Flat Tires

I have travelled on several long trips without a single flat tire, but on this trip I am honing my skills at puncture repair. Perhaps this route is called the Via de la Plata, not for the silver mined or the relatively flat terrain, but the flat tires created by the pesky little thorns along the way. 

So far I have had four flat tires and they came in pairs. The tires and tubes on my bike are old and have done at least three or four major trips. The tires and tubes on my trailer are ancient. They are the more problematic ones. Thin enough to let the spines in. 

After my first day of flats I chanced upon a wonderful bike store in Monesterio. It was like Christmas! They had everything I needed including tires and tubes for my small trailer. I bought one trailer tire and two tubes, but now I will seek out another tire when I get a chance. I was just carrying the new one as a spare until yesterday when I had another flat in the same tire. 

Hervé, who likes to be called Enrique on the Camino, helped me install it at a warm, sunny cafe. Moments after leaving the town I had another flat, this time in my front tire. Sheesh (not the word I used on that occasion.)
This time I managed to put in a new tube, check the tire, and within minutes I was rolling again.

It was a sensational day, our wind and rain has been replaced with sunshine and double digit temperatures in the afternoon. I rolled into our hostal only shortly before Gord completed his 34 km walk. 

Enrique confessed to me today that he had a terrible time finding his hotel in Merida. It turns out that through Booking he reserved a very affordable one in the Mexican city with the same name. He only realized his mistake when he found that the street names in Merida didn’t match his Booking map.