9 September. Yesterday I had a flat rear tire about one mile from home on my return trip. I walked the bike home so that I could replace the tire which was very badly worn. This is one of the pair of tires given me by Dan Gustafason and Marty Miller. These tires have a special lining called Kelvar which is supposed to inhibit punctures. With this tire I had a day early in its life when I had a series of punctures whose cause I could never ascertain. However, after that day I have had only one puncture in this tire until today. In particular, I did not have the numerous flats that normally occur near the end of the life of a tire. By chance these tires, front and rear, were installed at the same time as my present odometer which now reads 4855 miles. This is quite a long distance for a rear tire. I think most, if not damaged by a cut, last around 3000 miles. Front tires last about 1000 miles more than the rear ones, and the present front tire looks as if it has quite a few miles left.