ScottCommutes yeah when it's cold and damp, it's very hard to fix things. I remember taking a long ride in New Jersey and getting flats, and they were damned hard to fix. Painful. Congratulations on making sure the show went on. Music teachers are absolute heroes. My JHS choral teacher was my most influential teacher, and he's one of the reasons I became a good singer. I still perform, and in fact, my concert is tomorrow.

Darth Lefty this thread has helped me "think out loud" and it's an important point that I have various ways to ditch. It wasn't long ago that I did lock my bike up along my route and continued. I was in a hurry, and I knew I would have more time to fix the problem on my way home. Duragrouch you wouldn't do it, and largely I suspect it's because of the neighborhoods. It definitely depends on that and other factors. Another factor is the time of day and the duration of the lockup.

And yes, whistles were used exactly as you suspect from that picture. Not a good idea in light of the fact that only police are allowed to use them, though I can't remember the last time I've seen or heard it. But survival on a bike is sometimes best done by breaking a minor law. These days, bells have finally come back into common use, and it's good that people know who makes the sound.

Smaug1 using puncture-resistant tires is very sensible, but as I said, I'm not going to do it. Maybe it's my old joints but bumps on a bike seem to bother me more than before, and I can only firt32 mm tires, and the ride is already harsh. I'm not willing to make it much harsher. As I said, I'll eventually replace my GP 5000 in the rear with an Ultra Sport III, and I'll see how that goes. It should be a bit tougher and probably not much harsher or slower. I'm a bit crazy with tires, and I fully admit it.