First Blowout

[Mr. Bloom]

It was likely caused by having too little pressure in your tire (though a really sharp blow can pinch flat even a tire with good pressure) and unless there is another unrelated problem with the tire you do not need to buy a new one...

this is why so many of us check pressure before each ride...

I encourage you to review educational courses available through www.bikeleague.org where they give basic instruction on many of these issues in a "hands on/on bike" experience.

Silver will be teaching the Traffic Skills 101 (it's not posted online yet) in Evansville mid-August and I'll be taking the LCI Certification class in Bloomington in late August (which Silver will assist instructing).

In addition, Pscyclepath is often leading classes in Central Arkansas if you can find anything interesting in St. Louis.

How often do you change your tires? Yearly?

I'm a little compulsive since I often ride alone in rural areas in the evening. My most frequent problem is not a tube issue, but a leak at the stem. As a result, I change my innertubes every three months or so; I inflate before EVERY ride. As a result, I've only had two flats on the road in 8,000 miles.

As for tires, you just know by looking at them.