That Was Wheely Scary!

Now, I think myself as a pretty even tempered type a person - I get pretty tempered when things are done wrong.  One day this week, I had a slow leak on Dora - so went in to to fix it - nothing worse than a flat tire on a country road....so I thought.  A couple of days after the fix job, I was coming home after the last call of work - and was zipping home, as I always do.  I felt Dora shimmy, and because it was such a nice day, and the roads were getting muddy, I thought that once again I had packed my wheels full of mud, and causing Dora's wheels to be misaligned.  Then there was this noise as well - now I could have just increased the sound of the radio to drown it out, but I thought better and stopped Dora and make sure there was no flat tire.  Nope, all tires were good, so I continued on my way.  The  noise was getting worse, and so I just flicked my mirror towards the tires and OH BY GEEZUS THE WHEEL IS COMING OFF!!  Yup, the wheel (that had been fixed and put back on - obviously not tight enough) was holding on by a thread - no, that isn't correct because all the threads were stripped.  Three lug nuts were crazy enough to keep the wheel from rolling past me.  I called in for some cavalry (Chris) and a ride back home.  The rim was determined to be shot, there were missing studs, and likely took the lug nuts with them, and there was steam coming from my ears.  Really, I have travelled thousands of miles with Dora and her predecessors, and I have never worried about the simple step of TIGHTENING UP THE LUG NUTS after changing a tire.  Guess I will worry about that now.

After leaving poor Dora with her hazards on, it was hazardous for her since it drained her battery.  No problem right?  Wrong!  Dora also had locked doors, with keys inside of course, and it took me awhile to find the extra key.    I find it an oxymoron to use a key on a vehicle with a keyless entry - I don't really think the moron thought this through when it comes to running out of battery and the usefulness of the keyless entry.  Finally, however, she was unlocked, and the tow job into the garage could happen.

I do believe this will be an expensive lesson to be learned - new rim, new lug nuts, new studs and a tow job.  I do believe it won't be on my dollar, but to be fair, I will still pay for the flat tire that was fixed.