Foiled!

I was very excited about going for a bike ride this afternoon. The sun was shining and it was a cool 71 degrees. I pulled my bike out of storage where it has been since Timberman and I pumped the front tire, moved to the back tire only to remember that the valve was broken on the rear tube. Believe it or not this was the very first time I have had to change the rear tire since I got my bike! I struggled a little, but got the tube changed and the tire back on the bike and got ready to go.
I got about 2 minutes away and heard a pop. I pulled over and my rear tire was completely flat. Since I only had one tube with me, and the first few pedal strokes revealed that I couldn’t shift out of the big chainring, I decided to just walk my bike home for some tinkering.
I set up at my front steps and first attacked the tire issue. As it turns out, I had made the one mistake I usually try so hard to avoid and the tube got stuck between tire and rim and had a huge hole in it as a result. I changed it with a bit more success. I’m not sure why my shifting is not working properly, so I guess I need to take it in. I could ride it as it was, but I opted not to as I had already spent over an hour working on it. It probably could use a tune up at the shop anyhow.
Oh well! I tried!

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