Notice that cut tire in the first photo? Not something you want to have happen 19 miles into a bike ride! I don't know what I hit but my tire/tube went immediately flat. I looked around and still didn't find anything sharp.
Usually I'll have a couple dollar bills with me or an energy gel packet. Either would work as a boot. Unfortunately I didn't have them so I looked around and fortunately there was some litter on the side of the road. This was a big slice so I'd need a good sized piece of plastic something to even have a chance of it working.
I found the perfect thing! Something labeled 'purple haze' that I think was for cigar wrappers. I tucked it into my tire and inserted a new tube. I went back to my house the quickest way I could which was 12 miles and, miraculously, it held! The last photo shows how much it was bulging out by the time I got back.
Usually getting a flat is a pretty routine fix but this required some ingenuity and luck to work.
A very large cut in the tire.
A makeshift boot to cover the sliced area of the tire.
It fit perfectly.
Not sure how much longer that would have held.
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