Firstly, I installed a brand new tube that I was carrying with me in the tire which got us out of Torres Del Paine and halfway to Peurto Natales where she blew from a rock. Luckly those three motorcyclists stopped and patched it back up. That then blew the next day 50kms in to the next town, Punto Arenas. Colin and I then patched the tire a few more times to the next town where we pulled into a gas station just off the highway. Colin lent me his bike to shop around Peurto Arenas for a new tube or a patch kit. This town was very confusing to navigate let alone find a tire shop. I went into 7 stores in total of some which I for sure would sell me a tube for a common motorcycle. But! none of them had motorcycle tubes....Brigdestone, a Yamaha Dirtbike dealership, Perelli, the Lordco of Chile!, NADA.... One guy was kind enough to draw me a map since I was staring at him blankley when he was explaining. Confused as can be and lost looking for this tire repair shop, I stopped on the bike at a residential intersection just trying to grasp my bearings. Next thing I know I have a taxi driver rambling something to me in spanish waving his arms. He pulls into the intersection blocking all traffic and runs up to me. I stare at him blankley as I do when i have no idea as what is happening. He then pulls out his cellphone and shows me a picture of him on his BMW 650 GS and it all becomes clear. I show him the hand drawn map and he yells something at me along the lines of follow me. He takes me directly to the ¨tire repair shop¨ which turns out to be a bicycle store that patches any tires you can think of. I thank him dearly and get the tube patched up. I left poor Colin at the gas station for 5 hours to fend for himself.
Next morning, we head towards the Argentine border thinking our problems are over. Just after crossing the border the tire goes flat..... wow really.... yes really... The sun is setting, wind is blowing, cold, and the next town is 30 kms away. We literally pulled into the ditch pulled out the tent and camped...... in a ditch on the side of a highway. Next morning begins to start pouring rain and we had to struggle and patch the tube. That got us a few kms enough to find a very very small out of house business that patched up our tire.That patch got us to a town called Rio Grande where we found a store that sold us two brand new rear tubes. Alas, our problems solved!.... not really.... another 100km´s down the road she goes flat again. About to kick my bike over and light it on fire, Colin takes off the tire and replaces it with a brand new tube. Another 50 kms and that tube blows. Inspect the tire, inspect the rim nothing looks good... throw in the last new tube. gets us 30 kms to Ushuaia goes flat as a pancake. Take the tire off again and we are now defeated...Until a Argentine KLR ride saved us with a new tube that he gave to us! well we managed to screw that tube up...so Colin rode into Ushuaia with my rear tire. He got a shop to patch the tube up and rode back to where my bike was. Installed it and rode the bike until 6km´s outside of Ushuaia and she goes flat. I hobble pass the Ushuaia entrance... not the way we imagined it... was pretty anticlamatic at that point. Hobble about 5 km´s on a flat tire and I just couldnt handle riding a flat anymore. We take the tire off again throw our last ditch effort patched up tube in and get a total of maybe 100 meters out of it which got us close to a hostel.
Now today we walk around town looking for a tire and find out that it´s a Argentina Holiday for the next two days... all shops are closed...
Sorry for the long story but how else do you explain 11 flats. We thought maybe we were pinching the tube when replacing it in the rim but it turns out we weren´t. We had a total of 4 different people, some with mounting equipment some without, that installed the tire back on the rim. We did discover that the bead on the tire is really warped and maybe pinching the tube when ridden. So now we are stuck until a new tire is found!
end of rant.
