Discovered I had a flat tire this afternoon.
Drove - slowly - to the gas station two blocks down the road, and put air in the tire. Air came out of the tire as fast as it went in. Found the hole - too big to patch.
Discovered that, as good as the Mazda 3 is in other respects, the emergency gear sucks. The tire iron isn't even the right size for the lug nuts. Luckily, gas station is beside a taxi stand, a taxi driver had the right size tire iron, and he helped me swap the tire with the emergency spare.
Tipped taxi driver for the help. Drove home the slow way, with the flat and the sucky emergency gear in trunk. (Must remember to find and buy a decent jack and decent tire iron.)
Tire stores are closed - will have to get a new set Friday.
Checks forecast.
Forecast for Friday is snow followed by 15mm of freezing rain. Emergency spare is not rated for freezing rain. Might have risked it anyway, but not with that much ice from the sky.
Forecast for Saturday is no freezing rain. Hope roads are salted and at least center-bare by then. Hope closest tire store has a set in my size. (Will call ahead to make sure - the one thing in this mess that I can control.)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Drove - slowly - to the gas station two blocks down the road, and put air in the tire. Air came out of the tire as fast as it went in. Found the hole - too big to patch.
Discovered that, as good as the Mazda 3 is in other respects, the emergency gear sucks. The tire iron isn't even the right size for the lug nuts. Luckily, gas station is beside a taxi stand, a taxi driver had the right size tire iron, and he helped me swap the tire with the emergency spare.
Tipped taxi driver for the help. Drove home the slow way, with the flat and the sucky emergency gear in trunk. (Must remember to find and buy a decent jack and decent tire iron.)
Tire stores are closed - will have to get a new set Friday.
Checks forecast.
Forecast for Friday is snow followed by 15mm of freezing rain. Emergency spare is not rated for freezing rain. Might have risked it anyway, but not with that much ice from the sky.
Forecast for Saturday is no freezing rain. Hope roads are salted and at least center-bare by then. Hope closest tire store has a set in my size. (Will call ahead to make sure - the one thing in this mess that I can control.)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012