G.A.S.P.

The next day (3-8) was Gene’s first full day as a participant in the Last G.A.S.P. Bicycle Tour, so in the evening I asked him for a comment that I could put in the journal.   He replied “pretty flat,” meaning the terrain we had passed through between Little Talbot Island (Florida) and Blythe Island (Georgia).  He could well have been talking about his front tire, however, that was “pretty flat” most of the morning.  He had not one, but two flat tires in the first twelve miles this morning.  The first, based on its location on the valve side of the tube, must have been caused by a “pinch” when the tube was first installed in the tire at the factory or bike shop.  The second occurred when the patch on the first hole didn’t seal completely.  Gene asked my opinion about trying another patch on the hole; I suggested (and he accepted) throwing that tube away and using a new one.