Today was a total disaster, probably my most miserable cycling day of all time.
It started well enough. I was on the road around 7:45. The day was cool again, about 10 degrees, and awfully foggy, but not dangerously so. Actually, it was rather beautiful in a way, with the fog hanging over the valley and the mountains poking through above.
I was making good time, over 20 kilometres outside of Golden by 8:30 or so, when my rear wheel went flat. This was not unexpected because a) I get flats a lot; b) I was carrying a lot of weight on the back; and c) there was a lot debris in the shoulder and there is no telling what I might have run over. Of course, I was quite unhappy, unexpected or not.
My preference would always be to change a flat at a gas station, where I can access a serious air pump, but I had passed two signs informing me that there was no service between Golden and Revelstoke, so I set to work right away on the side of the highway to change the flat.
It is actually the first time I have changed a flat on this bike, because I have always taken it in to Mountain Equipment Co-op to change them in the past. Moreover, after two or three flast, I had gone for a Gatorskin tire, which, at four times the price of my usual tires, seemed worth it given its puncture-preventative qualities. To be honest, I had only recently learned how to even take off and put on this internal hubbed rear wheel, more than a year after purchasing the bike.
Anyway, the change went smoothly enough, but when it came to inflating the tire, there was no way the little hand pump I had was going to allow me to inflate to anything close to the required PSI. Reluctantly, I realized I would have to cycle back to Golden to inflate the tire properly before continuing on.
A few metres down the road towards Golden, I realized the tire was still so low that riding on it was risking another flat. I decided to ditch the panniers, reducing the weight on the wheel considerably. I stashed nearly everything I was carrying under a bush and kept on.
I was still fifteen kilometres out of Golden or so when my tire went flat again. Now I was flat a second time, and my only remaining spare tube was at least six kilometres up the highway, with my only source of air 15 kilometres in the other direction. I was very frustrated.
I began walking back towards my bags, mulling over my options. The ride to Revelstoke was intimidating me, what with the Rogers pass climb involved, so I was worried losing all this time might prevent me from making it. There were no good options for staying in between Golden or Revelstoke, either.
I decided I would call a cab in Golden to come get me and my bike, take me back, and, perhaps, return me to the spot I had reached to continue on. I phoned my girlfriend to ask her to look up the Golden taxi service phone number, which she did.
Fifteen minutes later or so a minivan taxi driven by an older lady picked me and my bike up and then continued down the highway to get my bags. She drove me into Golden's closest gas station for a fee (cash only) that took my breath away: $75! Clearly I would not be asking her to take me back down the highway; I would just have to cycle the extra 20+ kilometres.
I changed my flat for a second time, inspecting the tire thoroughly. I did not find any issues. The tire was still fairly new, and looked to be in perfect shape. I filled the tire to the appropriate PSI, bought some more water, and headed back out of town.
It was now 10:00, so I had lost over two hours, but I figured even if I could only average 15 kmph with all the climbing, I would still reach Revelstoke by 19:00 with an hour time gain due to the time zone difference factored in. This would make it a much later day than I would have liked, but it was not unreasonable.
This time I was 15 kilometres out of Golden when my tire went flat AGAIN. I was incredulous, and now very depressed.
I began walking back to Golden, with my thumb out, just in case someone wanted to give me a ride. I was really disappointed: I figure it was highly unlikely that I could get back to Golden, visit a bike shop, have my tire changed again, and still get to Revelstoke. I was not even confident the Golden bike shop would have tubes for my wheel.
I walked for over an hour. Cars and pickup trucks and RVs and semis wizzed by, all ignoring me. I stopped a few times to rest, drink water, eat snacks, and take a few pictures.
It was a hot, slow walk.
I was about halfway to Golden when a purple Silverado pulled over. A lady hopped out and told me she would take me into Golden. We moved some empty cans and bottles around in the back of her truck and put my bike in beside them. She was going to the clinic right near one of Golden's two bike shops, so it worked out well. I was extremely grateful.
That particular bike shop was closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so I was out of luck, but just across the Kicking Horse River was the Higher Ground bike shop, and it was open. A friendly Francophone employee helped me out a bit. We found a staple in my tire, which was apparently the cause of the most recent flat. They had tubes for me, and he let me change the flat in the back of the shop out of the sun. I bought two extra tubes as well, and asked him some information on getting to Revelstoke. He told me there was little chance I would make it tonight, which I had more or less concluded anyway.
I biked down to the highway to top up the air in my tire and get lunch. It was now almost 14:00. I sat and thought through my options. I went back to the Ponderosa Motor Inn and got a room for the night. Thnakfully there was no problem getting a room, since it was Monday. I called the Revelstoke motel and changed my reservation to Tuesday night. Then I called the motel I had booked in Enderby to cancel. My plan now was to bike to Revelstoke tomorrow, and then try to get all the way to Kelowna on Wednesday. If I could not get to Kelowna by bike, I would have to bus or something, since my flight was Thursday morning. I looked up the Greyhound schedules just in case. Regardless, I would no longer be staying a night in Enderby.
I biked/walked over 50 kilometres today, even though I had gotten nowhere, and that exertion combined with the frustration/stress had tired me out pretty good. I took a cold bath and hot shower, and then biked down to the laundromat and IGA grocery store to wash my clothes and get snacks and breakfast for Tuesday.
I was in bed before 21:00.
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