Flat on the North Branch Trail

[ilmooz]

I very rarely encounter any mechanical or equipment trouble when I'm cycling, but this late afternoon my rear tire went flat on the Illinois North Branch Trail about 1/4 mile north of Willow Road. I later determined that the liner on the inside of the rim was not centered correctly and the inner tube punctured on the sharp edge of a spoke hole. I wasn't carrying my spare tube.

Anyway, during the short walk back to Willow Road where I cell phoned a nearby friend to pick me up I was passed by six cyclists. Every one of them asked if I was OK, and one gentleman got off his bike and offered me his spare inner tube to get me rolling again.

If any of you happen to read this, you have my sincerest thanks for looking out for me. Your kindness was very much appreciated.

 

[Cycler6n]

Me and my dad ride together, and we were riding in the Adirondacks, on this huge lupe of rode that nobody really drives on. So we were riding along, and this racoon runs out in mid day, it was rabid. So we speed up to miss it, yelling at it to scare it off, then my dad screams, I look back, he's stopped. I thought he got bit. Turns out he had a flat. He had the idea that for us to get back, he would take the rear rim/cogset off my bike, and put it on his. We don't have the same bikes, so different gear ratio. Luckily, we had the same rim size and he had campy down tube shifters, so he could shift, just turn the shift lever and put into gear, instead of leaving it in one gear. So I'm sitten there for over a half an hour and all I can think about is that stupid rabid racoon. Luckily once they get scared off, we yelled and hollered at it earlier, there gone for good, so it was gone and wouldn't come back. So my dad came back with our car and he picked me up.