We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Richard Russell"
saying something like:

Is there such a thing as a flexible Schrader valve extension which could
be left permanently attached to provide more convenient access? It would
need to be at least 6" long.

Yes, indeed.
You can get them from a commercial truck stockist, for extending the
valve stems on the inner wheels of truck trailers. I had a couple of
them 4" long and I'm sure there were longer ones.