This morning I was riding to work which is about 35 miles away via 2 major interstates. I left earlier than usual because I had a meeting first thing this morning and about 5 miles from home I came up on a MASSIVE traffic jam, just not moving. I sat there for about 5 minutes without even needing to put the bike in gear and began to worry about being late. This is where my youthful indiscretion took over.
Here in Michigan it is grossly illegal to lane split or otherwise attempt to go around traffic. But I decided to take my chances and took to the shoulder, which is very wide and flat on my route. I started rolling by the parked cars at about 35-40mph and kept looking for an end to the jam-up. I ended up riding the shoulder for 13 miles before coming across a burnt out shell of a Ford Focus being hoisted onto a flatbed and half the highway covered in gas and oil. I got back into traffic before I rolled past the accident to avoid the po-po working the scene, inched on by and finally hit the open road. About 8 minutes after that I changed lanes and my backend made that sickening wallow-wiggle that indicates somethin' aint kosher back there.
Immediately my little bubble of pride at beating that massive traffic jam just deflated like the rubber under my a$$ (hey now, not like that). I got off the interstate at the next exit and negotiating the cloverleaf on a flat was not what I would call a good time.
Once parked on the side of the secondary road at the exit, I pulled off my helmet and inspected the tire. Sure enough, that rock I hit near the end of my shoulder ride punctured the dead center of the tread. While I was calling work to let them know I would be late because of the flat (there goes all my made up time), a car pulls up behind me and a guy hops out. I am half expecting (this is Michigan after all) that it's some HVAC tech who got pissed at seeing me slide by all that traffic while sitting there listening to Poison and combing his mullet. But it was Ted, the Road King rider and savior of punctured tires. Ted makes sure I'm pulled over because of a flat and then runs home (around the corner) and gets his puncture kit. (Sidebar, I'm an idiot. Two weeks ago I removed my puncture kit from under the seat to make room for the AutoComm. I will be making room for it now) From the time I pulled over till the time I was back on the road, it was maybe 20 minutes, and thats only because neither Ted or I had ever used a puncture kit.
So the way I see this is:
1. Normal day
2. Obstacle
3. Obstacle overcame in a shady manner
4. Karma says "uhhh, no....thats not cool" and smites my tire
5. Karma says "but I will provide a fix immediately via my Angel Ted"
6. Karma says "don't do it again, grasshoppa"
7. Karma says "pay it forward"
This was my first real experience of biker brotherhood and its just really cool. Thanks again Ted. And thanks Karma, for being fair.
P.S. In case you are stupid like I can be at times, you really shouldnt take the puncture kit off the bike.
Never had a flat on a road bike. Many on the dirt, usually during a race, with is race ending. I always wondered what those little rubber things where for in the kit. 
) motorbikers are allowed to pass the cars on the motorway if they are driving under certain speed (I guess 40 km/hr). 
