Lessons on fixing a flat tire

I’ve been meaning to repair the flat tire on my bike for over two weeks now. There isn’t a bike shop near here, so I just bought a patch kit to do it myself. But everytime I attempted I found that I didn’t have the right tool. My bike is a piece of crap, but it does have a back disc brake. However, I should add that it doesn’t really work. It makes a lot of noise, but doesn’t stop me. Added bonus, the disc brake is screwed tot he frame and the screw is rusty, so even if I could find the right sized screwdriver, I still wouldn’t be able to get it off.

It has been my goal each of the last three Sundays to fix my bike. Today I decided I would do whatever I had to do. So I took my bike down to the street to the car center to see if I could borrow some tools. When I arrived, there were two gruff looking men working on a delivery truck. I tried to get their attention. At first they simply ignored me, then after I made it obvious that I wasn’t going to leave one of the guys begrudgingly found me a screwdriver, which conveniently is pronounced driber in Korean. I think he presumed that I couldn’t do it myself, because he sat down and removed the disc brake and the rest of the wheel himself. Then he stood and pointed to the dismantled bike “Self?” I nodded and pointed to a corner of the lot “Yogi (here)?” He nodded.

I am confident that I could have done a decent job myself of repairing my tire. I’ve done it before. But I must exude incompetence around machinery, because each step of the way he stopped what he was doing, came over shaking his head, took the tire from me, and showed me how to do it right, lecturing me in Korean all the while.

Turns out my tire had sprung two seperate leaks, but I didn’t discover the second one (by plunging the tire into a barrel of the foulest green chemical water I have ever seen) until after I had finished repairing the first. He watched from a distance as I did it on my own. Occassionally I looked up and asked “It’s ok?”

The whole time, they were never friendly. Always a little put off. Slightly amused at the wagook’s incompetence. Maybe mechanics are all the same.

All told it took over an hour. But I must say it is the most thorough repair job I’ve ever done. Hopefully the tube will last me another couple of months. I probably should’ve just bought a new one.