@Lostarchitect
I stand corrected. Clearly there are kind riders out there. Alas, I was on the Man. Bridge on Thurs., not Fri., so I missed you.... I have to admit I overstated the reality, about "all NYC cyclists." It's like asking directions or talking to people on the street or on the subway. Somehow the city got the rep that NYCers are rude, but save not knowing what you want when you get to the head of the bagel line, most people are friendly and more than willing to talk to you (as long as it doesn't take too long.)
I like the Rema patches, though I needed some more yesterday and happened to stop by Brooklyn Bike and Board (actually it has a slightly different name now). They had the Park ones, so that's what I got for my restocking. And I left out an important detail about my patch screw up when I was in Chinatown, before hitting the Man. Bridge... the only patches I had left in my Rema box were those giant ones, measuring 1 x 2 INCHES... way too big for a 23 mm tube. So I was basically trying to fix a gash in a tube with a sling... poor planning on my part, but I had run out of all the small patches from all the other flats I've gotten recently. Also, I think the tube was too dirty (poor glue adhesion) and the sun was going down, so I couldn't see too well.
If I decide to keep this Nishiki and use it as a commuter, then I'll invest in some better tires. On my normal bike, I have some Michelin Krylion Carbon tires and like those a lot. I don't have any technical reasons-- save for riding in rain I really couldn't tell you whether a tire handles well or not, feels heavy, or has high rolling resistance. I mean, I can feel the difference between a fat knobby mountain tube and a smooth road tire, but can I feel the difference between the Continental, Schwalbe, Michelin, etc. racing/training tires? No. So it comes down to price, how long it wears, and how much glass it can eat. The Krylion is OK.
Motorcycling in LA must have been good. I remember watching all the riders zip between the lanes to get out of that gridlock.