I don't know anything about bikes

I chickened out of fixing the puncture myself  (I did try to get the tyre off so that I could assess the damage but I couldn't get it to budge without levers) and took the wheel over to Infinity cycles in Durham this lunchtime.

It's fixed now and I have equipped myself with:

• two spare inner tubes
• three tyre levers 
• a puncture repair kit

Since I had such an issue getting the pocket rocket pump (ha ha) to fix onto the presta I have decided that I'm going to carry the pump that I actually can use in case I get caught in any road side puncture dilemmas again. I have a saddle bag on the way and will take the above kit with me wherever I go.

This whole episode has shown me how much I love and enjoy cycling - I am STILL disappointed that I couldn't get a proper ride in on Sunday and I went to the bike shop as soon as I could physically get there to fix it all to ensure that I am definitely able to get out first thing on Saturday.

It has also shown me how little I actually know about bikes. So in an effort to learn the basics I spent the last half hour before bed last night reading this Essential Pre Ride Checks  . I panicked for a good 15 minutes and began the search for nearby cycle maintenance courses.

I need to learn how to fix the bike by myself - I can't rely upon kind hearted cyclists stopping to help me each time that I get a puncture!

Tomorrow I have an afternoon off of work and I'm going to go and check out the The Cycle Hub in Gateshead.

Sunday morning will be spent in a FixIt! cycle maintenance class at Evans Cycles at the Metrocentre.

Yesterday at work I dropped my bag and an inner tube and some perfume fell out. I thought that was quite funny. I've changed.