“My tyres and tubes are doing fine but the air is showing through.”
Hank Williams
A couple of months ago Simon Baddely sent a link to a post on his – always interesting and thoughtful – web-log, ‘Democracy Street’. The story features a pleasant and diverting puncture…
“…always a satisfying procedure when time’s unimportant”
It got me thinking. Is it time for a bit of team-building and knowledge sharing amongst readers* of this screed?
There are many good things about cycling, two personal favourites are pain and dissappointment, another is that random happenstance, the puncture. Too many people these days are so frightened of this inevitable failure that they end up riding around on tyres whose casings are so hard they may as well be rolling solid rubber, like it was 1885.
It’s true that a badly timed flat can be inconvenient but a well planned schedule really needs to allow a few minutes for this kind of thing. As living legend Mike ‘Barcelona Mike’ Burrows, the wizard of Rackheath has observed:- “A puncture is no worse than tea with your in-laws”.
When did you last back-up your hard drive?
First ever OWNERS CLUB contest.
- Please send in your best puncture story.
- No length limit but if it’s over 700 words it better be very, very interesting.
- The story can be educational, share your mistakes so others don’t have to make them. Here’s an example.
- The story can be happy, did a puncture enable you to meet the love of your life? stumble on a secret swimming spot? discover a fifty-pee in the gutter?
- The story can be remarkable in any sense but it must be trueish and must feature a puncture.
- Entries may be published – in part or fully – on owntheroad.co.uk but all rights will remain with you the author.
- Attach text and any supporting images – non-proprietary formats preferred – to an email and send it to…
- patrick@londonschoolofcycling.co.uk.
- with the subject line “pssst”.
- The judges decision is final.
- There will be a mystery prize or – if the quality is up to it – mystery prizes.
*Readers of owntheroad.co.uk = ‘Owners’ [thanks to Lydia for this neat coinage.]