Fail on today's ride
So, I made a couple mistakes heading out on today's ride:
1) Forgot to bring my phone and wallet. (forgot that I forgot them also)
2) Forgot to check my supply bag.
About 11 miles into my ride going westbound on the Katy Trail, I heard a sudden hissing sound. White shard of glass or sharp rock sticking out of the rear tire. There's no one around. I realize at this time that I have no phone, no money, no nearby access to anything useful, and no spare tube or patches, but I did have my pump. I ransacked my bag to see what I did have. Nothing that would help. Then I looked at my bars, and saw how I had stabilized the mount for my headlight with a bunch of electrical tape. Not getting too optimistic, I unwrapped the tape, affixed it to my helmet to keep it clean of dust, flipped the bike over, took off the rear wheel, expecting to see a big gash. But the tube wasn't totally shot. I licked the punctured part of the tube and dried it on my clothes, and applied a nice big "X" of electrical tape to the tube. Inflated it till I thought it might have 25psi or so...trying to hit that sweet spot where the tire has enough air to do its job (25 x 2.0), but not so much that the air leaks out between the tube and patch. Somehow this worked out well enough that I was able to ride home, though a little slowly as every revolution of the rear tire there was a distinct thump every time the taped spot, which couldn't stretch, rolled over the ground. I probably could have gone faster, but didn't feel like pushing it.