Why Every Girl Should Learn to Fix a Flat
After working as a firefighter, getting her pilot’s license, and mountain biking the Bolivian Andes, Caroline Paul, 52, wrote The Gutsy Girl to help girls tackle their own adventures—and it can all start by learning to change a tire. Here’s how.
• I want to encourage girls to be brave and resilient and that’s not something we teach them. In fact, we teach the opposite: We teach them fear. Studies show that parents caution their girls—often about potential injuries—but encourage their boys to try new things.
• As a kid I read books about intrepid female fictional characters—Harriet the Spy, Nancy Drew—but where were the real ones? I wrote the book I would have wanted to read.
• Middle school girls face cultural pressures—to be pretty, to be perfect, to be nice or liked. In the outdoors none of that is relevant.
• Fear and excitement are pretty similar physiologically. Often when girls face a steep downhill on a bike they think they’re feeling fear because that’s what they’ve been encouraged to feel, but it’s probably exhilaration and excitement.
• I grew up in the country. We’d take off for the day. Our biggest adventures happened on back roads with bicycles and friends and a destination in mind. Biking is a kid’s first taste of real freedom.
Watch our video tutorial on fixing a flat:
• When I was 25 a friend asked if I wanted to mountain bike through the Bolivian Andes. I’d never ridden a mountain bike—and I certainly didn’t know how to change a tire. But I realized if I was going to be on a mountain where no one had biked before, I’d have to learn to fix a flat.
• On a symbolic level you are independent when you know how to handle your own problems. I think girls are taught to ask for help without trying first. You should be independent when you’re on your bike—that’s the whole point.
The Sweetest Maintenance Tip Ever
• It’s hard to get a bike tire on or off. You should get some candy afterwards. Reward yourself every time you get out of your comfort zone and do the next step. Definitely celebrate when it’s done.
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