If you can't laugh at yourself... who can you laugh at?

Sometimes, the day just does not go as planned.
Last week, I decided that I was going to bike to school -- its not too far to school, it was looking to be a nice day, and I had plenty of time before my morning class. And biking to school seems like a great way to get exercise & be green to the environment. So, I get on our bike only to realize that the tires were low. "No problem", I thought, "there is a gas station a few blocks away where I can fill the tires.". I arrive at the gas station and get the front tire filled no problem, but the back tire... well, when I was filling it and squeezed it to see if it was getting full... it popped. It did not just quietly pop, nope... it POPPED and TWANGED and the metal around the rim of tire came undone (see bottom picture), loud enough that the gas station attendant inside had to come out and check out what was going on. And my ear closest to the bike rang for a short time.
Seeing as I was only a short ways away from home (like 1/2-3/4 mile) and felt too silly to ask if I could leave the now useless bike there to pick-up with our truck in a few minutes... I decided to walk the bike home, only to realize that the explosion of the back tire caused the front tire frame to heat up in one spot and stick, so the wheel no longer rolled... this meant that I ended up carrying the bike home -- still with my backpack and helmet. I must have looked like a sight to those passing me on their way to work, I can only imagine thinking myself, "Doesn't she know she's supposed to ride and not carry that bike?".

My attempt at biking to school failed, but I did manage to get some exercise in that morning (and I did make it to my morning class on time...)! And the loss of the bike... it was no great loss; it was due to be replaced anyway because it had other problems.