I was on my way to Estell Manor Park after work to run with NGM. It’s a pretty awesome place to go running, there’s a boardwalk in the woods and it’s well marked and isn’t too bad on the knees. However on my way there, I ran over a large blot and a decent shard of metal.
I immediately hard a strange thud coming from one of my tires, so I pulled over to check it out. There was no apparent air loss in any of my tires, nor was there any visible puncture. So I drove for a little bit more and the large thud was still present.
So, I pulled over again in a bank’s parking lot to inspect this further. Still no noticeable pressure loss, but upon close inspection I noticed the head of a large bolt protruding from my tire. I guess it must’ve been under the tire the first time I pulled over to take a look.
I really wanted to see if I could get this changed fast enough to potentially get it plugged that night if possible. Changing the tire wasn’t too bad, think I spent more time getting the spare out of my cluttered trunk than anything else.
I did text NGM to let him know that I wouldn’t be able to run today. I’m still puzzled by this one, but he would then go on to call my work number to ask if I needed help even though I had texted him from my cell and I clearly wasn’t in the office. Oh well, he’s a goofy character sometimes.
Once I got the spare on I tried to think of where I could get my tire plugged as it was almost 6:00 pm. I drove by a few gas stations in Mays Landing, but all seemed to be closed at that time. So, I figured I’d give Sears at the Hamilton Mall a shot, they were the next stop towards my way hom.
Sears would be able to patch/plug my tire that night, so I was pretty excited about that. However, walking around the Hamilton Mall on a Monday night was a pretty strange experience. I really think this area has gone downhill, it seemed to be some very shady looking characters there.
The Sears guys noticed that I had a brake light out as well. While I normally enjoy to do such things, they said it would only be around $9 to replace, so I said sure, why not. Well apparently, the guy replacing the bulb accidentally broke my light assembly. So now they have to replace it and I have to go back to Sears (which by the way I’ve never been very fond of).
So after my unexpected flat tire adventure, I finally got home and ate food (was so hungry). I was glad that I can still change a tire with no problems, but a little bummed that my light got busted and now I have to go back to get it fixed.