Thank GOD! I got a flat tire!

So, my girlfriend just bought a bike. A middle of the line hybrid, about $400. She wanted to be able to have a bike that was more capable of keeping up with my touring bike so that we could bike together more often. Very sweet, since last year, I think I could have walked faster than she biked on her $60 piece of shit.

We like the canal trails that are prominent in the Rochester area. No traffic, few stops, and a nice view make it a solid choice for beginners and veterans alike. Happy/sad, they are doing contruction on the trail, so pieces are unrideable.

So we decide to take a shortcut of the trail towards home.

Note - I don't mind biking city streets... STREETS. In hindsight, I should have stuck to the streets, but my girlfriend was following me and I didn't want her riding in the streets. So, we stuck to the beaten up, much narrower, sidewalk - and I got a flat.

Whew!

I got the flat, looked at my girlfriend and was happy.

Why?

Because it wasn't her.

She had had a bad day. Note to the ignorant reader - when most women have bad days... RUN! Conversation, bonding, any acts of kindness during said embracing of the negative is not on rejected, but said sender is sent off with a venom of negativity that has the chance to envelope you as well. Is this sexist? Sure, but I DARE a woman to prove me wrong that this isn't the case with most of their gender.

So, I got a flat and was happy. In fact, after I realized I had the flat and that I hadn't done any rim damage to my bike, I actually sighed relied. I was a little over a mile from home, but she had her bike, I was perfectly capable of walking, and we had a solution ready-in-hand. She biked home and picked me up on my walk over. I guage I made it about half-way home when she picked me up, but the weather was perfect, the neighborhood was friendly (much to my pleasant surprise), and it wasn't my girlfriend that had the flat.

Good times.