Marvin # 3 F - Elf Wear & Tear

Hello, All,

At just over the mid point in our journey from Claremont VA to our home near Mena AR, my ELF started showing signs of wear and tear.

On a country road a few miles west of McMinnville TN, the left front tire went flat. Ann was following in the van, just thinking about passing and going on to our next check point. I turned into the next driveway, which led to a barn with a school bus and some farm implements, and Ann followed. All of my tools and spare parts were in the van, to save weight in the ELF.

We tilted the ELF to raise the flat tire, and rested the chassis on a convenient piece of firewood. The tire was so flexible I could pull it loose from the rim by hand, and remove the tube. We quickly located a tiny cut in the tube, and applied a patch. But when I inspected the tire, I found the tread worn right through the cords in the spot the tube was punctured. We had no spare tires, so we glued a patch inside the tire to act as a boot, and re-inflated the tire. The repair held, but I doubted that we'd get far before the "boot" wore through.

We needed a new tire, but the nearest bike shop was 40 miles away, and it wouldn't be open today (a Sunday).

As we were  deciding what to do next, the property owner, Ken Beck, arrived, naturally suspicious about strangers at his barn. But when he saw our predicament, he and his wife Melinda quickly became Good Samaritans, and suggested we park the ELF and van behind their house under a shade tree next to their camp trailer. Since the temperature was in the mid-90's, that was a very welcome offer.

Ken, who is a motorcycle enthusiast, and a better mechanic than I am, inspected the ELF, and pointed out that a bolt holding the left front disk brake caliper was missing, and the remaining bolt was loose and bent. But he said we could probably find replacements at the Lowes in McMinnville, open on Sunday.

Ken and Melinda were about to go to their church's annual ice cream social, and invited us along. So we got our bolts, participated in their song fest, met lots of friendly people, and had all the ice cream and cookies we could eat!

The next morning, Monday, we drove the van to Murfreesboro to shop for tires. The ELF has 24"x3" "fat tires" on the front, chosen for use on rough rocky roads near our house. They weren't available in Murfreesboro. But Moab Bicycle Store agreed to order them from their supplier in AL. They arrived the next day, necessitating 2 round trips to Murfreesboro. But now the ELF has 2 new front tires, and the brake calipers are securely fastened.

Ken and Melinda went out of their way to make our unexpected 3 night layover enjoyable. We had the ice cream social the first night. The next night we went to a Chinese restaurant together. And the third night we went to Subway, and finished with ice cream and peach cobbler at the Beck's house. Melinda "insisted" we do our laundry in her machines (while watching TV with them), and she offered the use of their shower.

I'm unhappy that the ELF's front tires lasted less than 1,000 miles. We think we're all set for the rest of the trip, and are happy that we now have new friends.

Marvin