A ride on the bike.

[oowee]

With a serious man flu diving is postponed and we decided to take the bike for a tour instead. 

Heading north the map shows a national highway into the interior. 20k in ahould be the ille caves and they looked to be well worth a visit.

When we reached the turning the road did not look good for our suzuki auto moped. Its small wheels and slick tread pattern definitely better suited for the town. 

Off we went and the road quickly deteriorated. Gravel was replaced by larger rock and my grip on the handle bars was ever tighter. After maybe 10k into tropical forest we decided to turn around. Wife got off the bike so i could turn and then i notice an almost flat rear tyre.

This is potentialy not good as we watched the tyre quickly deflate and weighed our options. Its then it started with the monsoon type rain. With no coat i reached for a handy piece of banana leaf. 

It's Christmas eve afterall and some passing farmers stopped on their triycycle and offered to fix it. Wife got onto their machine and i gingerly followed about 200m to their farm. 

Out came the tyre leavers and in minutes the inner tube was out. A piece of tyre provided a water bath and the hole was plugged with a stick. Next they applied some rubber patch.  Using an old piston and con rod, which had some inflamible liquid in it they pressed it down on the patch with a plate. Some sort of press was used and soon it was as good as new.

Mightily relieved they explained that they were off to their Christmas party in the town. I gave the chaps enough for a weeks partying and i have never seen such big grins. 

Off we went.

Now what to do in the morning? 

Edited December 24, 2018 by oowee

[SpringDon]

Looks nice, which part of Somerset is that? Never seen flames during a puncture repair though, I never cease to be surprised by the ingenuity of adaptable folk.

[Bobba]

Man flu. Diving day off. Oowee - Very wise.

some years back I did the James Barrie in Scapa Flow. Some 40' mtrs'ish. Last dive of the week. Buddy had a bit of a head cold but went ahead. 14 mins into the dive quite unplanned he signalled "up". We did our stops but he couldn't break through the 6 Mtrs deco stop without severe pain. Finally, he had to. On deck the inside of his mask looked like a jar full of worms! Barotrauma sinus.

we made it back to Bristol but even doses of Bruffen 400's were no relief. Southmead hospital. The nasal cavity had sealed leaving severe inflammation in the sinus cavity. They had to "drill" the sinus (whatever that entailed) to relieve the pressure. He's ok now. But lessons learned.

dive safe. Have fun.

 

[oowee]

2 hours ago, Bobba said:

Man flu. Diving day off. Oowee - Very wise.

some years back I did the James Barrie in Scapa Flow. Some 40' mtrs'ish. Last dive of the week. Buddy had a bit of a head cold but went ahead. 14 mins into the dive quite unplanned he signalled "up". We did our stops but he couldn't break through the 6 Mtrs deco stop without severe pain. Finally, he had to. On deck the inside of his mask looked like a jar full of worms! Barotrauma sinus.

we made it back to Bristol but even doses of Bruffen 400's were no relief. Southmead hospital. The nasal cavity had sealed leaving severe inflammation in the sinus cavity. They had to "drill" the sinus (whatever that entailed) to relieve the pressure. He's ok now. But lessons learned.

dive safe. Have fun.

 

That sounds awful and good advice.

I have been able to clear my ears for last couple of days and preßure is on not to miss chance to dive. Fortunately i thought better of it and have decided to give it a miss.

When you are a casual fun diver and your training is a long time ago its too easy to get carried away.

Out here the companies only want your cash. 

[Bobba]

I must admit though that with a slight sniffle I used to use liquid "Otrivine". Either drops or spray. Good stuff. Lie on a flat surface, head back and drops into nose. Great drying agent even for non divers.