{"id":2700,"date":"2016-05-31T23:54:10","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T14:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2016-05-31\/2700"},"modified":"2016-06-01T00:20:06","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T15:20:06","slug":"my-day-of-many-flats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2016-05-31\/2700","title":{"rendered":"My Day of Many Flats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFixing a Flat<\/span><\/span>\na recurring theme of the day\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Manseki and I rode\ninto the mountains<\/a> of northwest Kyoto to check out some roads I found<\/span> on the map that we'd never ridden, but in\ntrying to continue after a rest<\/span> pause, I found<\/span> my rear tire was flat. It\nmust have<\/span> been a slow<\/span> leak of some\nsort.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSmall Puncture<\/span>\nbut big enough to cause a weak point for the next tube to fail\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAdding a Tire<\/span> Boot and a New<\/span> Tube<\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Once on our way, we came to the first road to check out, which starts here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Like so many of Kyoto's rural roads, it was lovely.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.1, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTwo Roads Diverged In a .... <\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

We tried both. The one toward the left quickly became gravel so we abandoned it.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 58mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nChecking Ahead<\/span>\nto see whether pavement returns any time soon\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The other continued nicely...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDanger Zone<\/span>\nyou wouldn't want to hit that gap at any speed\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

And then I got a flat on the front.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSigh, This Again<\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The road was in good condition, so we don't know what caused the puncture, but there was a hole<\/span> in the tire similar\nto the first one. It, too, would have to be replaced when I got<\/span> home. For now, I could<\/span> use a new<\/span> tube and a tire<\/span> boot to\nprotect the tube from the hole.<\/p>\n\n

These “<\/span>Vittoria Open Pave”<\/span> tires were disappointing, since they were new just\n2,690 km (1,670 mi) ago. I barely<\/span> got three months of use from them.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 5600 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nDuring Better Days<\/span>\nOne of the Vittoria Open Pave tires 2,690 km before I had<\/span> to replace it\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The tires had gotten dirty from the sometimes-wet road, so I had<\/span> the bright idea to wash them off in the river,\nwhich was right there....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHeading Down to Wash the Tire<\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/1.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nManseki Gets All Artsy<\/span>\nwith the composition\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

While working on the front tire, the mini bicycle pump I carry<\/span> just stopped working. It was fine<\/span> one minute,\nseizing up and unpumpable the next. I would<\/span> have been really stuck if Manseki hadn't been there... he gave it a go<\/span>\nwith his pump...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nManseki to the Rescue<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

While he worked on that, I addressed a different<\/span> problem I'd just noticed with the rear tire. When replacing\nthe tube earlier, I hadn't<\/span> seated the bead fully in one spot, so to fix that I needed<\/span> to let the air out and refill it.<\/p>\n\n

Unfortunately, I ran into all kinds of trouble. First, his pump doesn't work well with removable-valve stems, which I find<\/span> out\nnow is what I have.<\/span> To have any<\/span> hope, you've got to tighten the valve into the stem before attaching the pump, but apparently\nthese valves are made from wet tissue paper, because the first one got completely sheared off when we tried to unscrew the\npump...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSheared Clean Off<\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

This somehow caused the pump to become attached to the wheel... it took quite a while,<\/span> and some leverage with a pair<\/span>\npliers (that Manseki amazingly had) to overcome. Sigh. I cannibalized<\/span> a valve<\/span> from one of the old tubes.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFinal Top-Off<\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The body count: two tires, two tubes, an extra stem valve, and my tire pump. Then add to that our plans for the day:\nwith this run of luck, we decided it would be prudent to just turn around and go home, slowly and carefully.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRetracing Our Steps<\/span>\nit's still a lovely road\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRyuta Mitsuhashi<\/span>\nstopped to chat when we came across each other as he headed out of town\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nReturning To His Ride<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Despite the cursed ride, I wasn't in a bad<\/span> mood, and I was<\/span> certainly thankful for Manseki's company,\nskill, and tools.<\/p>\n\n

But as un-bad as my mood was, it was made infinitely better when we came across a cyclist<\/span> who looked a bit<\/span> lost...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOffering Directions<\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

It turns out that she wasn't lost, but she was visiting from overseas and didn't know the area,\nso we told her a bit<\/span> about the “<\/span>Heart Loop”<\/span> she was doing. (I wrote<\/span> about\nthis popular 50km loop in northern Kyoto<\/a> last year.)<\/p>\n\n

She was dressed in Strava<\/a> kit, so I knew<\/span> she used Strava. We'd be able<\/span> to see each other\non the Strava “<\/span>fly-by”<\/span> feature, which shows cyclists you passed on your route, so as we were leaving, I introduced<\/span> myself so she'd know which one was me.<\/p>\n\n

And here's where the “<\/span>infinitely better mood”<\/span> came in. Her face lit<\/span> up and she said “<\/span>I think<\/span> I know<\/span> you... it's your blog where I read<\/span> about the Heart Loop”<\/span>. It turns<\/span> out she's following one of my recent activity tracks to lead her on\nher ride today.<\/p>\n\n

Manseki introduced himself as well, to which she responded “<\/span>Yeah, I guess<\/span> I've seen you on his blog before”<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

That was a nice little ego boost. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n

At home now, I've thrown away the tires and put on some Michelin Pro4 Endurance V2, and ordered a new<\/span> bike pump (to be delivered\ntomorrow via the magic of Amazon Prime).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Manseki and I rode into the mountains of northwest Kyoto to check out some roads I found on the map that we'd never ridden, but in trying to continue after a rest pause, I found my rear tire was flat. It must have been a slow leak of some sort.<\/p>

Once on our way, we came to the first road to check out, which starts here.<\/p>

Like so many of Kyoto's rural roads, it was lovely.<\/p>

We tried both. The one toward the left quickly became gravel so we abandoned it.<\/p>

The other continued nicely...<\/p>

And then I got a [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}