by Karl Murphy

Adventure cycling rule number 13....little problems become big problems fast. They sneak up on you and give you a jaw rattling body slam.

We had a flat a few days ago caused by a gash in a tire, not a tube. We repaired the tire and made it 70 miles on repair.

The next morning the repair from yesterday did not show up for work. We were flat again. Mike wisely decides “lets fix this right before we ride off into Eastern Montana where bike shops are scarce.”

Found a great shop in town with great guys who fixed the tire and replaced the other one. Good rule of thumb, if the bike has two and one is broken, replace both and reset the maintenance cycle.

Bike shop staff are enthusiasts. They could work elsewhere but have chosen a bike shop because they love all aspects of cycling. So when one or all of our crew rolls in to a shop the staff gets super interested to dive into our problems and offer us the best technical knowledge and skill they have to offer. There is this pro-level discussion among experts that is awesome to be a part of.

My guess/hope is this is one of the many things the boys will take away from the trip. “Find commited pro talent on your journey through the crucible.”