That would be the subject of the email I sent to my boss together with a picture of my bike upside down – the rear wheel laying on the pavement – this morning as I stood in windy & chilly Stockholm in front of the first flat tire of 2012 (with the fixie).
I could have had a flat on a worse location but the view over Skeppsholmen and Kastelllholmen did not really ease the frustration when, all pieces apart, I realized I did not bring the right spare tube with me (the vent on the one I had in the bag was just too short for the high profile rim).
Hands covered with a sticky mixture of dust and chain lube I mounted everything back together and was considering my two options: I could leave the bike there and pick it up in the evening (if it were to be found) or I could push the bike on the last 2 kilometers to the office.
I chose the latter and made it to the door in half an hour or so just to realize I had forgotten my card to the building. I finally makes my way in after a call to the receptionist and heads to the bathroom for a thorough “clean this oily mess” session when it hits me: “I forgot my lunchbox at home!” (lunchboxing is another very important sport in Sweden – probably as popular as ice Hockey – but that’s off topic).
It took me one hour and fifteen minutes from home to the office (when it usually takes around 20 minutes) so yes it definitely was the worse morning I ever had commuting by bike to work. But now that everything is fixed (new tube and new tires but I will write about that in a coming post) I must say that I can’t wait to ride tomorrow morning. Who says I’m a masochist?