Flat at last

Our routes for cycling aren't always chalked out clearly beforehand. Today when we met at daybreak, we decided to combine a few routes we had discovered along the way, making a large circular path of about 55km. It contained all kinds of terrain, challenging, dusty, scenic and yet I somehow felt a tinge of disappointment at the predictability of it. It's Saturday, and despite the high summer temperatures, the atmosphere was murky and the sunlight tired. We could have done with trying to discover newer routes.

Midway into the ride, I felt the bike just wasn't moving and instead was only dragging along. One of my mates pointed out that the back tyre might be flat. When I checked it, I observed that it was losing air and would make the ride tough. Ignoring it as a primarily psychological deterrent, I continued. After having climbed one of the most difficult inclines, I just felt I had to stop and rest. I tried clicking a few shots including the one above. And then I just lay down in the middle of an empty road. The climb had felt tougher to me than it had before. After the break, when we were about to start, I realized that my rear tyre was absolutely flat! That explained the fatigue. While the other riders went ahead, I hitched a ride from a goods vehicle who went back down the incline and towards a village. I waited for the repair shop to open and when it did, the mechanic found a problem with the valve. After having fixed it and filling both tyres with air I started back again. It was getting late and the heat was increasing fast. I had to choose between a shorter route back or stick to the one we had decided, to rejoin which I would have to ride a fair distance.

There would be a lingering sense of incompleteness if I took the easier way back. And that is what made me return to what was a flurry of uphill climbs and dirt roads. And yet again, I realized my rear tyre was losing air rapidly and very soon it would be flat again. The mechanic had not done his job well and I had failed to detect the leak. I was racing against time and battling fatigue. But I had no option. The moment I thought of the whole of the remaining journey, all my gumption waned. It had to be "one incline at a time." And so it continued. When the distance to the top seemed too long, I broke it down to even smaller portions by counting the numbers of street-lamps I had to pass before a bit of a breather. When I entered our apartment building, all I felt was relief, like finding an unexpected oasis in a desert! Now as the bike lies at rest, the back tyre is completely flat.

I have to get the valve repaired. At least I am glad the ride wasn't as predictable as I had feared.