Strings, Rings, and Other Things

A few minutes ago, Kim and I heard a pop and then a brief but loud hissing sound coming from... somewhere. We looked around the apartment, but we couldn't figure out what it had been. I finally thought to look outside, and sure enough the back tire on my bike is now completely flat.

All I can figure is that it's 100 degrees today and the sun has been beating down on the black bike tires since early afternoon. Between the increased pressure of the hot air inside and the heat acting on the rubber itself, I guess a patch must have failed. I'm just glad I wasn't riding at the time!

(And now I want to know "Which patch?" and "How could I have avoided this?", but we're too busy getting ready to move for me to figure it out right now.)

Now that I'm recovered enough from my knee-related fun over the summer, I'm planning to start bicycling to work at least some of the time. One flaw in that plan is that I do not, at this time, own a bicycle. In fact, I know next to nothing about what to look for in a bicycle: the last time I was shopping for one, I had very different needs and expectations (and hey, maybe bicycle technology has changed in the past fifteen years). So I put it to you, blogosphere: what kind of bicycle should I buy (and does it matter where I buy it)?

A bit more information: I live about 2.5 miles from work. I have my choice of riding to campus on a moderately busy street (Arrow Highway) or on a convenient bike path that runs right behind my apartment complex (most of the way, anyway). The route seems basically flat, though that perception could change once I'm riding rather than driving. I'm in decent shape apart from the knee thing (and my physical therapist tells me that bike riding would be good for me). I expect that most of my riding will be done during the day or early evening (but during the winter, the sun might certainly have set before I head home). I don't foresee any major off-road biking in my future. If there are other significant details that I haven't thought of, let me know!

Once I've picked a bike, what else should I make a point of doing or having done or buying to be set to go? (I don't know what happened to my old helmet, so I know that I'll need to get a new one.) Any advice from others who have tried this sort of thing?