of mice, men, and throwing big dice with getting flat tires

[boulder_adv_rider]

When you have the time (long post), grab your favorite beverage. I'd like to share some flat tire (and other) experience. Perhaps it will get some re/thinking and even help some gauge how prepared they are. Now, I wouldn't call myself a gambling man, but I do take some chances time and again in activities like adventure riding. Specifically, this post focuses on carrying requisite (perhaps redundant) tools/equipment to change a flat in the field--especially when it matters. The bottom-line is maximizing ride time and enjoying the full-experience along the way. To this end I hope you enjoy the post. For roughly the first 10k miles of adventure riding, I never got a flat. Yet I always carried 1-each spare front and rear tubes, patches (glue and glueless), small bottle of Slime, irons and at least a good mountain bike pump for inflation. Later I added a small Sears 12V compressor, but I still like the MTB pump in "minimalist" situations. I know, a MTB pump is not efficient (and hell in 120F deserts!) but a good one offers reliable, unlimited air (subject to your drive and determination, of course) vs. reliability/other issues with CO2 cartidges or mini-compressors. For example, if your battery is dead--for whatever reason--you're SOL with your compressor. And how many of you carry 5 or more CO2 cartridges or ever tried to get them by airport security? As time and miles wear on without event, you lower your guard. Notably, I did 5k miles throughout Baja without tire irons--somehow these were left at home. About 300 miles into the trip, I noticed the error. Immediately, I apprised my girlfriend (riding 2-up) of the situation so she could decide for herself what level of risk she was willing to accept. Fortunately, she looked at me and said, "What if a tire shreds? We can't plan for everything." That's my girl! So knowing we didn't have irons we planned on picking up some at the nearest opportunity and seeking local assistance if we got a flat otherwise. The high risk part of this decision occurs in the deep desert where generally there is no help available. Still, we rode 5k miles including a lot of the Baja 1000 and other remote areas throwing some BIG dice. We hit the tip (Cabo) and rode all the way back to San Diego and never did buy any irons. Even in La Paz, when we threw on a fresh rear Pirelli, I could have bought some then. Somehow beating the odds and acting like flat-tire renegades just felt right...you know? Well, now I'd label it very foolish. So at 14k smiles, I never had a flat tire. However in a remote area in the Gobe desert in Mongolia, I found two young men stranded on their moto. They looked worked and horrified. The had that fear of combat look on their faces it's unforgettable. And here they were with some ancient hand pump (pre-World War II???) and it wasn't working. From what I could tell, they left home with a barely inflated rear tire pumping it along the way until it failed and they got stranded. Luckily out of nowhere two American's riding 2-up with a fresh Topeak MTB pump arrive and many many strokes later that tire saw pressures likely it had never seen before. The two men responded like God sent us. One wouldn't stop staring at me with deep glossy eyes like a shock victim. We gave them snacks and water and carried on like nothing happened. (Coincidentally, several hundred miles/days earlier we came along a boy and his little sister 20 miles from home trying to fix the chain on their bicycle. We found a desperate boy fruitlessly trying with two rocks to pound a pin to reconnect the chain. I pulled out my chain tool and within 3-minutes despair blossomed into two smiling, grateful faces.) What I learned here is not only the life you save may be your own...but others' as well. In fact, I've been involved in many life-threatening rescues (CPR, severe trauma, high angle, etc.) and thankfully haven't lost one yet. I attribute this to training and case-study learning via others experiences. And I've done many more seemingly simple assists that perhaps might have had grave outcomes. For this, I'm happy to have "wasted" space carrying repair items and/or medical supplies I/we didn't use personally. Using my gear to assist others (including administering medical care) has been one of the greatest rewards/experiences in my life. Now, you'd think this would translate into some good karma--it has. But when you try to cut a corner or get away with too much, this is where/when things go bad. So not having any flats in years and many miles, I began to roll the dice a bit here and there. My first experience of "when rusty nails go bad" was in Death Valley. It was Spring so temps weren't too hot, and I was well-supported with my trusty Dodge Ram parked in a remote spot (in mountains) some 25 miles away from my KLR camp. I was doing short rides day-to-day and then occasionally returning to my truck to re-supply. Being only 25 miles away, I figured the worst case scenario is walking 25 miles and even driving out in the truck. And short of a medical emergency, my truck has everything and anything in it to survive all but a direct nuclear blast! 4k watt AC, multiple deep cell batteries, soldering, DVD player (Netflix movies!), sat phone, etc. So it gave me confidence to lighten my equipment and skinny down to a fast and light tire-repair ensemble: bottle of Slime and MTB pump. Now imagine this. You've never gotten a flat and always carry tons of repair equipment. Yet the moment you're some 25 miles away from those supplies for the very first time, you get a nail (of all things in a friggin desert!) in your rear tire! Well, no worries. I pulled out the Slime and started filling. But to my horror I noticed the valve stem rotated freely meaning I sheared the stem from the tube due to high speed and me noticing the puncture too late. Limping into camp, I prepared mentally for an epic worst case scenario on only day-2! I had to make some decisions...Do I carry the rear wheel back and fix it at the truck and then carry it back (repaired) some 50 miles return?! Or do I simply hike fast and light to the truck to get supplies and hope I can fix it at camp? Either way, it's 50 miles of hiking a serious hump. If I return and can't fix it, I'm in REALLY bad shape. No chance of getting the truck in here either forget it. Now, I know I can do 25 miles/day in these conditions, but I opt for one over-night along the way for better margin. I'll use GPS to run straight vs. following winding trails, so perhaps I can shave more time. Regardless, I decide to stay a day and really contemplate decisions before setting off. Good thing. To my amazement, the very next day I find some guy that happens to have a 17-in tube that'll work. Imagine that! We were able to change it and boy was I happy not have to waste 3-4 days on an epic trek. Instead, I enjoyed those days riding and exploring. Talk about Murphy's Law...the moment I removed my safety net [gear], disaster strikes. Well equipped, I never have another flat again until this latest trip. From Boulder, I rode 1,500 miles before arriving in Crested Butte. I setup camp and off-loaded my bags/gear. Then, I decided to take a fast and light run up a nearby mountain circa 6PM. Again, it's a quick, close ride so no need to take the mini-compressor to fix a flat. I mean what are the odds of getting a flat now?!? Well, I'll tell ya. The minute you leave your pump/compressor they go straight to 99.9%! At the exact summit, (I'm not kidding) I got a nail through my rear tire. Unbelievable. I spent 2-hours limping down gingerly a jingas rocky trail to a road back to camp. There, I pulled the rusty finish nail and tube and installed an older tube (with some patches but no leaks) vowing NEVER again to leave my pump or mini-compressor behind. And being Sunday (Monday a holiday) I knew it wouldn't be until Moab or Las Vegas before I could buy two new tubes. In the meantime, I needed somewhere to get tube patches so I have a backup tube. All I'm carrying now is a half-bottle of (untested) Slime. So the next morning, I took off with the tire holding air fine. I stopped at a Target that didn't have patches and Walmart was sold out. So instead of checking the local Sears nearby, I convinced myself to skip the patches for now in favor of Chipotle for a burrito and cold drink. Who needs patches anyway? After lunch, I hit the highway passing Moab (notably under siege in heavy rain) which is a great place (Fred!!!!) to get tubes, patches, etc. Mistake. Somewhere beyond Moab on a remote stretch of highway, going downhill fully load, just passing a truck towing a camper, and switching to the right lane my tire goes absolutely limp at 75mph. What an experience riding-out that shit! I got to the side thinking I must have hit another nail. A quick check of the tire finds nothing unusual. I'm hoping a dump of Slime and inflation should have me back on the road shortly. Maybe one of the patches failed? So I grab what's left of the Slime and realize it has no tube to plug into the valve stem. So I go under the KLR and remove the small tube connected to the white/clear reservoir that connects to the airbox drain and use it--take that MacGyver! Wonderfully, this fits on the Slime nozzle and the valve stem. So I squeeze in half the Slime but it suddenly clogs. In trying to figure out why, to my horror I realize the valve stem rotates freely! Good God, man, this tube is trashed! Now, the only tube I have left is the one from yesterday and it has tons of small holes in it (1 from the nail and a bunch of pinches). Am I screwed here? Now, I pulled my bike way off the highway for safety. Of course the remote few that pass don't see me nor do I think any would stop even for free gasoline! My mobile phone has no signal. In inspecting the tire and tube, I find several patches ripped from the tube and lying in the tire. I'm thinking somehow the tire slipped (no rim locks) and somehow the patches go torn from the tube rapidly deflating the tire and shearing off the valve from the tube in the process. Didn't matter. My only option was the other tube that I almost threw-out yesterday but didn't just for this reason! Now, I've never used Slime before, but it was my only hope. The problem is half of what I had (not much) was spewed inside the tire and rim because valve stem torn-off. So I dismounted the tire and began squeezing/sucking the Slime back into the bottle and proceeded to put everything into the other tube. I remember thinking this will never work. An hour and a half later, I have it mounted and bags/everything back on. I pull out the mini-compressor and hope the tire holds air. Boy, this takes forever. Finally the pressure gauge comes off of 0 psi and appears to be inflating. But a quick tire pressure check indicated a bit of leakage. So I rode it around a bit in the grass and topped it off to 28 psi again. It appeared to be holding so I took off. Then every 5-10 miles I stopped to add a bit of air as pressure would drop to as low as 22 psi. It wasn't until I put in 31 psi that I learned over-inflating it actually stopped the leak completely. Around midnight, I limped into a local hotel completely exhausted and very short of Vegas by at least 6 hours. All this because I wasn't prepared like usual. By Mon night, I hit Las Vegas and picked up two new tubes, patches and an even bigger bottle of Slime. I love the stuff! That night I arrive via Rt 95 at the start of the Mojave Trail. The next day I rode it to the end and on to Death Valley and all the way back to Boulder on that same Slimed tube. It never lost 1 lb of pressure! Very impressive. So what to take-away from all this? Well, first note short of my 75mph tire blow-out my life was never in danger. Personally, some of my best adventure stories are break-downs where you meet great people that get benefit and joy from helping you. Secondly, if you don't have AAA motorcycle coverage, consider it for extra cushion (long story). Lastly, don't roll the dice when it really matters. Keep fresh tubes not ones with patches on them unless you use them strictly to extract and get immediately to a shop for new tubes. Unprepared in a harsh desert, an otherwise simple flat or multiples could prove fatal. Ride with another KLRista if possible and always carry tubes, patches, Slime, and tools to self-rescue/fix it yourself if you're soloing. Don't throw the BIG dice and don't rely on others selflessly. Take it from my experience. I promise you'll lose more ride time and experience more inconvenience and anguish if you choose NOT to carry the requisite supplies, tools and re-inflation device. The "I have never gotten a flat" mentality is foolish. Furthermore, think of others. It might be you that's able to help another adventure enthusiast in trouble some day. In many cases a flat isn't a big deal, but in remote areas you should be fully-prepared to self-rescue and fix most anything including many flats. Carry redundant supplies. The first time in Mojave my soft luggage struck a cactus. The numerous, ultra-sharp and stout needles not only punctured holes in two, full collapsible water bottles, the damn things punctured my spare rear tube! Considering I got two flats within two days on this last trip, and coming from someone that never had a flats until recently, I'm not likely to kiss and throw the BIG dice again. It can be dangerous and a severe hazard to your riding pleasure. Be prepared. Be smart. Enjoy. Brian