Its a thorn...

... in my back tire. That was the diagnosis on the flat in the back. By lunch time the tire was completely down. Since I would be nervous removing the back wheel of a normal bike to find and fix a flat at home on the weekend I basically bit the bullet and got it fixed in town. There are a three bike shops within walking distance of the office: one that caters to "serious bikers" (i.e. prepare to pay a lot), one that didn't have the greatest reviews on Google Plus, and then there was Griffin Cycles. Gave them a buzz, took the bike over, and 4 hours and 26 dollars later the bike is fixed.

Error 13

Back on the Metro today due to an Error 13. Essentially on the computer screen everything goes black and you see "13". Now, Hybrid Pedals told me that you sometimes see an Error 5, which is when communication between various components gets disrupted. I'd seen this a couple of times and usually you just flick the brakes quickly and it goes away. Not so this time. Each time I'd flick the brakes the computer would reset, all would seem well for a pedal or two, then back to Error 13. I didn't have much time to futz with stuff at that moment so I pedaled back around the block, put the bike back in the house then hustled off to the Metro.

While at work I did a little googling and it turns out Error 13 is also a communications issue. Apparently the grommets connecting the various electrical wires to the computer can come lose. When I got home I checked tightened them up and took the bike out. Still errors. I then pulled the computer screen off (its removable) and looked at the contacts. There was an oily, vasaline like substance over a couple of the contacts. Cleaned those up and the problem went away. Back on the bike tomorrow.