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Today was initially intended for some sightseeing around Springbok but I needed to attend to some issues first. Over a drink last night I made the decision to be lazy and have the tire repaired at the local tire repair shop called Autorama. We woke up to a rather chilly Springbok and looking at the weather it looks like we will have single-digit temperatures when we leave tomorrow morning.
I braved the cold and went outside to take off the wheel. I looked for any foreign objects lodged in the tire but found none so I was confident that it must have been something small. I’m known for trying anything myself with a 50/50 success rate but I went against my urges and changed out the spare and drove down to the repair shop.
Even though it was still early they were quite busy but they were super friendly and invited me to bring Putin inside. After taking out the tube I found a small cut which worried me a bit because it did not look like the damage was made from something that came from the outside. I inspected the inside of the tire and found nothing but decided to check again and then I found a small area where some delamination occurred. This resulted in a small tear that pinched the tube.
I decide to put a gator on the inside of the tire to prevent it from damaging the tube again. They gladly prepared the inside so that a gator can be inserted. This should get us to the next big city where Ryno from Sidecar Africa organized a replacement tire.
Once back at the Herb Garden, our overnight accommodation, I did some minor maintenance while Lang Man kept me company. His real name is actually William but as is customary in these parts people tend to give nicknames based on your appearance so yes, William is a tall man.
Once done I took the opportunity to drive around a bit. The Springbok hotel was established in 1964, my birth year, and has seen better days. When I asked if I could get a drink the lady reached for a bunch of keys to lead me down a dingy hallway to a locked door, the pub. As I did not want to sit and drink alone inside a deserted pub I declined, it would definitely be a sign of alcoholism.
After dinner, we asked about the condition of the two passes we will be riding tomorrow and was told by MD, the owner of Herb Garden that it wasn’t really good and that he would not ride them. Our day tomorrow takes us to Lamberts Bay, the crayfish mecca of South Arica and with an early start, we should have enough time to transverse the passes even if they are bad. Watch this space…
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