BLOW OUT!

Driving through Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Monday morning, I blew a tire just as I cleared the tunnel. First exit off the bridge is 3/4 of a mile ahead. I ease to the shoulder, blinkers on, as the tire—thump, thump, thump—disintegrates. 

And then: Are you kidding? Suddenly there is NO SHOULDER, meaning I've got to merge back onto I-64, with a raw left rear tire rim and traffic roaring 60+ mph. All I could imagine is an 18-wheeler rear-ending Oliver Audi, sending me over the edge into the Chesapeake Bay. I’m thinking, well it’s been 99 degrees for a couple weeks; at least the water won’t be cold as I drown. 

I wait... wait... until I see a motorcycle in the rear view mirror, praying he'll see me creep out from the shoulder and he’ll have room to navigate into the left lane as I plod back into the right lane. So now I'm driving 2 mph (the smell of burning rubber is awful, the scraping noise not reassuring), with hands trembling, mouth dry, my darling Charlotte in the car, figuring this is how it's all going to end. 

 Meanwhile, the dashboard is screaming at me: I'm informed there's a "loss of pressure in the rear tire" (thanks), plus "Suspension System!" as well as a little wrench and a yellow blinking exclamation mark to further emphasize that I'm f*cked. 

 It's another half mile to the exit, as I inch forward, at last turning right—where there happens to be a Norfolk marina with room to stop and park. The tire was quite a spectacle: Most of the tread is tucked behind the rim, somehow kinda sorta intact... and miraculously (not sure how to explain this) part of the tire has adhered to the rim (see pic?). 

That means that despite driving for 3/4 a mile, the steel rim is cushioned by a layer of rubber and thus not bent. Amazing. Meanwhile, I read this after the fact: "Besides the immediate danger, sidewall blowouts can lead to extensive damage to the wheel rim, undercarriage, and a vehicle’s bodywork." Dare I say that despite almost swimming with the sharks, I'm fortunate? 

 Now to call AAA from the marina parking lot: "Sir, your membership expired June 30." Oh, sh*t. Pause. "But you have a 30-day grace period to renew." It takes 2 hours, but my new buddy Ray shows up with a tow truck and drives Charlotte and me to a tire joint. 

Cost of the tow: $7 (AAA membership pays for a 5-mile tow; $7 per mile after that… tire shop was 6 miles from the scene!). Cost of the tire: $685. Value of being alive to write this: priceless.