I do not cry easily. But I almost... almost!... cried yesterday when I saw a little white spot on my rear tire. The closer I got, I realized that it was not a smudge. And when I rubbed my index finger against the spot, and it felt like metal...
A little over four hundred miles. Not even broken in. And there's the nail. Not the way I wanted to christen a tire that I am getting ready to ride thousands of miles just a few weeks from now.
So this afternoon I went into my garage with my plug kit and did the painful task of removing the thorn from the lion's paw. It was just as painful for her as it was for me. That awful sound of the air escaping, watching Rocinante's brand new shoe go flat. It hurts to even write that.
I took the reamer and jabbed it into the tire. It was like surgery that I knew would make her better, but such a violent procedure.
I took the plug, covered it in rubber cement, rammed it into place, pulled the tool back out very carefully, and then trimmed the plug down.
Turn on the air compressor, air the tire up to 40 pounds while rubbing soapy water on the dressed wound. Nothing. No air leak. Good so far.
Now... time to ride and see if the stitches stay in place. Keep your fingers crossed.
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