Good deed question

[Bigmark]

Yesterday I did my good deed for the day.
When I got to our local BW trail it was threatening to rain, but I wanted to get my 20 miles in. I felt good, filled my tires, and even had my tunes. I hit the trail and soon was in a groove. I passed an older gentleman riding west. A few miles down the road I heard (over my tunes) the clap of thunder. Well I don’t mind riding in the rain, but lightning scares the begebers out of me, so I did a U turn, and headed back to the car. I was about two miles out, when the guy I passed was walking his bike back to the trailhead. I asked him if he was OK, and he showed me he had a flat. He had no tools, and I couldn’t just keep going, so I pulled and patched his tube, and got him on his way. I then put it on high, and got to the car. I had the bike on the top, and was telling my wife I was on my way home when he got to his car. So we both made it back to our cars dry. He was very happy that I stopped, and wanted to pay for the patch. I told him to take the money and get a saddle tool kit and patches of his own. It was the first time I used glueless patches, and I told him if it was me I would replace the tube. Those patches are VERY nice in a squeeze, and I will for sure keep them in my kit.

Anyhow for my question, what is the shelf life of unused patches? Should I periodically replace them?

[kf5nd]

Any product with glue has a limited life. I write the purchase dates on all of my patch kits (month-year), and I replace them every year, if they are not used up before then.

[Groundhawg]

Yesterday I did my good deed for the day.
When I got to our local BW trail it was threatening to rain, but I wanted to get my 20 miles in. I felt good, filled my tires, and even had my tunes. I hit the trail and soon was in a groove. I passed an older gentleman riding west. A few miles down the road I heard (over my tunes) the clap of thunder. Well I don’t mind riding in the rain, but lightning scares the begebers out of me, so I did a U turn, and headed back to the car. I was about two miles out, when the guy I passed was walking his bike back to the trailhead. I asked him if he was OK, and he showed me he had a flat. He had no tools, and I couldn’t just keep going, so I pulled and patched his tube, and got him on his way. I then put it on high, and got to the car. I had the bike on the top, and was telling my wife I was on my way home when he got to his car. So we both made it back to our cars dry. He was very happy that I stopped, and wanted to pay for the patch. I told him to take the money and get a saddle tool kit and patches of his own. It was the first time I used glueless patches, and I told him if it was me I would replace the tube. Those patches are VERY nice in a squeeze, and I will for sure keep them in my kit.

Anyhow for my question, what is the shelf life of unused patches? Should I periodically replace them?
Bigmark, that was very kind of you to stop and help the older gentlemen. I'm sure a lot of people would have just ridden right by him without offering any help.

[Don Gwinn]

Good job. That's what you're SUPPOSED to do, but there's always a good excuse not to stop. Some people listen to the excuses.

The other day I was driving in Springfield, IL with my kids in the back seat on a sweltering hot day. As I went north at about 55, I saw an older lady on the opposite side of the median pulled over with a completely blown front tire. She was out of the car and looking around. I couldn't stop fast enough, so I went about a mile down the road to the next intersection and turned around. By the time I got back to her, there were THREE cars stopped and two young men were digging her spare out of her trunk. I had been just barely on schedule, so turned around and went on my way, but it was a great feeling to know that so many people were willing to help out!
Granted, this was the daytime, and not everyone would have stopped for her in the middle of the night, but it's easy to forget that people DO help each other. It was 96 degrees on that highway!