At that point, it’s time to get your hands dirty … except, if you’re riding to work, streaks of grease across your hands will cost you time at the sink when you arrive, and the grime might wind up on your shirt or pants.

Here’s a quick fix: Pick up some surgical gloves and store them with your patch kit and spare tube. (The gloves cost $9 a hundred here, chances are good that a medical-supply store, paint store or drugstore near you sells them, or maybe your doctor would give you handful at your next checkup.) Put the gloves on, do the job, peel the gloves off, and you’re on your way. Here’s how you can remove them without getting the dirt on the gloves on yourself.