Picked up a hitchhiker

[Bret SD]

Last Sunday my girl and I went for a ride of about 104 miles, it was a mixed bag of cold and not so cold weather. When we split I was wearing a t-shirt with a tank shirt underneath, it was supposed to be 75° inland so I figured the more Inland I got the more warmer would be. As we gained elevation heading toward Ramona it started to get colder so after gassing up we were headed out on 78 toward the 76 with a destination of The Hideout in mind.
I had a long sleeve t-shirt and a denim shirt stashed in the bags and put that on before we left, it was super cold and windy as we made our way along the winding roads. The Hideout was a nice break from the cold for a little bit, when we left there and headed back West on the 76 I expected it to be cold again but after we crossed over the mountains and got in to Pauma Valley things warmed up nicely.
From there the ride was just an absolute pleasure, it was one of those outings where the bike ran just perfectly and effortlessly, gliding through more mountain roads it felt as if my wheels were elevated off the pavement as we motored effortlessly at 75 or 80 miles per hour. That euphoric feeling of wind in the face and a beautiful Valkyrie singing spectacularly underneath you is exactly why I love to ride.

Fast forward to Friday I was taking the bike out after working long hours all week and pushed backwards to get her out of the garage, she was sticking like she was in gear so I fiddled with the shifter and pulled the clutch and again tried to push her out the door, which yielded the same result. At that point I thought maybe the rear brakes were hanging up so I looked down and saw my beautiful Zeetex DS tire was flat and sitting up on the side wall. Luckily I could see the nail right where she was parked so I pulled the nail out and drilled a bigger hole to get a good plug into it. After airing it up I sprayed some soapy water on it and she was sealed up tightly and ready to go. It really bummed me out that my up until then virgin tire was never penetrated :/

All in all it was a great ride on Sunday and again a great ride on Friday. Here is a picture of the not so little bugger that I found in my tire.


Another picture of The Hideout, there must have been 50 or 60 bikes there. I suck at selfies anyway and couldn't see the damn screen when taking this picture. I was trying to get a picture down the street showing all the bikes parked there.

[Valkorado]

From there the ride was just an absolute pleasure, it was one of those outings where the bike ran just perfectly and effortlessly, gliding through more mountain roads it felt as if my wheels were elevated off the pavement as we motored effortlessly at 75 or 80 miles per hour. That euphoric feeling of wind in the face and a beautiful Valkyrie singing spectacularly underneath you is exactly why I love to ride.

Amen, my brother.  Amen.

Glad you were able to save the Zee!   

[Jess from VA]

Picked up a nail in my (nearly new) car tire sometime during the Roanoke VA Inzane.  Mark T pointed it out to me just as I was leaving for home (4 hours away).  Well crap.

I was only down a pound or two, but had been riding all week (so that might be normal), and I had no idea how long it had been in there.  I could hardly get a bitty air bubble or two out of it with spit on it pushing it around, so I said screw it and left it in and rode home.  Checking a couple times.

I fixed hundreds of tires at my HS gas station job 40 years ago, but none since, so I had it plugged with stringys and glue by an expert, and it's been ridden and holding air ever since.

Another benefit of car tires; they hold plugs more reliably than bike tires. (right in the good tread)

Back in my Air Force days at March AFB (87-92), was the only time I ever wore every bit of gear and leather I owned, and later a Tshirt and jeans on the same day.... was Big Bear Lake (San Gorgonio with snow) and Riverside/San Bernardino (with heat).  I don't miss the traffic of SoCA, but I miss those mountains.

Gets nippy up there. (but summers are wonderful)


The other thing I am reminded of; coming down those mountain switchbacks on your bike is smelling all the brake linings of cages who never think to shift down, just ride their brakes all the way down.

[Oss]

Bigbf plugged  my exedra  at Asheville as I was leaving


Jess I think you were  with me  then or on  the way  down on brp in the rain and fog

Glad  your  day went  well bret

[Jess from VA]

Yeah Evan, I led the way down. 

But not the way back.

[DDT (12)]

Bret,

As with the others who have replied, I too feel your pain. In fact, our girl has a 'hitchhiker' replacement plug in her rear tire as I write this.... It ain't the first by a long shot, and it won't be the last if I can manage it!!! A sure sign of actually getting out yonder and doing what we all fantasize about... Not a welcome thing by any means, but it is an unavoidable part of the cost of doing serious business... Glad you're getting the exposure!

DDT

[0leman]

I had a recent "hitchhiker" very similar to yours recently.   I normally check my air every time I ride.  I was down 50% of what it should be.  Did find the nail after lifting the back tire up and rotating it.  Since tread was gone (that was a oppose moment for me), got new tire.

This time of year do start rides with lots of layers.  Easier to take off a layer or two than try to find more when needed. 

[..]

The other thing I am reminded of; coming down those mountain switchbacks on your bike is smelling all the brake linings of cages who never think to shift down, just ride their brakes all the way down.

You are asking for some drivers to think about what they are doing. 

Many have no idea that the gear lever does more than D and R. Just as many have no idea what the clicky stalk does or why the blue bulb light is illuminated on their dashboard.

[Jess from VA]

The other thing I am reminded of; coming down those mountain switchbacks on your bike is smelling all the brake linings of cages who never think to shift down, just ride their brakes all the way down.

You are asking for some drivers to think about what they are doing. 

Many have no idea that the gear lever does more than D and R. Just as many have no idea what the clicky stalk does or why the blue bulb light is illuminated on their dashboard.

I was up in those mountains many times.  At least twice, I saw cages pulled off the side of the road trying to put out brake fires.  Actual flames.  (That's not good!   ) 

[Bret SD]

Hey all, been on the road helping family up north in San Jose with limited internet capabilities here.

be back in town on fri, can't wait to fire up the Blue Angel

[scooperhsd]

Hey all, been on the road helping family up north in San Jose with limited internet capabilities here.

be back in town on fri, can't wait to fire up the Blue Angel

Is that because it sounds like a jet plane taking off when you power it on    ?

[Bret SD]

Hey all, been on the road helping family up north in San Jose with limited internet capabilities here.

be back in town on fri, can't wait to fire up the Blue Angel

Is that because it sounds like a jet plane taking off when you power it on    ?

That and many other reasons, she's my magic carpet ride 

[scooperhsd]

My laptop is nearly silent (except when playing music through it) - and I like it that way, especially since it is right next to where I sleep....

[Bret SD]

My laptop is nearly silent (except when playing music through it) - and I like it that way, especially since it is right next to where I sleep....

Haha, I was talking about the Valkyrie    I can't say I've ever named a computer I owned    I have a love/hate relationship with all things electronic.

[Bret SD]

From there the ride was just an absolute pleasure, it was one of those outings where the bike ran just perfectly and effortlessly, gliding through more mountain roads it felt as if my wheels were elevated off the pavement as we motored effortlessly at 75 or 80 miles per hour. That euphoric feeling of wind in the face and a beautiful Valkyrie singing spectacularly underneath you is exactly why I love to ride.

Amen, my brother.  Amen.

Glad you were able to save the Zee!   

#MeToo bro 

[Bret SD]

Picked up a nail in my (nearly new) car tire sometime during the Roanoke VA Inzane.  Mark T pointed it out to me just as I was leaving for home (4 hours away).  Well crap.

I was only down a pound or two, but had been riding all week (so that might be normal), and I had no idea how long it had been in there.  I could hardly get a bitty air bubble or two out of it with spit on it pushing it around, so I said screw it and left it in and rode home.  Checking a couple times.

I fixed hundreds of tires at my HS gas station job 40 years ago, but none since, so I had it plugged with stringys and glue by an expert, and it's been ridden and holding air ever since.

Another benefit of car tires; they hold plugs more reliably than bike tires. (right in the good tread)

Back in my Air Force days at March AFB (87-92), was the only time I ever wore every bit of gear and leather I owned, and later a Tshirt and jeans on the same day.... was Big Bear Lake (San Gorgonio with snow) and Riverside/San Bernardino (with heat).  I don't miss the traffic of SoCA, but I miss those mountains.

Gets nippy up there. (but summers are wonderful)


The other thing I am reminded of; coming down those mountain switchbacks on your bike is smelling all the brake linings of cages who never think to shift down, just ride their brakes all the way down.

Hey Jess, yep plugging tires is something I've done since working for my dad as a youngster. A cheap plug kit is nice to have around.

Mountain riding in SoCal is nice, yesterday we drove over the Grapevine coming back and as I was driving I thought it would be great to be on the Valk, especially when I saw other bikes.

Last time I drove up to Washington state I towed 16-17,000 lbs, man that sucked going over the mountains in Northern Cal and Southern Oregon. The PO had a Jake-brake on it but I didn't have time to get it operational, luckily I had a method to handle the downhills. A couple times I was sweating bullets and living on the razors edge not knowing if I'd be able to control it.

[Bret SD]

Bret,

As with the others who have replied, I too feel your pain. In fact, our girl has a 'hitchhiker' replacement plug in her rear tire as I write this.... It ain't the first by a long shot, and it won't be the last if I can manage it!!! A sure sign of actually getting out yonder and doing what we all fantasize about... Not a welcome thing by any means, but it is an unavoidable part of the cost of doing serious business... Glad you're getting the exposure!

DDT

Bruce, that's the way I figure it, if we're not out there none of this would happen.. but then we wouldn't be out there.. so nothing ventured nothing gained.

I apply the same thinking to training, sometimes I lament lifelong injuries I've collected along the way and think if I didn't train I might have avoided them.. if I had it to do over again I'd train more 

I had a recent "hitchhiker" very similar to yours recently.   I normally check my air every time I ride.  I was down 50% of what it should be.  Did find the nail after lifting the back tire up and rotating it.  Since tread was gone (that was a oppose moment for me), got new tire.

This time of year do start rides with lots of layers.  Easier to take off a layer or two than try to find more when needed. 

Yup, I was stupid enough to think it was warm like summer.