I have had a lot of back tire flats, all in a row lately. I took my bike in to get new tires and asked them to check out my wheels to make sure there's nothing about them causing my flats. I asked the LBS guy tips on using the C02 cartridge, because my dh had mentioned you have to be careful not to ruin your tire valve when you pull them off and I was worried that was why my tires might have gone flat. I then told him my dh had just given me a reminder lesson on how to use the C02 by having me use it on my bike. We let the air out and I filled it with the C02. The next morning, my tire was flat.

The bell went off in LBS guy's head and he explains to me that C02 air is only temporary air. It goes away after around 18 hours. It's to get you home, but you have to refill with your tire pump before your next ride. (He recommends doing it as soon as you get home. Let what's left of the C02 air out and pump regular air in. That way, the next time you go to ride your bike, if your tire is flat, you now it's actually flat and not just the C02 disappearing.)

Anyways, this was news to ME!!! Why hadn't my very experienced cyclist husband told me this?!!! And then I got to thinking that he surely must have, like a year ago when he taught me how to change a tire, and I had just forgotten.

So, he calls me from Utah today, where he had just finished a marathon. After he told me how great he did, I told him I learned something today. And then, as if I'm teaching him something new, I say, "C02 is only temporary air. You have to refill with your tire pump before your next ride." There was silence. And then he said, "Really?"

He didn't know!!! I couldn't believe this!!! This man man came in 4th at Ride the Bear with like 13,000 feet of climbing and thousands of people racing it. He's been a serious cyclist for several years now and has changed lots of flats out on the road using C02 and this man did not know this extremely important piece of information! I told him, if he thought back, it would probably explain some of his, so called, flats and he said I was probably right.

Wow. I actually taught HIM something today.