November 10, 2010
Blow-out. Lucky it wasn't a high speed.
I called in the bakery that I frequented every day while in Puerto Iguazu to buy lunch for the road, three slices of pizza. I heard the dulcet sound of the song, Yesterday. A man sat on a stool beside me drinking coffee drew my attention to a TV screen up in the corner where indeed Paul MacCartney was singing and strumming a giutar on a stage. 'He played till ninety-thousand last-night in Buenos Aires' said the man. 'Really' I replied. I cannot explain but a song like Yesterday makes me dreamy and next something funny was to follow. The girl hands me the pizza across the counter, 'gracias' I say and walk out the door. 'Senior' the girl calls out after me. 'Desculpe me' excuse me I say turning back laughing. There was much laughter in the shop too as I paid.
The Israelis that I had shared the dormitory with had checked-out yesterday and I'd new room mates, not the party type, they were in bed early, up and away early this morning so I could make as mush noise I liked while packing my bags ready for the road. With the bike ready to go I lingered for quite a while drinking coffee at a table on the patio outside the hostel reception. I was thinking have I got everything. 'Ah, I most take more water. Have I enough food? All is ready'. I finally checked-out and rolled the bike down the steps to the street. A taxi was blocking the gateway though. It was waiting for a big Australian guy smartly dressed and wearing a panama hat blabbering away. 'What the heck, will he get in the taxi so I can get out' I thought 'Who does he think he is'. He finally put his fat ass in the back seat and the way was soon clear.
I took a side street to avoid the main street. This led out to the thoroughfare leading to Route 12 where a local bus from the company, El Practico, was blocking the street. It didn't seem to be the practical of it's namesake as it drove on belching out black smoke. At last it turned down a side street so the traffic could move again.
The road is the same road that I cycled twice at the weekend to the waterfalls until a turn-off 13km out of town. There is no shoulder and I've lamented previously, why, cyclists and non motorized road users are excluded from using the roads by there being no shoulder. While some drivers slow and only pass you when there isn't oncoming traffic. There are the others it would seem think they are invincible, that they're really good drivers. 'Ay, oncoming convoy of trucks and a cyclist on the inside. No problem for me' perhaps goes through their head. I ask myself 'what type of person drives at 90km or more right at a cyclist passing with no margin for error on the cyclist part?'
Misiones is a hilly province therefore the roads go straight up and down. This is very worrying if there isn't a shoulder because what happens when there's oncoming traffic on the way up the hill while you're doing 35 down and suddenly there's a truck bearing down on you from behind. It can very quickly go wrong if you have not slowed sufficiently when riding off the edge of the road. Downhill the front wheel can skid thereby crashing, as such, you most be extra alert and careful.
I rode over the top of one hill, looked down and up at a straight hill ahead. I saw the computer and calculated that there were just 3km more until the turn-off and thereafter knew the road had a shoulder. It was then, before I began to descend, I heard a sudden whist sound followed by a whirling pisst pisst pisst as the air blew out of the front tyre. The cause of the blow-out, I was to discover, a small hole in the thread or where there used to be thread as the tyre was ready worn thin and had wore through to the inner-tube. There would be no point in patching the inner-tube and at any rate I would be the weight of a tyre lighter when I find a bin.
After the rain yesterday it was a fresh day. The sky had rags of white fluffy clouds and a light South West breeze blew in my face. Yes, I am cycling South. I think I've made the right decision. It will be a while though before I am far enough South where not so warm days are the norm. I expect by then that that South West breeze may just well be a strong wind. The season though for the strong winds is usually September to February. So if I take my time I may reach Patagonia when strong windy days are over for the season, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Meanwhile I am thinking of a more appropriate mame for this journal.
Lunch time came round and I discovered my old reading glasses which I kind of forgotten about as the leg has been broken off in a long time. I tried them out for reading and could see small print perfectly. They sit on my face too with just the one leg while sitting still.
In the late afternoon just as I's thinking of looking out for a place to camp, I ran over a sharp flint of a stone with the back-wheel as I careered down-hill. I thought I'd survived a pinch puncher as there was no sudden going soft of the tire, but after riding three or four-hundred metres I felt the familiar soft swaying feel in the back-wheel. It was going soft indeed. On inspection I discovered the inner-tube had a small pin hole caused by, when I felt the inside of the tyre, a small bit of wire. I suspect this comes from the tyre casing and not from outside. I pulled it out with the pliers on my Leatherman and patched the tube. I have only had one other flat since leaving Salta, now two in one day. I hope this does not become a habit or I will sing, 'Yesterday, all my troubles'. Shortly thereafter, I found a place to hid away camping in a firebreak between plantations.
Today's ride: 64 km (40 miles)
Total: 5,328 km (3,309 miles)
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