Got my first flat today
Today I had either good (or bad) timing. My frame pump, co2 kit, tire levers, and patch all arrived in the mail either yesterday or today.
I went to my bike to pump up the tires, and I noticed that the front tire was flat. I was kind of bummed, since i was getting ready to go for a ride, but I'm kind of glad it happened, since I was home, with access to the internet, to see how to change it.
I got the tire off, then went to patch it. That is where things started going bad. I used the sandpaper, then applied glue, and started to let it dry. I spend too much time trying to get the patch off, and actually applied the patch the wrong way (the orange side is facing out, and the black side is facing in.). I also didn't sand or glue enough area until the patch was half on and I realized the patch was bigger than I remembered. Surprisingly, despite all this, it is holding air.
Truth be told, I probably would have put off practicing changing a flat, so I'm kind of glad it happened, otherwise I might be on the road trying if for the first time. Despite a lot going wrong, I do feel a lot more confident in my ability to change a tire now. Tomorrow I'll biking on a shorter loop, and I'll never be more than 1 mile away from my car (and I'll have a new tube with me), so I'm kind of wondering if my botch patch job will hold. If it holds through tomorrow, I'll keep it on until it goes flat.