Most People Who Ride Bikes Have Soft Tires

Last week I argued that gear-shifting competency is an underexamined barrier to bicycling. Then a friend called me 10 minutes before a group ride I’d invited him to, panicking — both his tires were flat and he didn’t own a pump. He ran his bike over to the meeting point on foot. We inflated his tires with another rider’s hand pump, I walked him through it, and he made the ride. He’s a competent…