Two weekends ago before we went for our little bike ride I noticed that there was a slight wobble in the rear wheel. Living dangerously I broke out the spoke wrench and gave 3 or 4 spokes around a full turn. Loosened two and tightened two depending on which direction I needed to pull the rim. I got most of the blip out, but after our ride the wobble was back. Time for a professional. Last Thursday I dropped off the wheel at the local bike shop and when the mechanic went to put the wheel on the truing stand, she noticed my problem right off, the rim was cracked at one of the spoke holes and the nipple was puling through.
We had to order a new rim, so she said give her a week. This afternoon we went and picked up my newly rebuilt wheel. She was just finishing up the job when we arrived, putting the tire tire back on and pumping it full of air. We were planning on a late afternoon bike ride, but I had a few hours so I just put the wheel in the garage. The rains came this afternoon, so riding was out, but I went out to put the wheel on the bike because Plan B would be an early morning ride on Sunday. The tire as flat.
I pulled out a patch kit from a cabinet and the rubber cement for applying the patches was long evaporated. Donna has some glueless patches in the seat bag of her bike, I could use them. I found the hole easy enough and applied the patch. Pumped up the tire and mounted on the bike. A couple hours later I checked the tire, flat again. We never did have good luck with those glueless patches. We may head out and get a patch kit tonight or forget about the bike ride tomorrow and go for a hike in Hitchcock Woods.