The slight fishtailing this morning was indicitive of an imminent flat tire. Today’s culprit, not surprisingly, was a shard of glass barely penetrating the kevlar belt. Normally, I’d swap out the old tube for the spare, patch the old one, and continue, thereby saving some down time. I forget what compelled me to do so, but I test inflated the spare, discovering a pronounced bulge where the rubber was deteriorating. Better to find this out now!

I’m not complaining because it’s been nearly four months and 1,400 miles since I last had a flat. Normally I get them once every 400 miles. (Is this a factor of dry weather? Clean living? Luck?) The tube’s well-loved with six patches dating back to last year. Upon closer inspection, the tires are looking marginal. I’ll swap them out with a new pair this weekend.