Saved by the Bike Shop

 


        C was loading the bikes onto the car on Monday night when he discovered a big problem. The front tire on my bike was completely flat. As I looked at the tire I noticed that it was cracked and that's probably why it went flat. The tire was the the original one on the bike when I bought it about 30 years ago so it's no surprise. It's been really hot outside, the temperature in the garage would have been even higher.

        This was a bad time for this to happen. C and I were really looking forward to a ride since it had been too hot to ride all last week. We wanted to get an early start, but the bike shop didn't open until ten. We discussed possibly hiking somewhere instead riding our bikes. 

        The next morning, C decided to play pickleball since we weren't going to be able to start our ride early. I did some chores around the house. When C came back we donned our riding attire, filled our water bottles and grabbed our helmets. The plan was to go to the bike shop to replace the tire and inner tube. We hoped that since it was an easy repair they would do it on the spot. 

        We really like the bike shop we go to. The first time we went there was when my bike came loose from the bike rack while we driving. I hoped that maybe they would be able to salvage the bike so I wouldn't have to buy a new one. They were able to repair it and we've taken our bikes there for repair and tune ups ever since. We had been going to a "big box" bike store and were looking for a local shop. We prefer to support locally owned businesses whenever possible.

        C went into the shop and after a few minutes came out with the guy who did repairs. He took the wheel off the bike. They went back into the shop. About five minutes later they came out again and put the wheel back on. C shook his hand, thanked him and got in the car, problem solved in 15 minutes. We went to the bike trail for our ride.

        I was grateful that the tire could be replaced so quickly but also a little embarrassed. I had forgotten that the front wheel is easily removed. Before we had the bike rack, I would take off the front wheel so I could put the bike in the back of the car for transport. We could have replaced the tire and inner tube ourselves and maybe been able to start earlier as planned. However, we still would have needed to buy a tire and inner tube and would have needed to wait until the shop was open. 

        We headed out for our ride and my bike seemed to ride better with the new tire. It turned out to be a good day.

        

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