intersection, made the right into Ming's, and went around the back to come up to the light with a straight run. This has the advantage of it being after a cycling of the lights which means there isn't likely to be traffic when I enter the left/right/left/right series of turns. It's rated 25, but if it's clear I can do it at 35, no problem (which is the speed limit) and have done it, when I was feeling loose and there was no one there, at about 45.
So I was at the light, not even sharing the pole position.
When the guy behind me starts a bit of honking, and I hear, "Hey you on the bike, you've got a flat tire."
I look back and sure enough the back tire us flat. Not soft, flat.
I hit the emergency blinkers, and make the right (gingerly), and head to Mings. I call Les, she's not awake. I call Mike and he says he is still at work. He was planning to come over and look at the Seca (which I think needs a new clutch), but he says he'll come to the bike.
I make some other calls, scrap my plans with V for the evening (move to Thus, if she can). Call Leah, tell he the hope to see Michael's boat may be sunk. Talk to Marna (who is having horrors of her own to deal with; Ian's cat is dying, he's out of town, etc.). Mike shows up. we put the bike on the center stand (I couldn't do it myself. He was surprised at how hard it was to lift 600 lbs of bike from that low to the ground).
Find the damage. A 3" slice in the center of the tire. Spend a canister of CO2 to find out 1: it will fill the tire (of this I had doubts, but it will put enough air into the tire to get to a station, at the very least), and 2: the air is gone in less than a minute.
Which means, I think , the object was in Ming's parking lot.
Talk to Ming's they don't care if I leave the bike there. Cycle World has a tire which fits. Not the same tire. A slightly softer one, so it has maybe 5,000 miles of life. That's about what I thought the Metzler had on it, so it ought to last as long at the front tire. It's a bit stickier, to the handling will be a bit different, but that's the way of things.
Pull the tire. Put it it the car, dash to Cycle Gear. Talk to the woman at the counter, looking at helmets; she is riding the bike from "Beautiful British Columbia". Ask what time the tire will be ready; the guy says he doesn't know, we need to find out from the guy who brought it out.
He's in the back, putting it on.
Mike and I get some supper.
Back to the house. We arrive about 9 p.m.
Tomorrow I get to put the tire on, head to CalMoto, have the torquing on the caliper for the rear brake (which had to be removed to get the tire clear of the well, but oh, the way BMW thinks. The lug nuts on the wheel, have thrust bearings), and spend some time scuffing the tire.
I got really lucky. If the guy hadn't seen the flat, and told me about it, I probably would have left the light with my usual style. I might have notice the odd handling before I got going to too fast (I don't "jackrabbit" the light, but once the bike is moving, I do step it out a bit), but on the straight, perhaps not.
If I'd entered the turn at 20 mph... probably would have wiped out.
So, here's to Good Samaritans, and friends, mensches all.
As I was leaving school today I recalled that I have been a bit lax about checking my air pressure. So I took the seat off, pulled out the pressure gauge and discovered I was a few pounds below what I think is the bottom of ideal (I'd been keeping the tires at 2-up pressure, which is a bit above what I need; but this was a bit below what Metzler recommends).
So I swung by the 76 station, popped the tires up to about 55psi, and bled them down to what I wanted.
Took the shorter way home, though it's a bit longer, and rolled some side-streets to Embarcadero.
The left onto Bayshore is a fun turn, if there is no traffic. This was just shy of 1730, there was traffic, so I pulled through the intersection, made the right into Ming's, and went around the back to come up to the light with a straight run. This has the advantage of it being after a cycling of the lights which means there isn't likely to be traffic when I enter the left/right/left/right series of turns. It's rated 25, but if it's clear I can do it at 35, no problem (which is the speed limit) and have done it, when I was feeling loose and there was no one there, at about 45.
So I was at the light, not even sharing the pole position.
When the guy behind me starts a bit of honking, and I hear, "Hey you on the bike, you've got a flat tire."
I look back and sure enough the back tire us flat. Not soft, flat.
I hit the emergency blinkers, and make the right (gingerly), and head to Mings. I call Les, she's not awake. I call Mike and he says he is still at work. He was planning to come over and look at the Seca (which I think needs a new clutch), but he says he'll come to the bike.
I make some other calls, scrap my plans with V for the evening (move to Thus, if she can). Call Leah, tell he the hope to see Michael's boat may be sunk. Talk to Marna (who is having horrors of her own to deal with; Ian's cat is dying, he's out of town, etc.). Mike shows up. we put the bike on the center stand (I couldn't do it myself. He was surprised at how hard it was to lift 600 lbs of bike from that low to the ground).
Find the damage. A 3" slice in the center of the tire. Spend a canister of CO2 to find out 1: it will fill the tire (of this I had doubts, but it will put enough air into the tire to get to a station, at the very least), and 2: the air is gone in less than a minute.
Which means, I think , the object was in Ming's parking lot.
Talk to Ming's they don't care if I leave the bike there. Cycle World has a tire which fits. Not the same tire. A slightly softer one, so it has maybe 5,000 miles of life. That's about what I thought the Metzler had on it, so it ought to last as long at the front tire. It's a bit stickier, to the handling will be a bit different, but that's the way of things.
Pull the tire. Put it it the car, dash to Cycle Gear. Talk to the woman at the counter, looking at helmets; she is riding the bike from "Beautiful British Columbia". Ask what time the tire will be ready; the guy says he doesn't know, we need to find out from the guy who brought it out.
He's in the back, putting it on.
Mike and I get some supper.
Back to the house. We arrive about 9 p.m.
Tomorrow I get to put the tire on, head to CalMoto, have the torquing on the caliper for the rear brake (which had to be removed to get the tire clear of the well, but oh, the way BMW thinks. The lug nuts on the wheel, have thrust bearings), and spend some time scuffing the tire.
I got really lucky. If the guy hadn't seen the flat, and told me about it, I probably would have left the light with my usual style. I might have notice the odd handling before I got going to too fast (I don't "jackrabbit" the light, but once the bike is moving, I do step it out a bit), but on the straight, perhaps not.
If I'd entered the turn at 20 mph... probably would have wiped out.
So, here's to Good Samaritans, and friends, mensches all.
