I'm a dumba$$ and I don't deserve to own a bike....

[Have2BeFree]

Last night I took a ride to Albany and noticed the bike was "wobbling" and felt very sluggish in corners. I also noticed that my feet could touch the ground a whole lot better. I pulled over and called a friend from my cell phone asking if it could be the tire pressure (I've never experienced a flat on the bike before). He said yes I should check it and bring the bike over to his house so he can check the tire. Since I wasn't far from his house (5 miles?)and I know he has an air compressor, I decided not to stop to check the air pressure :spank:
When I got there and got off the bike he read me the riot act (uh.....didn't raise his voice but told me I had no common sense in so many words and that I was lucky I didn't kill myself). The back tire was as good as flat - only registered about 4 pounds of pressure on the gauge. I am feeling stupid, embarrassed, humiliated, and total undeserving of owning a bike. My friend plugged the tire but it now has two plugs in it and new tires are on order. I lost my self respect and that of a good friend as well. I am glad to be alive and that God gives us second chances but I am also having second thoughts in my ability to own and maintain a bike on my own. At this point, I don't even feel like riding anymore.

 

[keira]

Aw....it's ok. We all make dumb mistakes at times. That's part of being human.

Now don't do it again!

 

[AJ_rider]

Remember your TCLOCS! I still do this every morning before I ride off to work, only takes a few minutes and I do it while the bike warms up.

(Tires Controls Lights Oil Chassis Sidestand)

You live and learn, now you'll remember to check your tire pressure before each ride.

 

[staticghost]

Whats done, it's done. As long you as you learned something from this and thank god nothing bad happened to you, then it's all good. Next time before every ride check you bike before departing. At least one a week check your tire pressure.
Ride safe.

 

[LERecords]

everyone makes mistakes... thats why they are called mistakes.. your still here.. the bike is probably fine.. you did the right thing already by buying new tires... just use it as a learning experience.. always check the bike before a ride.. your lucky, so just keep these things in mind... ... oh and autozone sells those little tire preasure gauges for cheap...

 

[haylo]

Just make sure you learn from it, and next time something feels wrong with the bike, get off and have a good look at it. :thumbup:

 

[AlanB]

Like every other riding mistake, it's a lesson learned. And by you sharing it, I bet a bunch of us go check our pressures! Get back on your bike.

 

[boo68]

As everyone has stated, it is a learning experience.. thank God you are okay and nothing happened to you, I am sure your friend is understanding and hasn't lost any respect for you. Don't let this affect your self esteem and riding confidence or else you may end up in more trouble than a flat tire.

:hug:

Hope that makes you feel better

Deb

 

[necrotimus]

It could have been worse... One time I rode my motorcycle to the store only to realize I really just walked and said "VAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM" the entire time. True story!


Seriously it's ok. Now you will porbably also remember to check the tire pressure on the spares in your car so when your car tire goes flat you dont put on a flat spare. Been there.

 

[abacall]

If you learned something from it, that you deserve to ride. Get back on the bike. You have plenty of learning left to do.

 

[Ryan T]

Now you know, learn from it, put it behind you, and move on.

 

[lytehouse]

I know it's not hard to be so 'hard' on yourself, but like everyone else has stated Cheryl, we all make mistakes, learn from them, and go from there!
So here's a :hug: to make you feel a bit better.

 

[Bates121]

at least ur mistake is not that bad, its dangerous but anyone could do it. Like everyone else has said use this as a learnign experience and be glad ur not the asshat who put NOS energy drink in his bike. Oh and after reading this i immediately went and checked my tire pressure and it was a little low so thanks for the reminder to do that

 

[chuckfz6ryder]

Sounds like a lesson learned the easy way. This could have had a way worse ending. Don't get discouraged, it's part of the experience and you're never going to stop learning.

 

[lupusobus]

Don't be too hard on yourself.. cheer up... :cheer: everyone makes mistakes... you didn't stop driving just because of an accident, right? Again, lesson learned.. next time think things through before acting. :mikebike:

 

[blitzcraig]

you're not alone. i'm not even going to say how long i rode my bike before ever checking the tire pressure. back was ok. front was 14 :spank:

 

[sm00thpapa]

At 4 PSI how could you not look at it with the nekkid eye and see that it was flat, common sense bro.

 

[Wavex]

I agree with you, you should definitely stop riding.








jk!!! it's a bit surprising that you wouldn't take 15 seconds yourself to do a quick check, especially after you noticed something was wrong and pulled over to call your friend (you even asked your friend if it could be the tires!!! but did not check yourself??), but who cares, now you know... get back on there and ride!

 

[MarinaFazer]

You learned from it. Always remember that if something feels wrong to get off the bike immediately. Your story is how I discovered my flat tire...I was riding and it was fine. Then it started getting mushy and sluggish right as I exited the freeway getting home. Pulled in the driveway and was so tired that I just went inside and unpacked, but the next day I made sure to see what is was...sure enough it was apparent as soon as I came outside the next day. KEEP RIDING! - just don't put NOS energy drink in your bike

 

[Boneman]

At 4 PSI how could you not look at it with the nekkid eye and see that it was flat, common sense bro.

Ummm, Wrong!

I did pretty much the EXACT SAME THING last year when I unknowingly got a nail in my rear tire. I felt the same thing when riding as the OP felt and knew something was wrong, except I thought it was the front tire. I 'looked' at both tires and assumed they were fine (didn't have my tire guage with me...bad Dave!).

Motorcycle tires are not constructed like car tires and also don't have the same amount of weight pushing down on them. Just by mearly looking at a motorcycle tire, you cannot tell if it is low on air or not. It dosen't squoosh out and pancake flatish like a car tire. So your statement about looking at it with the naked eye is incorrect. Don't believe me, let the air out of your rear tire, stand back and see if you can tell it's flat or not!

To the OP, dude you're not the only one who's done this, nor will you be the last. But now you (and I) now know the "feeling" of what a flat tire feels like. So that is also some valuable experienced gained. I too had to ride a few clicks to the nearest gas station and I was on the highway at the time, so I pulled into the slow lane (never been in that lane before ) and limped it to the station for air. You have to do what you have to do. Now knowing or suspecting that you have a flat tire, you are not going to ride balls out and hit the twisites either. You ride it gingerly to the closest air supply or fix it shop.

You did fine and probably did what a lot of us would do with a flat tire out on a ride; get it to the nearest air supply.