I walked out of work today after a six hour shift, hoping to jump on my bicycle and ride home. When I got there, everything seemed normal... Until I started rolling away from my parking spot, to the tune of a flopping, squishy sound. That's when I realized it was time to call Daddy; I had a flat tire.
This has happened several times in the three years I've lived on campus, but today was the first time that I actually learned how to fix it. Here's how:
*This post is sponsored by the Brian Decker Bicycle Repair Foundation*
Step One: Remove tire and wheel from bicycle. My dad had already done this by the time I got back from my room. Don't worry, we'll see it in reverse later.
Step Two: Remove the tire and inner tube from the wheel. We used these little blue things (that I can no longer remember the name of-- cue text to Daddy XD) to take the blue tires off the wheel. Another thing that Daddy did first was take off the cap (little black thing on the inside of the wheel) so that the tire and inner tube can be removed.
Step Three: Remove the inner tube from the inside of the tire. We examined the tube and found two small cracks next to the piece that attaches the inner tube to the wheel. This means that I didn't ruin my brand new tires in less than a week, hooray!!
Step Five: Examine the inside of the tire to make sure nothing is embedded in it. This confirmed that I didn't damage my tire when I accidentally ran over some glass shards earlier this week. Hooray again!
Step Six: Put the new inner tube back between the tire and the wheel. Start by inserting the metal piece through the hole on the inside of the wheel, then move around to the rest. Next, push the edges of the tire (the little brown part) back under the metal edge of the wheel.
Step Eight: Put the wheel back on the bike. 
Lift the bike up with one hand, and set the center of the wheel inside the notch on the axle (the two light-colored metal pieced on the front of the bike). Make sure that the black handle on the front wheel is on the same side as the back wheel.
Use the black handle on the center of the tire to tighten the wheel into place. When there's resistance in the handle, that means it's tight enough, and you can push the handle up to lock it into place.
Finally, on my bike, we had to take off the brake in order to fix the tire. To put the brake back on, push the two skinny metal bars together with thumb and forefinger, then push the little black piece over the end of the brake wire. Ta-dah! All fixed!
After seeing how relatively easy it is to fix a flat tire, I decided that I want to start keeping a couple of extra inner tubes with me on campus. Next time this happens, I can fix it myself!
Want more? check out #RealTalk: Why Everyone Who Lives on Campus Should Have a Bicycle
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