Being 13's Better.

After a long while of not cycling, I decided to head down to East Coast for a ride with Mr Celica. As I had expected, after the long hiatus, the tyres of my bike needed some air, particularly the back one. So I detoured to the petrol kiosk to get it pumped. I pumped it the way I normally did, but somehow, today, it didn't quite work. The more I pumped, the flatter it got! The last time this happened, the tube had spoilt and needed changing. I called Mr Celica to tell him that there was no way I was gonna make it to the beach already. But if I could get it fixed on time, I'd give him a call.

With the flat tyre, I wheeled my bike to the nearest bike shop, which was a specialist bike shop specialising in Canondale bikes. I had no idea if it was a tubing problem. Honestly, if it were, I doubted that the eight bucks I had on me would suffice at the Canondale shop anyway. Mr Celica said to call him if eighteen bucks was enough, cos he had ten on him. haha :)

So, I parked my not-so-high-end bike outside the very high-end Canondale shop and peeked in. There was what I guessed, the usual group of regulars fixing up their bikes and adding stuff to their bikes. The minute I opened the door, 4 heads turned my way, and a voice went, "Yes?"

Purples: "Erm, I think I need some help with my tyres. It's perpetually flat."

Shop Guy: "Oh, you need to pump is it?"

Purples: "Oh no no. Actually, I tried pumping it at the petrol kiosk but it didn't work. I think it might be the tube."

Shop Guy: "Oh ok, I get someone to help you."

So this lady comes out with a pump (a very high tech looking one), and tried pumping air into the flat tyre.

And you know what? It worked. :s

I swear I must have looked like a total bimbo.

Shop Lady: "Ok, it works what."

Purples: "Yea, it does hor. But it really didn't work just now when I tried pumping it at the gas station."

Shop Lady: "Hmmm. Never mind, we wait a while and see if it goes flat."

I didn't think it would la, but I waited anyway. And as expected, it was still rock hard after 10 minutes.

Shop Lady: "I think it should be ok already."

Purples: "Ya I think so too. Funny why I couldn't pump it up just now. Do I need to pay you for it?"

Shop Lady: "No la, it's ok."

I thanked her and quickly made my way away from the shop. Embarrassed enough already. At that point, I really wished I were 13 and not 30. I probably still would have gotten away with not being able to pump a bicycle tyre and thinking people charge for pumping a tyre.