Continuing the Thanksgiving Fiasco

Saturday 11/29/08
Today a friend and I made the trip down to moms to get my bike.
I had wanted to ride it back up but the front tire was flat again and the temperature was raw cold feeling. Since I had no way of fixing the tire and it was so cold, we loaded it in the truck and hauled it back. I hate hauling my bike. I'd rather ride anytime.
I turned out to be a better thing that I hauled it home. Once we got back to the shop and unloaded it I aired the tire and planned to take the truck back to the house and come get the bike the next morning. The next day I found the tire flat again, pretty much ruling out anything other than something in the tire. I could see me laying into a curve at about 65 and having the tire go "whoosh" on me.
My buddy broke the tire down for me and we checked the tire and patched the tube and put it all back together. The next day I went up and found it flat again. Thinking that there had to be something we were missing he tore it all down again and this time found 5 more holes in it.
Deciding that maybe we had pinched the tube going back in or that there was some rust around the spoke heads, I bought a new tube and we took a polishing wheel and cleaned up the spoke track in the wheel. I even made a new liner for the wheel. Now if it went flat. I didn't know what we were going to do.
This time we double checked everything as we went along and got it back together and aired up. So far sooooo good. I fired up and roared down the road for a few miles and it seemed to be fixed.
I headed home and settled in for the night wondering what the morning would bring. The next morning I grabbed both sets of keys, just in case and went out to head for work. Well, it was still up. I jumped on and made my usual all too quick run to work and then That evening I went in a round about way home and everything was holding.
In talking with my friend about this tire problem we decided that, maybe the tube although sold new to me may have been on the warehouse shelf for years (New, old stock)and had started to dry rot. That Thanksgiving ride was just the time everything started giving out.
Dampers like this are part of the down side to riding a bike...if there is a down side?
Anyway. I'm back on the road thanks to a new tube for about $10. and a friendship that I cant even begin to put a price on.
Hope to catch ya on the road.