A Little Bit Of Chaos

So, I was going to ride my bike this morning.  I went out to top off the air in the tires and found the front tire flat.  I removed the wheel and, after a brief examination found a tiny piece of gravel (I think) poking out of the tire.

Cause of minor chaos.

I took the tube out of the tire and located the teeny tiny hole that flattened the tire.  Then I grabbed the tire patches .... well, I would have grabbed the tire patches but I couldn't find them.  I knew I had some since I stocked up when I rode RAGBRAI.  Could not find them.

I searched the furnace room for the patches.  I thought they would be there since that was where I fixed the flat I got on my trainer.  Yes, I got a flat tire while my bike was on a training stand.  The tube split for some odd reason.  I changed the tube in the furnace room so that I would get any grease or dirt on the basement carpet.  Since that's where I found all my tire removal tools I assumed the patches were there too.  They were not there.

I then checked the workbench in the tornado room (that's the room next to our laundry room where we will hide in the event of a tornado).  They were not there either.

Thirty minutes of running around double and triple checking places resulted in me finding the patches in the most obvious place.  I'd even checked it earlier but missed them.  They were in a small pocket of the small under seat bike bag where my tire changing stuff was supposed to be.  *sigh*

I repaired the puncture and put the wheel back on the bike.  In the process of doing this I messed up the front break.  After running up and down the stairs (twice) to get tools, I managed to stop the brake pads from rubbing.

I was sweating from all the running around and I considered not riding but I loaded the bike up and headed to the Keystone trailhead anyway.  I was about to unload the bike when I realized I'd left my buff (to keep sweat out of my eyes), bike gloves, and, most importantly, my bike helmet back in the garage.  For a few seconds I considered riding without the helmet but I was not feeling very lucky today.  The day I don't have my helmet is the day my noggin hits the concrete.  I said 'F'-it and headed back home.

My exercise today will be me mowing the lawn later this afternoon.  The bike will be ridden tomorrow ... if I'm lucky.