initiation

I think of today as a hazing ritual all bike riders must go through at some point. I ran over a nail today after leaving the ABC store with a birthday present for Todd. It's amazing how denial immediately kicks in. There was the very distinct sound of air coming out of the tire. However, I kept thinking through all the things it could be other than a flat in progress. I stopped and saw a nail fully embedded in my tire, heard the air escaping, and decided to see how far I could get before it went flat. About 10 more feet. So I looked for the nicest patch of grass and started the process of changing the tube. Luckily a while back I started carrying a spare tube and a pump with me, so I was actually prepared. The only bummer was that my camera battery had died. It would have made a great photo. The tube, the tire with the nail sticking out of it, bike upside down, and Todd's bottle of Patron sitting in the middle of it all on this little patch of grass. Anyway the change went off without a hitch. It couldn't have been a nicer sunnier day and I kept thinking how lucky I was that it wasn't a crappy rainy day. One guy on a bike, Steve, stopped by to see if I needed anything. Customer of Lucy's. Just a bunch of good eggs there at Lucy's, I swear. Thanks for stopping.