Editor's Statement
My flat luck has run thin. Perhaps my luck was at an all-time high for an unusually long time, the latest batch of flat proof tires really are that good, but a couple of recent ones have put me back on guard and quelled any bravado that a relative few successful trips without a pump may have brought about. Out on a quick spin around town to test a camera from the junk bin or towards the end of the second century in as many days on a solo camp trip, they all sting.
As night fell, as a far off storm brewed, as I stood on the side of the trail an indeterminate distance from the next campsite, I broke off the valve of my remaining spare tube. I cursed myself for not properly dealing with the swapped out puncture from the day before and then watched as my second attempt at patching a tube bubbled and hissed as my calmly shaking hands gave it a pump. I figured I was no less than a mile from camp, no more than two, and about 20 minutes from sundown and 40 from complete darkness. Riding on the rim into camp with time to heat up dinner in the twilight was a treat in itself. The storm blowing up the next ridge over but ultimately never reaching my bivy at least kept it comfortable overnight.
No rain. Even the last few days of the journey playing out of town polo under threatening forecasts proved dry. Some seven nights of camping in a month’s time without more than a few hours rain, and even that while hunkered down. I’ll gladly trade a few flats for the perfect weather. The camera? Junk. The lesson learned? Even being prepared for everything doesn’t solve the simplest problem. Let the glue dry.
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Photo by Brad Quartuccio