These pictures were taken somewhere on the roadside in Costa Rica.  This would be my 3rd of 4 flat tires, so far.

There’s no other way to fix a flat but to just dig in and remove the wheel, then take the tire off the wheel, remove the tube from the tire, patch the tube (with repair supplies that Doug brought in the first place), and then reverse order to reinstall. Yes, it takes awhile.

So, how do you lift an 800 pound bike off the ground enough to take the front wheel off?  You do this with an improvised roadside jack (e.g. boulder, tree limb, etc.) to lift it a bit. Then you dig a hole under the front wheel to create enough space to remove it. We’re getting pretty good at it after four tries.

Doug deserves a big shout-out for doing this in some very miserable conditions; mainly sweltering heat.  He would tell you that we did it together. And while I did my best to help as much as possible, it was Doug who really carried the load each time.

Doug can fix anything! And I’ve come to realize that Doug is happiest when he’s fixing things – even in miserable conditions.