I admit I am not much of an athlete so when i took my bicycle out today I felt very self-righteous. It was a beautiful day and I figured I could do my errands this way rather than take the car. My tires felt a bit soft. I had not ridden in a while and my weight has not gone down so it was nothing to be alarmed about. I remembered that when I first bought the bike four years ago someone had explained that the amount of pressure recommended is engraved on the tire side. So I decided to go to a service station and inflate them myself. As I huffed and puffed I rehearsed in my mind what i would do. First locate the air machine. Aren’t they usually to the side of the service station building? And then isn’t there some kind of handle that you crank to choose the pressure you want? And then a bell rings every so often probably like an elevator, telling you what floor you have reached. OHH and I must not forget to remove the screw-on “stopper”. No use pumping air onto the lid. And I must be carefull not to loose that litle part as it must screw it back on once the air is safely inside the tire. I was a bit worried that there might be some maths involved, but had more or less decided to play it safe and stay below recommended levels lest I blow my tire to explosion.
Everything went according to plan, I made it to the station, I found the machine, I got off the bike, I crouched down, removed the stopper and started cranking my neck to find aforementioned numbers. But when i reached out to pick up the hose I noticed a little sign that said 25 cents for air fillup. I was totally shocked! How dare they make me pay for air??? I decided right there to leave the premises and never return. I crossed the street figuring this must be some unique gimmick and I could fill my tires for free elsewhere. Lo and behold this machine had a sign also but it cost $1.00 to fill up on air!!!
I rode back home on my squishy tires and resolved to use the hand pump next time I want to go for a ride.