Whoops!

I was definitely tired as I rolled into Buffalo.  I pulled up in front of the Occidental Hotel, a long two story brick building right out of some western movie.  I backed my bike into a parking spot next to a couple of Harleys, one of which sported a sidecar.  I couldn't help noticing that the people sitting on the rocking chairs in front of the hotel were looking at the rear of my bike.  "Probably worried I would hit their Harleys I figured. But no,  when I hopped off and took off my helmet, one of the ladies said, " I think you have a flat tire".  "Oh no" I said. "I just came in on the interstate and noticed nothing strange about how she was riding".

But a closer look indicated that yes, it was going flat.  A nail about an inch long was located right in the middle of the tread.  The thought occurred to me that I had been extremely lucky.  The flat could have occurred on the last two miles into town; or, it could have happened out on the interstate.  A few miles more on the interstate and I could have faced a serious control issue. But instead, I was pulled up in front of my hotel.  Then my lucked really turned good.  One of the guys on the rocking chairs came up, introduced himself, and said he had been a BMW bike mechanic for over twenty years, had a tire plug kit, and would be happy to help.   I had my own tire plug kit and air pump, but appreciated the help and encouragement. He helped and I bought them a round of drinks.  After some Mexican take out I went to bed and slept soundly.

  A tire plug is a reliable stopgap repair but not for a long trip. An interior patch would be better, especially since I planned to ride about a thousand miles over some hairy mounted roads before I could get the tire replaced in Missoula Monday morning.  Luckily, the front desk had the number of a local motorcycle wrench named the Twisted Piston, and when he returned my call the next morning he referred me to Elmer's Powersports, about two blocks from the hotel.  Let me just say the Erik Elmer is a saint.  For $21 he put on an interior patch, allowing me to watch how carefully he went about his work.  I am sending him some maple syrup when I get home.  It was about 11:00 AM before I left Buffalo.  I was behind schedule for one of the highlight riding days of the trip, but I had definitely dodged a bullet.