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I got up to a perfect morning for a bike ride. The plan was to meet at 7:30 at the trail and do a 25 to 30 mile loop around the city trails. The bike rack was setup on the back of the car and the bike in the corner waited to be picked up and placed on the rack. No, the front tire was sitting on its rim. A leak in the tire! I was not discouraged because a pump should take care of it, right? Always prepared, I had a pump, a spare tube, and tire levers. The fact of the matter was I have never changed a flat tire!

Everyone I know has ridden a bicycle at one point in their life. Whether as a child or as an adult, it was quite an accomplishment to be able to ride on two wheels by gaining momentum as you pedal to a desired speed to maintain your balance. For me it was the old fashion training wheels, starting with two then one and then without. There were no hand brakes or gear shifting; just heavy pedaling up the hills and footbrakes as you are coasting down and skillfully hug the curb as you ascend down the hill. This skill may be dormant for years; but a skill that is automatically regained when it becomes active again. Thinking back, I don't recall ever changing a flat tire. It only required more air, which I could skillfully do at a young age.

Now as an adult, this is the second summer, second season in the upper Midwest, for some serious cycling initially on the trails and more recently on roads or paved trails. For emergency, I carry my cell, extra tube, combination bike tools, and a CO2 pack instead of a pump. I have read instructions on how to change a flat and I have even sat through a workshop on how to do it. Intellectually I knew how to do this but my experience with a flat tire at the end of a bike ride was a stop at the bike shop or a flat tire during a bike ride was conveniently taken care of my one of the guys in the group or a phone call to the neighbor to pick me up at a specified corner.

Determined to do this, I got my laptop and went on the internet and googled 'how to change a bike tire'. Wow! Choices abound, to read instructions was a waste of time; but play video of how to' was the best! I have pasted the website; and would highly, highly recommend it to a novice:
http://www.expertvillag e.com/video/9238_bike-tire-cha nge.htm

I set up my laptop on a chair in the garage next to the step that I sat on. I had my tools and spare on the garage floor. I was ready to go! Double clicked the video and I had the visual and audio for a step by step lesson on how to fix a tire.

It was like private lessons on command. I controlled the information given, repeated as needed, and skipped when necessary. With the audio and the visual it showed the steps of popping the tire off the rim. As instructed I was able to do that by using the tire levers. It walked me through how to inspect the tube and examine the tire for any foreign objects. With some air in the new tube, the video walked me through inserting the tube in the tire, and how to use my hands to get the tire back on the rim instead of the tire lever to avoid puncturing the tube accidentally.

After pumping the required air pressure, loading the bike on the rack, driving to the meeting place, I was able to start my bike ride at 8:00 instead of 7:30. To fix the flat tire took about half an hour. An early riser, I sacrificed some quiet time and reading the morning paper to finally claim my hands on' experience of fixing a bicycle tire. Like learning to ride a bike, once you change a tire you never forget how to do it!

Learn more about this author, Chris Factor.
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