Yesterday I was nearly hit three times while riding my bike to work. Two were my favorite type of motorist: the kind who nearly nails you, and then glares or screams at you, like it's your fault.
I then had a very nice shift, and came outside to twenty degree temperatures and a missing valve stem in my front tire. Yes, that's right: the tip that threads down into the valve stem was missing. (Don't ask why I had a European style, two piece presta valve on my winter commuting bike in Alaska.)
Now, the presta valve started out the day intact and got me the ten miles to work, with stops at the post office and REI on the way. And this is the type of thing that, when the stem tip goes missing, it won't be a slow leak: it'll be a loud, gushing and rapid release of air. So when I showed up at work and locked up the bike, and it was riding fine, it basically had to still have an intact valve stem tip, properly threaded in. Leading me to the conclusion that [you fill in the blank...]
Fortunately, I carry an extra tube with me, and work was still open, so I didn't have to change the tire in the cold and semi-dark. Side note: despite their other virtues, the Nokian studded tires, for all their other virtues, are a serious pain in the ass to get the bead seated in the rim.
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