Cool! Must be smarter than the pump

[roguedog]

Congrats! I hope you enjoyed the ride, RD. I actually teach that in my bike maintenance classes -- valve up. Two reasons. One, why should you have to bend over/squat when you pump up your tires. Second, with the valve up, you can use your hand the tire to seat the pump (can't do that when the tire is on the ground because the valve is at the bottom). This gives you a better seal and also helps stabilize the valve stem (with is a fragile part of the tube).

I run 105 in the front and 110 in the rear (and I weigh almost 160 pounds). More weight is on the back of the bike which is why we run a higher pressure there. 120 is super-high, especially for most women who don't weigh much. Try dropping your pressure a little bit and I bet you'll get a more comfortable, responsive ride. For most smaller women, I'll recommend 95 in the front and 100 in the rear (or even 90 and 95).

I did enjoy the ride and I even dragged a friend along. It's a gorgeous route. Oh! And I even have picks of Rose's first lead group at: http://picasaweb.google.com/roguedog8/MeloVeloWRose Not sure fi she wanted to post it on the velogirl website or something.

So when is the next bike maintenance course. Would love to go!

When you say "smaller" what do you mean by that? Ok,, newbie question. If I don't pump them to the recommended pressure does that mean I have a higher likliehood of a flat?