Blimey! That gave me a start

I got home today, after a cycle with my good lady, and discovered my rear Schwalbe Ultremo R.1 tyre was rather the worse for wear.

I know tyres have to wear at some point in their career but there was absolutely no warning until I got home, went to clean my tyres (which I do after practically every ride) and discovered a kind of wobbly bulge and an area, about half a centimetre by a centimetre and a half, with absolutely no rubber on it.

According to my bike computer, I have done 1921.84 miles on the Schwalbes. Is it normal for a tyre to go kaput around that point? Shouldn't there be some sort of warning it's going to happen? I feel very lucky they didn't cause an accident.

I've ordered a pair of Continental GP4000Ss. Are they likely to last me any longer than the Schwalbes did? I thought the Schwalbes seemed to roll reasonably well (in as much as any tyre does when I'm pedalling) and didn't have a problem with them on that front. I'd simply have liked a safer signal when it came to changing them. If the wear indicator on the Continentals is worth anything, that will be good.

Anyway, the moral of the story is to check your tyres almost constantly and don't get complacent.