Outside of Abbeyknockmoy I got a flat in back, no biggie, flats happen. Next day, 'nother flat, same spot. Turns out the inside of the tire was disintegrating around the original puncture site, the fibers coming apart. So, I tossed the front tire in a dumpster, broke out the folded Gatorskin and put it on back, and put the old back tire on the front, a folded 5 Euro note between tube and tire covering the bad spot on the inside of the tire.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
A small suggestion I was given years ago and found useful. I thought I'd pass on:
Before leaving home, cut about a foot of 2 inch duct tape and wrap it around one of the tubes in your bike frame for storage.A foot long piece of tape is enough for a couple of tire repairs, even using 2 or 3 layers of tape on the inside of the tire.
I had a tire blow once, leaving a about a 4 or 5mm hole in the tire and me without a spare tire, although I did have a kit for patching a tube. Three layers of silver tape applied to the inside of the tire worked fine to keep the tube from blowing out at the hole (even at 60 or 70 psi).
All hail the mighty Duct Tape!
John
