Bicycle Mending

An extract from the book 40 Humourous British Traditions

Ever since inner tubes were placed inside bicycle tyres there’s been the problem of how to mend them in the quickest possible manner. The most common solution is to remove the inner tube and place it in a bowl of water and squeeze the tube lightly so air bubbles come to the surface from the offending puncture.

The culmination of the art of puncture repair is found at the Bicycle Mending festival in Yeovil, held in the third week of June every year.