Yikes!

So, I felt a bit draggy on the way home from the rock gym this afternoon, and stopped outside my building in the parking lot to check the back tire, and see if it had deflated or something. And realized that the wobble I've been noticing, where my tire's a bit oddly lumpy, is the result of a rupture in the tire. Like, the inner tube is peeking out through a little diagonal slit in the rubber.

Yikes!

I think I even know when it happened - coming down Bank Street a couple of weeks ago I remember hitting a small rock and hearing it just 'ping' out from under the tire. That almost metallic sound that means your tire has really delivered some force in a tangential kind of direction. I should remember to work harder on avoiding those small bits of junk that wind up at the edge of the road, but there are just so darn many of them... 

You'd think I'd also have learned after last year's multiple-flat-tires-in-one-week debacle that anything wonky with your tire will probably, if left unchecked, turn into something that will just shoot down your whole day. So, this afternoon it's time for fun with duct tape to try and reinforce the inside of the tire (I love duct tape: as I said to a friend this afternoon, it's like the Force: it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together... and the Force is strong with Mike.) With luck, I'll feel secure enough to take Mike out to the show I'm supposed to be seeing tonight. And tomorrow I think I should probably find time to stop at a bike shop and replace the tire. Sigh. I'll be waiting for the inevitable *pop*hissssss...... otherwise.