11 days to go.
Apparently I’m supposed to stay home and study, because the fates keep grounding me. Two flat tires in one week! On Monday, I was studying in the Park, where I can focus and work very efficiently. But when I went to go home…no air. 4 mile walk home. I repair and go on. But today, I’m on my way to the Park to exercise, and the same wheel suddenly goes. Flat in about 10 seconds. 3 mile walk home.
Oh, I guess I should mention that these are bicycle tire flats. And they’re infuriating, because there are no foreign objects in the wheel well, the tire, or on the tube. After much research today, I think what it is is that the strip covering the spoke heads is no longer good. See, the spokes attach to the rim and poke through inside the well, and to keep them from puncturing the delicate tube, there’s a strip of rubber covering them. I’ve put enough miles on the bicycle that the rubber is worn thin, and the spoke heads (I think) are tearing half-inch long gashes in my inner tubes.
So for the time being, I’m grounded. And infuriated.
