I've been riding as an adult for about four years now, and I just recently had my first flat away from home. Sure, I've had the occasional tire go flat in the garage, but this was my first real-world cyclist flat. It happened on the commute home from work last Wednesday evening. I was about halfway home when I heard and felt that unmistakable flat sound/feeling. "Not to worry", I told myself. "This is just my first chance to practice fixing a flat on the road." It was then I remembered that I had moved my spare tube to a different bike only days before. I tried putting a little air in the tire but it hissed out faster than I could put it in, so I figured the hole was probably bigger than I wanted to try to patch, especially there in the goatheads and stubble along that wheatfield. Plus, I knew I should call my wife to tell her I'm going to be late, and she'll want to come get me (she's sweet that way:) . So, I did the manly cyclist thing ... I called my wife and asked her to come pick me up.
The next day I replaced both tubes with new slimed tubes.
By the way, check out the cool pic of my classy commuter (above). It's a 1982 Peugeot Princeton. I picked it up at a local garage sale last fall, and it looks like it's brand new. I've gone through the bearings, adjusted everything and tuned it all up. The only thing that was missing was the tail light lens. Apparently someone had broken the lens while moving the bike around in their garage. Anyway, several months of internet searching finally paid off when I found an exact replacement Soubitez taillight at St John Street Cycles in Great Britain. It was inexpensive and they airmailed it to me in about a week. It's great to have the old bike in service and completely stock.
