Making a friend and a repair

I finally got around the getting the valve replacement for my floor pump. The story goes that I bought the pump and didn't use it for two weeks. When I tried it the valve leaked all over the place. I took it back to the shop they refused to replace it. They tried to repair and it only got worse. I posted in my Facebook over 60 cycling group for help determining what to call the part. I was able to find the part on Lazada and received it. Putting it on was easy enough altho I still haven't put any kind of clamp to secure it on the end of the hose.

It was very disappointing having the bike shop leave me high and dry though. Part of it may have been language while another part may have been they anticipated I was a tourist and wanted to use the pump for two weeks and then leave while getting my money back. There are other shops that I have worked with. I have been teaching here for a year, so I'm not a tourist. It was an interesting story about that transaction tho. The young man helping fix the valve actually deferred to an older woman behind a glass partition in an office. She assessed my character or whatever and rendered her verdict. They did have another customer translate for me. Oh well.

It was a success. Thanks to all of those who contributed ideas and solutions. Now when I pump up the tire the built in gauge works (which it didn't before) and the valve holds air. My old floor pump is about 20 years old and I've never had a problem.

ON MY RIDE Near the top of the mountain I came upon another cyclist. I don't often find other cyclists on this route. The guy had a van following him to block traffic. When I caught up to him he seemed to be about 70 or so years old and a local Thai. So I blazed by him carried by the momentum of catching up. After a minute he caught back up and passed. On the really steep downhill I passed him without even pedaling. I was traveling upwards of 50mph. On the flat river valley we had some time to chat. We rode and chatted for a while. At my usual turn around point he suggested he had a route to show me. So we rode up the highway together a few hundred yards and showed me a tiny little alley sized side road. It was a nice way to loop back to the other road. He said he lives in Phuket town which is about 5 miles from me. He complimented my power in the climbs and the sprint.

Last time I met someone on the mountain we had a nice ride. That guy said the mountain seems easy when you ride with a friend. That was nice from a guy I just met.