Bike Repairs from A to Z

Day 3, 24 miles; Total 66 Miles

We awoke to a glorious day. I had changed the wakeup to 6 AM as the TB was never up at the 5:15 time so far. This is very unusual for him as he is an early riser and always is chomping at the bit to get going for our 5:45 AM walk each morning pacing in my yard as I creep out the door. Also, it is still dark until about 6 AM and our breaking camp is not efficient in the dark.

The Trail Boss was anxious to have fried eggs for breakfast and was making toast and boiling water when I got up. I ate three delicious packs of Oatmeal and had a cup of instant Cappuccino and was cleaning up when he said, “How do you want your eggs?” So I put in my order for an egg sandwich for tomorrow morning! He also fried up some Spam, the first I ever tasted, and not the last.

Since yesterday ended just 3/8 mile from the campground I decided to let TB relax a while and I started the day from here. I rode the bike all of 30 yards and the rear tire blew again, our second flat in the same tire. So I came back to the site and put the bike on the rack behind the car and we changed the tire just as we had learned in the bike shop yesterday. So out of the site I went, now an hour later and started up the hill the 3/8-mile to Route 30. About a quarter mile from the campground I made a shift and the chain broke falling to the ground like a coiled snake. I put the chain in a spare Ziploc and coasted back to the campsite. The Trail Boss drove me up to route 30 now using the Raleigh to start the day. I started off down a steep incline at about 33 MPH for about 3 miles, to Rainier, Oregon. I guess I’ll get used to it, but I frankly enjoyed the two-mile push walking the bike up the hill yesterday better than the fear of 33 MPH down! After Rainier I made good time on the Raleigh as the Trail Boss went off over the Lewis and Clark Bridge to Longview again to Bob’s Bike Shop for chain repair. We sent the flat tube so they could see if there was any explanation for the latest flat. I zoomed on feeling quite good about myself on the spare bike and was sitting at a gas station in Deer Island at 21 miles for the day eating a blueberry muffin and drinking a 20 oz. Cappuccino when the TB pulled up with the good news. Joel at the bike shop is from Defuniak Springs, Florida, just 50 or so miles from Pensacola, and his mother still lives there. The TB thought I should have a spare chain so bought a new one for $25. The TB likes to always have a spare or two! I also wanted a chain repair tool and they sold us a combination set of Allen wrenches and chain repair tool. Joel put on the new chain, explained the flat as a faulty tube with a broken valve stem. Soon TB was on his way back to Oregon from Washington; and we felt none of the problems were of our making.

When the TB pulled up I had just learned about the proper method of cleaning ductwork from a local expert who stopped in for his morning coffee. He used to live in Johnstown, PA, and I did part of my family practice residency in Johnstown. I may have seen him or family as a patient. He puts a flat tire remedy called Slime in the tires of his boys’ mountain bikes and now when they ride through the blackberry bushes they don’t get flats. Although I have yet to go into the bushes, I may Slime my bike next.

After being filled in about the repairs and the new information and the fact that the TB gave Joel a $15 tip, I took off on the Bianchi Strada. I was elated to have 21 miles behind me, a newly fixed and now functional bike, and told the TB I’d make it to Portland today with another 20 miles. At exactly 2.9 miles down the road, I HAD MY THIRD REAR FLAT TIRE. Relying again on the cell phone I called the TB who said, “Now what? I just took the first bite of my sandwich.” So now, with me along this time we made the 20-mile drive back across the Lewis and Clark Bridge one more time to see Joel at Bob’s.

Joel found that the bike still isn’t shifting correctly with the primary problem being the left hand shifter controlling the front chain rings of 3 gears. This was related to the broken chain. He assured me that my excess weight is not the flat tire problem and that he found the valve stem once more pulled from the tube and felt it was a series of faulty tubes I had purchased back home. “Perhaps a bad production lot,” he said. I asked if my chain was bad, stretched or bent and he said no, “your buddy just felt it might be better to have a spare.” So he put the old chain back on and refunded the new chain, sold me a simple chain repair tool and showed me how to use it, and installed a new left from shifter for the front chain rings. He said this one would allow me to “Feather my shifts” and adjust the front gear so it didn’t drag against the chain. In our parking lot demonstration it did adjust and it didn’t drag, so I think it’s better. He charged $15 for the shifter, free labor thanks to the prior tip, took back the chain, and exchanged the chain repair tools.

When the repairs were done I was ready to ride, but sensed that the TB had had enough confusion for one day. It just felt like a day back at the ER for me, but then again, I did retire early! So once more we returned to the Parcher-Hudson Camp Ground of Columbia County, Oregon, for the night.

It was certainly an adventuresome day. Perhaps a little too much confusion for my partner, but not totally beyond what I expected for a Trans-America Adventure. If we can’t iron out the problems with the Bianchi, I’ll ride the Raleigh. This route we are on is 350 miles shorter than the ride through the forest fires of central Oregon so we can make up our time. However, I do need to get up to at least 50 miles per day. But on the other hand, I had thought I would accept 30 miles per day for the first week so we are not far behind that. And the reason for our delay has not been my inability to pedal. So I feel okay about where we are.

Tomorrow’s plan is 30 miles into downtown Portland or beyond, and a visit with our old Appalachian Trail Hiking friend Belcher (Dawn Stringer). Belcher hiked near us for over a thousand miles on the AT and was one of the more famous of the trail personalities that year. She has since married, graduated from College, and is in graduate school. She has also since hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. Dawn might be able to bike a few days with us.

Cimarron the Trail Boss has turned in at 7:30 and we hope tomorrow will be an even more glorious day, but perhaps with less adventure! I am very, very lucky to have him here to fussbudget over me and look after so many details. In two more days he will have his 84^th birthday. We’ll go out to dinner in Portland and see if the seafood can match his Providence, RI, upbringing.