25 Nov 2008, Scottsdale, AZ
Today was a day of frustrating flats. I lost track of how many times I changed my front tire but I managed to blow all my tubes & use all my patches. For some reason they just don't seem to work on the thorn-resistant tubes. They blister up & peel off. I limped into Scottsdale on a slow leak & headed for a bike shop. When I was about 6 blocks away the tire just went out completely, so I took all the bags off the front & walked the rest of the way to the shop, Bicycle Showcase.
The owner (or manager?) took good care of me—he'd done his own cross country tour this past summer (including the GAP & C&O) and he was jealous of my trip. "All I want to worry about is where I'm going to sleep tonight," he told me. He gave me a pair of just-barely-used tires for $15.
That got me to the Gallants' & now I can relax for a few days.