I woke up in Sterling, CO with both tires flat. This would have been all and well but the goat heads were attacking Joe’s bike the previous day. He had 4 flats the previous day which had us in a town with no bike shop, 50 miles from next days destination, and 2 flats.

Thank you Sam Walton! Walmart had cheap patches that lasted only about 45 miles, exactly what was needed. I had our 7th flat (in 24 hours)as I was pulling into the day’s destination.

Touring Tip: If you are passing through places with goat-heads, bring enough patches and tubes for 10+ flats. You don’t want the horrible feeling of possibly being stranded, something we were on the brink of. Never underestimate how strong those little buggers are.

Thank You Randy Ballheim!

As luck would have it, our next host was a huge bike geek. His garage was a mini bike shop and he fixed Joe’s bike…with a 2×4 piece of wood and a hammer. It was quite the spectacle.

Click, click, click…*silence* BOOM! My tire got a nasty tear in it and the tube started to poke through. Once that happens, the tube explodes! The sound was enough to have Joe swerve from shock.

Randy came to the rescue a second time when, 7 miles into a 100 mile day we were stranded on the side of the I-76 access road. He stopped his day, went to go to the bike store (luckily open), and drove to us to drop off a tire. Thank you Randy!

Randy helping to fix up the tire situation:

Would you see this driving on the interstate?

Joe’s new favorite shot:

One for the grandkids:

Hey Horsie:

Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse in Paxton, Nebraska:

The elephant is real: