I check Google Maps on my phone (downloaded maps), and it says Bike X is 9kms away, so I turn around, take the turnoff and ride, weight forward, keeping to 40-50km/h
The weekend warrior crowd either has not reached the tented camp/pub yet, or is only coming through on Saturday, and only 2 or 3 other riders/campers lounge around.
I quickly down to small Cokes and explain my dilemma, and luckily they have spare tubes available
Just not an 18" it seems, so I choose a 19". But no, they must have 18" they reckon, and after a bit of scratching they find one. I'm in a heck of hurry so I just grab it, fit it, pump the wheel, and... notice that there is a very soft hissing sound coming from the rear tyre 
NOT changing that thing again! So I pump it to 2.8bar, down 2 more Cokes, pay, try again unsuccessfully to get a whatsapp through (no internet service on their wifi - the wind was pumping) and check the pressure again (still around 2.75 bar) and set off - 1st destination Tankwa Padstal and then the wide gravel to Karoo Poort.
I gun it down the narrow road at around 120, stop at Padstal and check the pressure - 2,7bar
Swing onto the gravel highway and keep the speed around 120-130 until I get to Karoo Poort 38km further on, where the gravel stops. Check the pressure - 2,5 bar, so I reckon I can do the last 50km no problem. It is dusk already, and I take the tar, keeping north of 130 everywhere except around the sharp bends - Badger does not feel that lekker loaded up around sharp turns at speed with D606's front and rear, but very happily keeps 140 everywhere else.
Coming down the last pass before Ceres I take a last pic of the sunset next to the road, and roar off again, and only slow down when I hit the 80km/h sign outside town - where the rear wheel suddenly starts fishtailing on me, again
The song "Angels above me" from Stick Figure comes to mind at this stage. By now nothing gets to me, so I stand up and slowly roll into town like that, to the Shell garage, my go to stop there.
I quickly make sure that everyone knows I'm safe, but very very late at the very least, and go inside to order a cappucino while I weigh up my options. It is 8:10pm, and at this stage I really do not even feel like looking for a tube, trying to patch the existing one, or much of anything else.
Ulandi very kindly and very quickly offers to come and pick me up in Ceres - bless her forever (she might be a keeper )
So I arrange with the garage to store my bike for the night, remove the rear wheel to take with me, change into cleaner, more comfortable clothes and settle down to wait for her. She pulls up around 9:45pm, we get more coffee, load everything and head home, finally arriving around 11:15pm.
The next day, Saturday, I quickly chatted to Marie at Just Bike Tyre, but they were waiting for stock of the 140/80/18 Mitas E07+'s, so I just get a new tube, new patch and solution and a few other bits, and grabbed the Kenda K60 scout lying in the garage (actually a 150 to fit Bliksem). One of my workers drove with me back to Ceres, where I quickly fitted the tyre and tube (it was actually a 16" they gave me at Bike X
, and I was too fed up to confirm and care when I initially said it looked a bit smaller - they were very eager to assist though, so kudos to them)(the K60 actually went on quite easily with the help of a bit of WD40 on the bead), pumped it and confirmed that it was NOT leaking air in ANY way.
Soon after I stopped at home safely. And the rear tyre is still hard
The weekend warrior crowd either has not reached the tented camp/pub yet, or is only coming through on Saturday, and only 2 or 3 other riders/campers lounge around.
I quickly down to small Cokes and explain my dilemma, and luckily they have spare tubes available
Just not an 18" it seems, so I choose a 19". But no, they must have 18" they reckon, and after a bit of scratching they find one. I'm in a heck of hurry so I just grab it, fit it, pump the wheel, and... notice that there is a very soft hissing sound coming from the rear tyre NOT changing that thing again! So I pump it to 2.8bar, down 2 more Cokes, pay, try again unsuccessfully to get a whatsapp through (no internet service on their wifi - the wind was pumping) and check the pressure again (still around 2.75 bar) and set off - 1st destination Tankwa Padstal and then the wide gravel to Karoo Poort.I gun it down the narrow road at around 120, stop at Padstal and check the pressure - 2,7bar
Swing onto the gravel highway and keep the speed around 120-130 until I get to Karoo Poort 38km further on, where the gravel stops. Check the pressure - 2,5 bar, so I reckon I can do the last 50km no problem. It is dusk already, and I take the tar, keeping north of 130 everywhere except around the sharp bends - Badger does not feel that lekker loaded up around sharp turns at speed with D606's front and rear, but very happily keeps 140 everywhere else.
Coming down the last pass before Ceres I take a last pic of the sunset next to the road, and roar off again, and only slow down when I hit the 80km/h sign outside town - where the rear wheel suddenly starts fishtailing on me, again
The song "Angels above me" from Stick Figure comes to mind at this stage. By now nothing gets to me, so I stand up and slowly roll into town like that, to the Shell garage, my go to stop there.
I quickly make sure that everyone knows I'm safe, but very very late at the very least, and go inside to order a cappucino while I weigh up my options. It is 8:10pm, and at this stage I really do not even feel like looking for a tube, trying to patch the existing one, or much of anything else.
Ulandi very kindly and very quickly offers to come and pick me up in Ceres - bless her forever (she might be a keeper
)So I arrange with the garage to store my bike for the night, remove the rear wheel to take with me, change into cleaner, more comfortable clothes and settle down to wait for her. She pulls up around 9:45pm, we get more coffee, load everything and head home, finally arriving around 11:15pm.
The next day, Saturday, I quickly chatted to Marie at Just Bike Tyre, but they were waiting for stock of the 140/80/18 Mitas E07+'s, so I just get a new tube, new patch and solution and a few other bits, and grabbed the Kenda K60 scout lying in the garage (actually a 150 to fit Bliksem). One of my workers drove with me back to Ceres, where I quickly fitted the tyre and tube (it was actually a 16" they gave me at Bike X
, and I was too fed up to confirm and care when I initially said it looked a bit smaller - they were very eager to assist though, so kudos to them)(the K60 actually went on quite easily with the help of a bit of WD40 on the bead), pumped it and confirmed that it was NOT leaking air in ANY way. Soon after I stopped at home safely. And the rear tyre is still hard
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. Even when I got home around 11:30pm I was all excited and only went to bed close to 1am.
