I know it’s of little solace to all my friends and family freezing their collective butts off as the Polar Vortex sweeps through much of the country, but here’s a little snippet from the Floridian life for you all to laugh at.
My lessons are all this afternoon today, so I took advantage of my little morning gap to hop on my bike. I’ve been running a fair amount while here, and was due for a spin session. So out I went.
And I was cheerfully chugging along when suddenly my bike made a weird noise, and became hard to pedal. I stopped, and sure enough, that front tire – you know, the one that I’d squeezed before going out and thought, “huh, needs air,” and then proceeded to bike around on anyway, like an idiot – was totally flat.
Right before I left for Florida, I happened to stop in my local bike shop to pick up a part, and the very nice fellows gave me a lesson on how to change a tire, something I’d not yet had to do. I must confess that, while I did pay attention, the information didn’t stick much. And even when, for Christmas, my wonderful working student Jennifer gave me nearly all the tools I needed to change a flat, I did not a) pick up the rest, nor did I b) put any of said tools into my little bike bag.
So I had the pleasure of walking home, in my socks, of course, since I wear clipless pedals and so my bike shoes, which aren’t meant for walking anyway, have a big honking clip on the bottom.
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Here’s a few things I’m grateful for. First, I’d just started out, so I was only three miles from home. I also was wearing socks, something I rarely do. The walk home in actual bare feet would have really stunk. I’m grateful for all the barefoot running (that’s a misnomer – I do wear Vibram FiveFingers), as my feet are tough enough to endure a three mile sockfooted walk home without any issues. And it’s south Florida, so at least it was flat.
Mostly, I’m grateful that I didn’t run into anyone I knew. Explaining my shame on the internet is a little easier than doing it in person.
What I am embarrassed about, though, is that this is not my first brush with being ill-equipped to deal with a flat tire. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… anyway. I am safely back at home, after managing to step on neither pebble nor broken glass nor road apple on my Walk Of Shame. Now to call the bike shop in Wellington and schedule a time to stock up on the remainder of the tools I need… and hope for another remedial lesson.
