Inflation: A Monologue
Aug. 8th, 2004 03:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jducoeurDateine: Yesterday. Our intrepid hero, realizing that he hasn't gotten on his bike in nearly two weeks, and seeing the weather finally turning nice, decides that it's time.
Okay -- mirror. Time to stop feeling like I'm about to be run over. Position, position, position. Okay, that'll pretty much work. Adhere to helmet. Wait, wait, wait...
Leg straps: check. Helmet: check. Bike -- not so check. Get down to the curb, tires go *squidge*. I'm fairly sure that "*squidge*" is not an appropriate tire noise, even for these newfangled ones. Press -- yep, flat, or at least a fair approximation thereof. Ah, there's something I didn't think to buy yet: a tire pump.
Shop, shop, oh shop. Along the way, stop at the bike shop. Spoiled for choice. There are Big Beefy Pumps That Look Like TNT Detonators. There are Elegant Cylindrical Pumps That Don't Have Pressure Gauges. Oh, look -- there are Precious Little Pumps That Fit in a Drawer. And here's a Precious Little Pump That Fits In a Drawer And Has a Precious Little Pressure Gauge! Perfect!
Dateline: Today. Our intrepid hero decides to try that again.
Okay, lessee. Attach pump handle: check. Slip Presta connector over Presta valve: check. Turn handle to lock: check. Pump -- hiss. Pump -- hiss. Pump -- hiss. Hmm.
Disassemble pump. Examine newfangled Presta valve. Reattach. Pump -- hiss. Try pressing a little harder. Hissss! Remaining air and tire decide upon an amicable divorce. Grr. Pump, hiss, pump, hiss, pump, hiss. Oh, Precious Little Pump That Fits in a Drawer And Has a Precious Little Pressure Gauge, why do you plague me so? Back to the store we shall go!
Shopping redux. Okay, time to go with first instincts: a Big Beefy Pump That Looks Like a TNT Detonator. Let's bring that home.
Instructions: ah, you're supposed to remove the cute little metal thingy on the newfangled Presta valve! Wouldv'e been nice if the other instructions had seen fit to mention that point. Attach, lock. Look at tire to find correct pressure. 115 PSI!?! Holy mother of God! That's... that's... that's 7.82528585 atmospheres! (Thank you, Google.) Okay, the Big Beefy Pump That Looks Like a TNT Detonator is seeming like a better and better idea. Pump: 30 PSI. Pump: 50. 70. 80. 90, 95, 100, 105, 107, 110, 112, 114, 115. Unlock, remove before losing all that precious air, replace cute little metal thingy on the newfangled Presta valve, replace the valve cap. Feel: no give at all. Much more like it.
Pedal, pedal, pedal. Mirror: check. Jiggles a whole heckuva lot as I'm riding, but all I have to do is tilt my head slightly and I can see what's behind me. Lovely: the odds of imminent road pizzatude decrease greatly. MacArthur School: well and truly demised. Oh, well -- at least we got one event there before they tore it down.
Result of ride: not bad. ~6 miles is starting to feel pretty short: I think I need to come up with a new route. Even the hills aren't straining me as badly as they were. And I made it up Trimount Ave, all the way home, for the first time ever! I rock! Okay, time for water and an LJ entry.
And so we stop, before this article becomes dangerously recursive...
Okay -- mirror. Time to stop feeling like I'm about to be run over. Position, position, position. Okay, that'll pretty much work. Adhere to helmet. Wait, wait, wait...
Leg straps: check. Helmet: check. Bike -- not so check. Get down to the curb, tires go *squidge*. I'm fairly sure that "*squidge*" is not an appropriate tire noise, even for these newfangled ones. Press -- yep, flat, or at least a fair approximation thereof. Ah, there's something I didn't think to buy yet: a tire pump.
Shop, shop, oh shop. Along the way, stop at the bike shop. Spoiled for choice. There are Big Beefy Pumps That Look Like TNT Detonators. There are Elegant Cylindrical Pumps That Don't Have Pressure Gauges. Oh, look -- there are Precious Little Pumps That Fit in a Drawer. And here's a Precious Little Pump That Fits In a Drawer And Has a Precious Little Pressure Gauge! Perfect!
Dateline: Today. Our intrepid hero decides to try that again.
Okay, lessee. Attach pump handle: check. Slip Presta connector over Presta valve: check. Turn handle to lock: check. Pump -- hiss. Pump -- hiss. Pump -- hiss. Hmm.
Disassemble pump. Examine newfangled Presta valve. Reattach. Pump -- hiss. Try pressing a little harder. Hissss! Remaining air and tire decide upon an amicable divorce. Grr. Pump, hiss, pump, hiss, pump, hiss. Oh, Precious Little Pump That Fits in a Drawer And Has a Precious Little Pressure Gauge, why do you plague me so? Back to the store we shall go!
Shopping redux. Okay, time to go with first instincts: a Big Beefy Pump That Looks Like a TNT Detonator. Let's bring that home.
Instructions: ah, you're supposed to remove the cute little metal thingy on the newfangled Presta valve! Wouldv'e been nice if the other instructions had seen fit to mention that point. Attach, lock. Look at tire to find correct pressure. 115 PSI!?! Holy mother of God! That's... that's... that's 7.82528585 atmospheres! (Thank you, Google.) Okay, the Big Beefy Pump That Looks Like a TNT Detonator is seeming like a better and better idea. Pump: 30 PSI. Pump: 50. 70. 80. 90, 95, 100, 105, 107, 110, 112, 114, 115. Unlock, remove before losing all that precious air, replace cute little metal thingy on the newfangled Presta valve, replace the valve cap. Feel: no give at all. Much more like it.
Pedal, pedal, pedal. Mirror: check. Jiggles a whole heckuva lot as I'm riding, but all I have to do is tilt my head slightly and I can see what's behind me. Lovely: the odds of imminent road pizzatude decrease greatly. MacArthur School: well and truly demised. Oh, well -- at least we got one event there before they tore it down.
Result of ride: not bad. ~6 miles is starting to feel pretty short: I think I need to come up with a new route. Even the hills aren't straining me as badly as they were. And I made it up Trimount Ave, all the way home, for the first time ever! I rock! Okay, time for water and an LJ entry.
And so we stop, before this article becomes dangerously recursive...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-08 04:37 pm (UTC)Yep, you're Miles.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-09 04:24 am (UTC)They were right.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-09 11:57 am (UTC)Oh, well -- useful tip anyway. Thanks. (And now that they're almost done with the construction in front of my office, I should be able to start biking to work again soon...)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-09 12:20 pm (UTC)If you want a real sense of accomplishment, you may borrow my daughter's trailer and her for a few rides. After towing, I guess, an extra 75 pounds and a third wheel, losing them DEFINITELY makes you feel much improved and faster. (:-)
Bike tire going *hisssssssss*
Date: 2004-08-09 07:38 am (UTC)You did think to check the tire for punctures, right? And you did remember to get a tire patching kit - to patch punctures? Right?
Otherwise you could pump nearly forever (I assume) and the *hisssssssss* of air being pumped through the tire and out of the puncture would never end. :):):)
If it wasn't the tire hissing, cool. If you don't have a puncture mending kit, uncool. :)
I hope your Big Beefy Pump attaches to the bike *somehow* so you can take it with you on your rides - you never know when you might need it. (Puncture mending kit, ditto).
-Eleni
Who learned the above by osmosis from cyclist hubby *G*
Re: Bike tire going *hisssssssss*
Date: 2004-08-09 12:04 pm (UTC)I considered that, but the hissing noise seemed to be coming from the pump head itself, so I figured (correctly, as it turned out) that it wasn't locking down properly.
And you did remember to get a tire patching kit - to patch punctures? Right?
Uh -- yeah! Sure! Right! (He scribbles on his shopping list as inconspicuously as possible.)
I hope your Big Beefy Pump attaches to the bike *somehow* so you can take it with you on your rides - you never know when you might need it.
It doesn't, I admit. (Way, way too big.) I suppose that one of these days, I probably should get an Elegant Cylindrical Pump That Doesn't Have a Pressure Gauge, but which does clip onto the frame.
But I'll admit to being a shade lazy about that, having made it all the way through high school without ever needing to fill the tires except from home base. Having a pump on the bike is mostly for emergencies, and honestly -- that's what I have a cellphone for.
(Obviously, it's very different for someone who is a Serious Rider, going Serious Distances on a regular basis. This does not describe me, though...)
Re: Bike tire going *hisssssssss*
Date: 2004-08-09 12:18 pm (UTC)- A patch kit and pump
- A replacement tube and pump
- $20 bucks and a willingness to walk far if your tire blows out.
(:-)I've always done the latter, but there have been times when I deeply regretted making that choice - such as when my ex-wife's bike tire blew while 15 miles into a long ride on the Cape Cod Rail Trail.
Fortunately I had a map and we made a fast plan which involved her walking to the nearest cross street while I sped backwards with child in tow in trailer to get the car. Because the map said there was no bike store within 7 miles of the spot we were in, and it was right.
If the trailer or a tire on my bike had failed, we'd have been screwed, though.
Riding locally, I don't carry anything more than a few extra dollars.