The flats just keep on coming

On Saturday, I started to fix the flats that I got on Thursday. The front tube had three holes in it so I didn't bother patching it. I did patch the back tube and reinstalled it. Then I went to Maplewood bicycle to buy some replacement tubes. They also gave my some zip ties and help me mount the frame pump to my bike. I had been meaning to do this for a while.

One the way back, I hit a rock and the front tire had a blowout. This was annoying, but at least I had plenty of spare tubes with me. I replaced the tube and as I was pumping it up it blew out again. The blowout was in the same location too. At this point I need something was wrong. I checked to see if there was a spoke poke through the wheel that was causing the problem but didn't find anything. I decide to walk the bike back to Maplewood Bicycle and have them check it out.

As I was telling the story the Greg. He was looking at the problem wheel. He almost immediately noticed a cut in the side of the tire. This is what was causing the blowouts. I'm guessing that this happened at the same time that I got the flats on Thursday. He sold me a new tire, installed it, and I was on my way.

I had no problems with my commute on Monday. On my way home, I did talk to someone else that was bike commuting for the first time. He asked if I had any tips. I told him to watch out for left turning cars. I also should have suggested that he get rid of the headphones. I never listen to music while riding because I want to be able to hear what's going on around me.