On my first bike ride in about four weeks, I got a flat tire less than two miles in. I pulled over at a small church and assessed the situation under an awning. This was my train of thinking:
- I had never changed a tire completely by myself.
- I had never taken a rear tire off a bike completely by myself.
- I was, as I said, just about two miles from home.
So I did the easy thing, and I called Steve to pick me up. I felt a little sheepish, I admit. But the easiest thing to do was for him to come and get me, so I chose that option! Â He didn’t argue, but he did mention that if I was going to go on long rides by myself, I really should learn to be comfortable with changing a flat.
As soon as we got home, I made a decision. I was going to use the tools I had – mini pump and tool kit – to change the flat, just to see if I could have done it myself. After some wrestling with reluctant brake lines and manhandling (womanhandling?) the new tire on the rim, I checked the PSI on our big pump, and found that my mini had done a decent job.
I did the happy dance, yelled upstairs to Steve that I was going to go on a victory lap around IWU, and took off to at least get a couple more miles in. And I pondered.
Why did I go with my safety net, ie, my husband to come rescue me, instead of just fixing the damn tire? Fear? Fear of the unknown? Probably. This afternoon showed me that I need to just DO things instead of staying attached to my safety nets. Fear of the unknown can be crippling.
What’s one of your safety nets?