Tyre + Broken Glass = Puncture

I was out on a training ride with Ian yesterday - we are training to ride the 145km 2XU Great Ocean & Otway Classic Ride - the fella needs a fair bit of work to get back in shape for this ride. If we do the Classic Ride at yesterday's pace, I guarantee we will be told to get into the back seat of the neutral car service for going so slow... :P To be fair, it's only Ian's second ride of 2012.

When we pushed off from Southbank, we saw plenty of broken glass strewn along the roads. As we were making our way along Beaconsfield Parade in St. Kilda:

Ian: Oh shit!
[I hear something crunch under my rear wheel]
AK: What was that?
Ian: Glass. I didn't see it until the last minute.
[Maybe I got away with it. The Kevlar protection in the tyre should help. That was wishful thinking...]

A kilometre or so down the road, a girl on a Parlee (I heart Parlee) pulled over to the side of the road to check her tyres. Shortly after, my rear wheel felt really spongy and I couldn't accelerate. Ian confirmed the rear tyre looked flat. So, we pulled off to the side of the road to fix the tyre.

I have never had to fix a flat tyre or a puncture while out on a ride but it was bound to happen sooner or later...

Pic taken by Ian M

The first time I changed a tyre, it took a whole hour. The second time I changed a tyre in December, it took 30 mins. This time it took about 15 mins and I got to try out my CO2 pump, 0 to 120psi in 2 seconds flat. No mini hand-pump required - win!

On a similar note, yours truly has just completed 4045km. Total distance travelled so far in Jan 2012 - 629.6km - probably looking at 680km by 31st of Jan. Total elevation climb in Jan 2012 - 7527m.

On a completely unrelated note, there is plenty of non-cycling related content coming up soon. Aperture 3 has not yet been installed on the missus' laptop (I know, I know...), but it has at least made its way out of the cupboard onto the desk. So stay tuned... No promises, but it will happen sooner or later... :P