The Terrible Tale of Tuesday's Two Flat Tires

Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tongue tied yet? Even if the Ts of the post title didn't trip me up, I'm certainly speechless. I'm still working my brain through the fact that at this time next week, Andy and I will be the proud owners of not one, not two, but eight new tires.

Pourquoi?

Well, yesterday morning, I woke up to the sound of Andy heading off to work in the truck. Only I didn't just hear tires crunching on gravel. I heard: thump, thump, thump.

I may not be a mechanical genius, but even I know something up when your tires make a decided thump: something known as a flat tire. And this was an all or nothing flat tire. It wasn't just low on air, it was out of air. The passenger's side back tire was resting on its rim.
It wasn't a huge surprise.Andy'd spent most of Monday out grouse hunting on the county's back roads and had driven on one road currently under-construction which, in the past week, has gotten a bit of  a reputation for causing flat tires. It's gotten such a reputation in fact, that local residents who live along the road are encouraging anyone with a flat tire to contact the construction company. But 6:45 in the morning, is no time for pointing fingers. Andy needed to get to work.

The only issue (other than that I'd be planning to take a vehicle to work myself . . . hello walking!) was that our alternative vehicle, the Subaru, has had a slow leak in its passenger's side back wheel for most of the summer. I'd driven the Suby around last and the tire had a reached a level of lowness where I didn't feel comfortable driving it anymore until it got some air in it. Nevertheless, Andy headed off in it on his 25 mile commute.

When he got to work, Andy called. The Subaru'd had a blow out on the way to work. According to Andy, the tire now "has a hole you could put your fist through." I guess that was one way to fix the slow leak.

By the end of day, the Subaru was rocking a donut, the truck has a spare on, and both vehicles had appointments for new sets of tires.

There are plenty of bright sides to this. For one, we'll now have brand new tires just in time for slippery winter driving months. For another, no one was injured in the tire drama and it's caused only mild inconvenience.

But, let me tell you, this was not on my little Post-It note of planned expenses for the month.

7 comments:

  1. I hear ya... i wish life went by our plans/schedule/budget...

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  2. Life happens while you are busy making other plans!
    8 new tires is quite something, wouldnt fit on a post it at all!

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  3. Agh, flat tires!! We had a blow out in July while on vacation, pulling the trailer-- the blow out being the trailer tire. We discovered a slow leak that suddenly leaked quickly while on vacation last week, this time on the van that pulls the trailer. So thankful that Les Schwab is just about everywhere we go!! And that we were able to quickly pull over and resolve those issues. But yes.... expenses we had not planned for! Eeek!

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  4. oh geez. when it rains, it pours, right? flat tires are such an unexpected pain in the ass.

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  5. Gawd, so sorry! I hate car stuff. I always feel like it's a huge waste of money when they need repairs. Only because it costs so friggin' much. But of course we need our cars. We really have no choice. I think that is what gets me! I'm glad you are both safe and that the problem is resolved. But yes, I sympathize about the expense.

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  6. Oh subaru! I remember when Jay explained how with all-wheel drive you're supposed to replace all 4 tires at the same time. Ouch. Clearly I haven't driven in 2 months; your post only made me nostalgic for a stick shift and the GT.

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  7. That's fun... But you're right about the better tires for winter. That's definitely a good thing. :) Hi! New follower from the Say Hi Sunday blog hop! I hope you'll stop by my blog and follow back! Thanks! :) Through the Eyes of a Tiger

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