Inflation Problems

This post has nothing to do with economics. Instead, it deals with one of the biggest difficulties we've had since moving to Los Gatos, inflatable things.

To start off, both our original air mattresses got leaks. With the first, we were able to locate and patch the hole but we couldn't find the leak on the second. That led to the search for Wal-mart and discovering that even Wal-mart isn't open 24 hours here.We resolved the issue by buying a new mattress.

Then comes the situation that prompted this rant. Last week we purchased a pair of new bicycles. We got a pair of Jeep Overland S bikes, one men's and one women's style. They required partial assembly, which I handled easily. It's been about twenty years since I was last on a bike, so when we gave the bikes a try-out I thought I was just really out of shape when I quickly became tired. It turns out that the tires weren't fully inflated. In fact, they were a good 20 psi under-inflated!

So, it's off to buy a bike pump. As it was only $5 more than the manual pump, I get the electric pump that plugs into a car cigarette lighter socket. I give it a try and it works for about ten seconds and then dies! I get ticked off and go inside to calm down. Next day, I find out that it's not the pump that died but rather it's just a blown fuse. Off to the hardware store! A new fuse later and the pump is working. The pump's nozzle fits real tight on the valve stems, so it's a bit of effort to get the tires inflated but soon, we're good to go.

Now with properly inflated tires, it's off to the park across the street to try out the bikes. We have a good ride around and head home. On the way back, there's a big hill to get up. I get to the top before Christy and sit down to wait on her. As we're getting ready to leave, I look down to see two flat tires! In checking them, I find some of these small yet sharp and tough thorns stuck in the tires. Christy's bike had some as well, but less than mine. Still, both her tires went flat as well. Needless to say, I was not happy.

After some research Christy found an article on a nasty local plant called, appropriately enough, "Puncture Vine" which appears to be the culprit. So now we've got two brand new bikes with two flat tires each. ARRGGHH!!!!

So, now I'm off to find out what options exist to prevent this from happening again and then I'll have to fix the tires. *sigh* Oh well, at least we got a pair of comfortable folding chairs for our patio at the hardware store.