June 19, 2022
Slow Leak
You don't have to be on a bike tour
to have a slow leak kind of day.
But mine was an actual slow leak with a bike tire.
Plus a spare tube with a faulty valve -
and a bike pump which couldn't top 20 psi.
I woke up to discover the front tire totally flat.
(At least it was the front, not the back.)
Spread a tarp out on the gravel.
Attempted to repatch the tube in the wind.
It took at least a thousand pumps to get a little air in.
The presta valve kept unscrewing when I released the pump.
Wash, rinse, repeat. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I got my small pliers out and fixed the valve.
Then biked a shaky 2 miles to a rest area -
hoping to find someone with a bike pump.
I asked a couple from Nevada in an RV.
They said they didn't have a bike pump -
but they did have a pump as part of the RV.
Wow! Never thought of that.
So I was on the road again. And grateful.
(Of course, I wait until there is no traffic.)
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The Silver Creek Valley is simply gorgeous.
The valley has drawn fisherman famous and ordinary -
most famously, Ernest Hemingway.
Alas! I do not share Hemingway's view of nature.
I am more content simply to watch in wonder.
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Managed the 18 miles to Carey with full pressure.
Carey is not Silver Creek - it's where the workers live.
Small houses and mobile homes - a big LDS church.
The only business open on Sunday was the c-store -
where I had me a cheeseburger and fries.
Caught up on the journal and gave the tire time to sag.
Two hours later the tire seemed fine.
I didn't actually check the pressure. Big mistake.
So I set out with a monster tailwind towards Craters of the Moon.
Oh my gosh! The traffic was terrible.
Everybody and their cousin is out this year -
towing fifth wheels, boats, and trailers with ATVs.
And goin' 70 mph - $5 gas be damned!
But me goin' 25 mph was sweet, too.
There's a long uphill once you get to Craters of the Moon.
The black cinder rocks are surreal - with wildflowers growing in between.
A small shoulder gave me some respite, but I had to ride carefully.
Especially once I realized the front tire was getting flabby.
I barely made it to the visitors center. Which was mobbed.
Probably could not have camped there even if I had wanted to.
But there were plenty of good prospects for a bike pump.
I asked a guy from Oregon with a couple of bikes on his RV.
He was hunting for his wife and kids who were "lost".
Sure enough, he had one. And I had 55 lbs. in the tire again.
Back on the road. Downhill with a killer tailwind.
I decided it was best for me to hightail it to Arco.
And hightail it I did - maybe up to 45 mph for a while.
Nutz - - I know.
Got to Arco in short order. First town lighted by nuclear power.
That was probably 1955 and the intervening years have not been kind.
Managed to snag a retro cabana and really fix the tire.
Treated myself to a dinner at a very small-town restaurant.
Their minimalist signage says it all.
Today's ride: 70 miles (113 km)
Total: 691 miles (1,112 km)
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