Today I experienced my first punctured tyre on a motorcycle. I covered about 40 miles, not recognising the cause but feeling the symptoms. The rear was wiggling all over the place and the bike felt awful when trying to turn. Obviously. I stopped to check the wheels after the first 5 miles as, at first, I just thought the tyres were cold. When I stopped and looked, the tyre appeared to be fine. I didn't physically check it, I just looked. It seemed fine so I carried on. The problems progressively got worse as the tyre lost pressure. When I finally got to my destination I pressed the tyre and it was completely flat. Luckily MADASL was around the corner. It was a useful lesson in how to spot a flat through the symptoms if you've never had one before and haven't pushed the tyre. It also showed me that it is possibly to ride a bike with no air in the tyre and not fall off. So a puncture doesn't have to be an instant off incident but is rather a steady loss of composure allowing a safe stop. I'm glad I was riding sensibly although it is embarrassing to admit I continued the journey without stopping to properly find the fault.
I had a massive moment once going round a bend and just put it down to the misses moving about on the back. When I went back to my bike to ride home and saw the tyre everything became clear. Still made her walk to the nearest petrol station while I toddled along the road. New years eve going into new years day 2013.
