My Friend Pete

[Crank]

You ever have a friend, a good friend, an old friend, who is stubborn as a stump and won't or maybe simply can't somehow, listen to reason. That's my friend Pete. The story I am about to relate happened maybe a decade ago and I delight in retelling it to mutual friends to illustrate and commisterte and remember our experiences with Pete, who is a great guy and a great skier as well. In fact he toured us around some awesome side country runs at Jackson Hole last season. This tale takes place mid-summer at our local mountain biking trails on the border of Stamford and Greenwich Connecticut.

Mianus River Park, a warren of typical northeastern rocky rooty trails. A river runs through it. Wetlands abound...so do mosquitos. Pete and I are regular riding partners and this time of year we meet here three times a week, weekday evenings around dusk to ride. So we arrive one day and Pete's rear tire is flat. Can I use you pump he says. Sure.

Next ride, I think the very next evening, at the parking area his tire is flat again and again Pete asks to use my pump. Pete, I have a tube why not just change it now it'll only take a minute. No it will last the ride. Pete, use some of my bug spray the mosquitos are really bad. No I'll just ride fast. Me, shakes head.

And ,of course, after we get a few miles and a few rock gardens his patched up tube gives up the ghost. Pete is trying to patch it up yet one more time. At this point he is patching patches while keeping super busy swatting swarms of voracious blood sucking skeeters. Me, I go and ride a half mile loop. Twice because the first time he was still at it, swatting, patching, pumping. Second time around he is almost done. I say Pete - there is a lesson here for you. What's that, he says. LISTEN TO ME!

 

[Jim Kenney]

I have a good friend named Pete too. We go all the way back to the 9th grade together (50+ years). He used to be a great ski buddy. I skied many good and not so good Eastern US ski days with Pete. The colder and more raw the weather - the better. He would call the nastiest days "Pete Weather". About 30 years ago he married a nice girl, but she was afraid of heights and not into skiing at all. About five years later Pete stopped skiing. I think part of it was that we got older, but part was that his wife was not a skier. I'm still good friends with them, but in the winter they go to Florida and we go to Utah

 

[Tricia]

but in the winter they go to Florida and we go to Utah

You chose wisely.

 

[blackke17]

whats that old saying .

u dont quit skiing because u got old. u got old because u quit skiing.

 

[crosscountry]

after we get a few miles and a few rock gardens his patched up tube gives up the ghost. Pete is trying to patch it up yet one more time

I've been doing the "Pete" thing lately. My tires are losing air mysteriously. I'm not even talking about lots of patches, just a couple. Granted, when a tube got a couple patches, it's well...old! So I carry 2 tubes instead of my usual 1.

Put in another way, I kind of understand his rational of not changing the tube as long as it holds air. But not beyond that, not for me anyway.

So why is he patching on the trail? He could have use your spare tube and be on the way in no time!

 

[RobSN]

I envy y'all with the "use (a) spare tube and be on the way in no time": my touring bike has wire beaded Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, and patching a puncture or changing the tube requires significant time and a LOT of swear words to get everything off and back on again - luckily for me the puncture resistance is such that it is a rare occurrence but jeez - oh, and Murphy ensures that any such change when touring must be done in the pouring rain!

 

[crosscountry]

luckily for me the puncture resistance is such that it is a rare occurrence

Same comment from people riding tubeless tires.