April rides

[ny biker]

I had a bit of an adventure last night. Managed to get started a bit earlier than the past couple of weeks, not as early as I would have liked but at least I would be done before 10 pm. Riding along a bit concerned by how tired my legs felt on the uphills. But in general enjoying the ride. The extra layers that were too warm last week were just right for last night's cooler temps.

So I'm pedaling down a hill and wondering why I'm bouncing. That was weird. But it stopped and now it's uphill again. Pedal pedal pedal, cross the intersection, pedal pedal... oh, my tire is flat. Rear tire, if course.

At this point it's somewhere around 9 pm. Totally dark. Residential neighborhood with nice ($$$$) houses. I had to ride a bit further to get under a street light. I can't remember the last time I had a flat. I know how to change a tire but am not good at it.

So I had a snack (priorities!) and got all the tools and spare tube out of my seat bag. Checked the garmin -- I'd ridden almost 14 miles with 4-5 to go. I thought about calling a friend who lives nearby to ask her to pick me up, but earlier in the day she had said she wasn't feeling well. Either I call a cab or I fix the tire.

I turned the bike over and inspected the tire. There was no sign of a puncture. I decided to try to pump the tire up and see if it would hold air.

I rarely use my frame pump. It's super light. It's also hard to get onto the valve stem. I had to try several times before I was able to get any air into the tire. Finally I got the tire back to a non-bouncy psi. While doing this I considered the best route to take back to the community center where I had started the ride. My normal route is on dark, quiet, hilly residential roads. I decided to head out to the main road (a couple of blocks away). It's not flat but there are bike lanes on it and it's well-lit. After a couple of miles I stopped again under another street light and pumped up the tire, then continued riding. Most of the time I rode standing up, trying to lean my weight more on the front than the rear. It was pretty tiring.

The bike started feeling bouncy again but I was only a few blocks from my car, so I kept riding. I made it back around 10:00. Ha ha.

I already have new tires since the ones on the bike were looking worn. I was planning to put them on after my ride this weekend. Instead I will change them both tonight or tomorrow. So that will be a good refresher course for my tire-changing skills.

I think maybe I want a new frame pump...

[pericat]

Not how you want your evening ride to go, NY, that's for sure.

I should practice with my frame pump more; if nothing else, would probably be good for my biceps. I have been making a point of not doing any adjustments on my bike with tools other than the ones I normally carry; I've found some gaps that way. But frame pumps are a step too far; they're light, they telescope, they're practically little transformer pipes and my gadgetbrain adores them but I dread having to use one again. Once was enough. I've got skookum tires on the wheels, heavy as sin, may they never go flat! Our roads are pretty crap, though.

[ny biker]

Okay I just changed both tires. It took more than an hour. As mentioned they were both looking worn so I had already bought new ones and was planning to put the new ones on after this weekend's ride. Luckily the big club ride planned for tomorrow was cancelled tonight. I didn't get home from work/running errands until 9:30 tonight and now it's almost 12:30. If I'd had to do other ride prep tonight (starting with digging out my Amfib tights for tomorrow's cold weather) and then wake up early just to get official notice that the ride was cancelled, I would have been cranky to say the least.

I also changed both inner tubes just to be safe. One of the new ones has a ridiculously short stem which I'm sure will drive me crazy so I might end up changing it again. Also I had a really hard time getting the rear wheel on and off the bike. But now it's all back together with new inflated tires. They're Continental Grand Prix 4000s II. I've used Conti Gatorskins before but this is my first set of GPs. I hope I like them! I folded up the unpunctured tube and am keeping it to use as a spare.

As for the cause of the flat, I had to inflate the bad tube and put it in water to find the tiny hole. Then I found the tiny piece of glass in the tire. There was a small hole on the outside of the tire which I had found on the road under the streetlight. But the glass was pushed in enough that I didn't feel anything sharp at the time. There's an old, larger cut in the tire that never led to a punctured tube, so my guess is that the tire is now just too worn and thin to be as puncture resistant as it was before. Btw they're Mavic Yksion Comp tires. I'd use them again.

So. It won't be spring-like on Sunday but it should be sunny and not too cold -- well, we'll have a hard freeze overnight but it should get above 50 later in the day. It will definitely be the better day for being outdoors this weekend. I don't know yet where and when I'll be riding my bike, but I'll be out there somewhere.

[Crankin]

I used the Conti 4000s before I started using Gatorskins. They are easy to get on and off, semi-good for flats, but not perfect.

[Pax]

NY, weird about the stem, also annoying in the long run. Glad you found the piece of glass, always hated a mystery flat.


Finally got in a great ride yesterday (and when I say great, I mean great for my new normal, short but wonderful). I rode to the beach, then up the sand to the inlet and watched the surfers surf for a bit. It seemed like such a short ride I didn't take water, lesson learned! Had to stop at 7/11 and buy a bottle at the halfway mark.

[Crankin]

We only buy tubes with the long stems, non-threaded.

[Geonz]

April's off to a slower than usual start... the usual commute April Fool's day.... I had snuck out a couple of Saturdays for my favorite 20 mile loop from the house but blustery winds at 45 mph were in the forecast.
So instead I plowed through the wind to the bike shop and paid for a new bicycle.


I already have a longbike but... this one is a discontinued model and marked down ... I test rode it just to make sure it didn't fit, except... it did.

Monday I rode from work to bike shop and left Xtracycle there and rode it back... Tuesday commuted and went to teh Bike Club Pre-Season Party ... went shortest way home rather than the nicer long way because of... 25+mph winds...
Rest of week commutes were okay tho' I didn't get to do my usual lunch "lap around campus" because it was generally raining (it does, at least, wait for me to get to work & it stops before I have to leave)...

Today I had a REAL ride... out to St. Joseph for the "Illini Chill," and back so 11 + 20 + 11 miles (but on the Trek 7.5 FX so they were lots easier)... winds only 15 mph and the temps got above freezing by noon! My legs are tired and happy...

[Pax]

Nice new bike, Sue, it must feel like flying after your old bike.