12.31.03

What are the chances?

Posted in Travels at 8:31 am by Leopoldo

What are the chances of getting two flat tires in two days? Well, last weekend the chances turned out to be 100%. The day after Christmas I came back to my car from shopping to find a tire flat. Fortunately I had parked in a covered garage so I was able to change it dry and not too cold. Now at this point I had a decision to make: Do I take the time to repair the flat tire in Seattle or do I drive down to Portland with my (full sized) spare and take care of the change with more leisure? Since it was thereatening to snow for my drive down I figured better safe than sorry so the next morning I drove the car to my local tire shop and an hour later was told that there was no charge because there was no puncture (the valve was loose). That evening as I parked the car I heard a loud pop from the front left tire. I went out and found a brass fitting was embedded in the loose wet leaves and heard a hissing sound so I moved the car to the other side of the street (so I could access the tire from the street). Sure enough in the morning I came out to find another flat tire. Another tire change and another trip to the tire shop in Ballard and I was once again set. The experience did teach me a couple of important things:

1. When you replace a tire fix the flat IMEDIATELY.
2. The lug nuts are put in place by people with pneumatic wrenches and are VERY tight.
3. The wrench that comes with the car is short and does not afford very much leverage (I had to actually jump on it to get it to budge).
4. Loosen the nuts with the tire ON the ground. Jumping on the wrench while the car is jacked up is very nervous making.
5. The jack that comes with the CR-V sucks (my arms are still sore).

Today is New Years Eve and I am driving out to the coast in snow and ice. Here is hoping the flat tires for the year are done.

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