A Strange Trip

Today was a strange day indeed. We were originally going to go cross country skiing and then head out to Ottawa after lunch. Instead, after checking the weather forecast, we decided to forgo the skiing on account of the snow that was supposed to be coming in, and head straight to Ottawa. The previous plan would have called for us to drive all the way using small single lane roads which were unlikely to be very clear should the projected snow begin to fall.

Anyway, we started off at about 9:30am and everything was going great until about two hours into the trip. All of a sudden I started to feel this strange vibration from the car and wasn't quite sure what it was. I slowed down a bit, but that didn't do anything. In fact the vibration got worse. Just when I was considering pulling off the highway to see what was up the rear tire on the driver's side lost all air pressure - busted!

So, there we were, on the side of the 401 in -15C and tonnes of traffic blasting past us with a flat. I got out of the car to inspect the damage and here's what I saw (although this picture was taken long after the incident, you can imagine my surprise at the condition of the tire when it was still on the rim):



Not sure if that picture does it justice, so here's a closeup:



The thing completely disintegrated, as you can plainly see.

Well, it was not too much fun putting the miser on with traffic blowing past us and freezing cold. We, of course, had to unpack the entire trunk to get to the miser and then pack it back up to get on the road. I was so cold that I even forgot to tighten the lugnuts on the miser! Luckily, I realized this fairly quickly, pulled over again, and finished the job none the worse for wear.

We then drove (slowly) to the nearest town (Trenton) and had the tire replaced at the Canadian Tire (for those not in the know, this is a store that is as Canadian as hockey and can be found in pretty much every community throughout the country). The service was great, we had lunch and the car was ready by the time we returned.

Now we're in Ottawa and tired. It is time for dinner and then chill out for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow we'll be skating on the Rideau Canal!