Monday 1st August - commute.

 Monday morning and as I wheeled the bike out to set off to work I got that sinking feeling. The back tyre was flat. With not a lot of time available I spun the bike upside down and removed the back wheel and swapped in a new tube. As I tightened up the axel nuts I got sinking feeling number two as one of them stripped its thread. 

I bodged it up as best I could then cycled carefully into work. My plan was to buy  new axel nut at the local bike shop but unfortunately it was closed and so were the other two local shops. Around lunchtime work brought me near home so I popped in and borrowed a nut from a spare wheel. 

Later in the afternoon I nipped into the bike shed at work to check the 3/8ths nut would fit, and it did, but the tyre was flat again. Cursing myself for not finding whatever had caused the puncture, I went back to work. 

I finished about 5:30 and used the little bike station to remove the back wheel again and put a patch on the tube and carefully inspect the tyre. The new nut was a little big for the 15mm spanner I carry but there was an adjustable in the bike shed. Off I went home and within two miles had a flat back tyre again. 

Now I was in real trouble as I couldn't remove the new axel nut due to a lack of a suitable spanner. I eventually resorted to taking the tube out of the tyre, and trying to repair it in place. I couldn't find a hole so I removed and replaced the patch. I pumped up the tyre as best I could with the little hand pump and set off home again. 

At least the rain held off until I was just about home. 

This evening I took the back wheel off again and removed the tyre. I can't find any thorns, but there is a small cut right through the carcass. I put on an old pair of Continental tourers and I'll put the Schwalbes aside for winter. I don't think the pre-glued patches are holding. I'll buy some decent ones. I've never had a problem with the Park tool ones, but these cheap Amazon patches don't seem to be up to much. I need to order some more inner tubes too. 

Hopefully tomorrow will go a little more smoothly.

Commuting total - 534.7 miles