Double trouble.

The problem.

The solution.

There was a lot of riding last weekend with farmers markets, the 3 foot ride, and the poker ride.  All told we bike a little under 70 miles.  Not too bad for a weekend.  Now the costs of all that fun have caught up with me.  Monday morning found my front tire flat.  The tell tale spine of a goat head wasn't hard to find.  I was a little grumpy about this because I have Kevlar tires with tire liners that are supposed to prevent this.  Just goes to prove even the best precautions don't always work.  Fortunately, this flat repair actually went as planned.  Unseat the bead, popped the tube out the side, sanded the area, smear with vulcanizing fluid, apply patch, pop tube back in, re-seat the bead, and inflate!  Perfect under 5 minute patch. 

The offending area marked.

Until I realized the rear tire was looking a little on the low side.  Quick inspection didn't find anything in the tire to indicate a puncture.  So the wheel was removed and the tube pulled for a more thorough look.  The problem turned out to be one too many patches and the failure of one of said patches.

Failed patch.

So now the question is do you re-patch or give up and go with a new tub.  This particular tube already has 5 patches so I opted for the new tube approach. 

So for now, I'm back up on two Kevlar tires with tuffy tire liners.  Let's see if the technology or nature prevails.  Unfortunately, I think the safe bet in the long run is still on the goat heads.