I've had two flats. One happened as I was heading out on my final circuit of my favorite 5-mile route, and I was only a quarter mile from the car, so I just walked her back and fixed it at home.

The second happened about a half hour before my very first tri experience. I'd over-inflated my tire and it blew while Sparrow (my bike) was on the rack, waiting to go. Thank goodness the bike shop sponsor had a booth with mechanics and spare tubes at the ready, because even though I can change a back tire, I wasn't comfortable with the pump I had used, and it was 0'dark thirty and I didn't have enough light to do the job well, so I headed over to their tent and they did it for me.

I tend to do my long rides on closed circuit cycle-friendly routes around lakes and small islands designed for recreation. If I have a problem, there are usually lots of other cyclists who are available to assist.

I do it a lot like ny biker. I load up everything I'll need for a long ride (longest to date was 50 miles), and I ride the loop and come back to my car as a rest stop. It's much safer to me than riding on regular streets, although I'm interested in what beach-side bike paths LizzyBee is cruising on.

Roxy